A new proposed law is going to the Governor that would allow police officers in Florida to pull drivers over for failing to wear their seat belts. Of course, it is already a violation of the traffic laws for a person to drive without wearing his/her seat belt. However, it…
As residents in the U.S., we have the Constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. That protection from intrusion from police officers and other government officials is greatest in our homes. Normally, if a police officer wants to enter your house to look for evidence of a…
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) firearms examiner who routinely testified for the State in gun cases resigned from the GBI after it was learned that she gave false testimony in numerous cases, according to an article on AJC.com. The article indicates that the GBI firearms examiner mischaracterized in her…
Police in Jacksonville, Florida and other areas of Florida can take property from people arrested (or under investigation) for various crimes and attempt to keep that property pursuant to the Florida forfeiture laws. This is called a forfeiture. It is important to understand the difference between seizure and forfeiture in…
When police in Jacksonville, Florida and other areas of Florida stop a vehicle and find drugs such as marijuana, crack cocaine or methamphetamine somewhere in the vehicle, they will try and attribute those drugs to one or more individuals in the vehicle and make drug arrests accordingly. Police claim that…
It is not uncommon in Jacksonville, Florida or other areas in Florida for police to make a drug arrest based on a tip from someone commonly referred to as a Confidential Informant (CI). These tips can come from a variety of different people and can be anywhere from very general…
On the Lasnetski Gihon Law criminal law blog, we have discussed on several occasions the trends we have noticed with federal investigations and prosecutions of various crimes depending on what seems to be the prevailing issues of the day. One trend we have noticed recently is the increased focus by…
A man in Ohio was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI, but in Florida referred to as driving under the influence of alcohol, or DUI) for driving a bar stool that was rigged with wheels and a lawn mower engine, according to an article on NYPost.com. The police responded to…
A new camera that is mounted onto the police cars of various city and county police departments in South Florida can take a picture of thousands of license tags per shift, according to an article on www.Sun-sentinel.com. The camera records the information on the license tag as well as where…
The FBI is increasing its efforts to fight mortgage fraud, according to an article on Foxnews.com. The article indicates that the FBI is employing agents to work undercover and using wiretaps to investigate mortgage fraud activity. In a prior blog post, I noted how federal law enforcement officials seem to…