Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer Blog

White Collar Crime Prosecutions Were Up in 2009

Published on: May 11, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Recent statistics show that arrests and prosecutions for white collar crimes have markedly increased in the U.S. as of 2009. For instance, on a month to month basis, white collar crime prosecutions increased by an average of 8.8% in 2009 from the prior year and almost 20% from five years ago.

Two Florida districts were among the federal districts with the largest number of white collar cases per capita, but those were the Southern District and the Northern District. Jacksonville is in the Middle District of Florida. In Federal District Court cases, bank fraud was the most common lead charge. Wire fraud and mail fraud, which can consist of any number allegedly fraudulent activities, were the second and third most common lead charged.

Drug Trafficking Laws Don’t Favor the Poor and Uninsured

Published on: May 8, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

Many people in Florida and throughout the country face serious challenges in getting basic health care. They do not have access to doctors and other medical providers nor do they have the ability to obtain prescriptions for necessary painkillers and other drugs used to treat their various medical conditions. These people are often forced to obtain medicine, which includes prescription drugs and controlled substances, in less traditional ways. The Florida legislature has addressed this issue by making crimes and penalties for the illegal possession of prescription drugs more extremely severe.

For instance, most people think of drug traffickers as people involved in moving large amounts of illegal drugs through the state. However, in order to qualify for drug trafficking of illegal pills such as Hydrocodone, Xanax, Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin and others, a person only needs to have four or more grams of illegal pills in his/her possession. Four grams are far from a large amount and what a normal person would expect to be a trafficking amount. In fact, for people who are prescribed painkillers by a doctor, four grams are within a normal daily prescription amount, although at the very high end for one day. So, contrary to what people might believe about the crime of drug trafficking, being in possession of a daily dose of illegal pills (i.e. without a prescription) may subject someone to a charge of drug trafficking. By contrast, a person must possess more than 25 pounds of marijuana to reach the first level of trafficking marijuana.

Despite the very low threshold for the crime of drug trafficking of various pills in Florida, the penalties are still very severe. There are different levels of drug trafficking in Florida. At the lowest level is someone in possession of 4 or more grams but fewer than 14 grams of pills. That person faces a minimum mandatory sentence of three years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of thirty years in prison. In other words, if a person has a daily dosage of Vicodin or other prescription drug without the prescription, he/she faces at least three years in prison if charged and prosecuted for trafficking. If a person has 14 or more grams of a controlled substance in his/her possession but less than 28 grams, which is still not a extremely large amount and reasonable for someone who has a condition that causes him/her severe pain, the minimum mandatory penalty is 15 years in prison.

Several Jacksonville Contractors Arrested for Allegedly Working Without a License

Published on: May 5, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

A six month Jacksonville, Florida investigation that involved multiple law enforcement entities ended with the arrest of thirty-one people recently, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The undercover law enforcement agents apparently advertised on the Internet on websites like Craigslist for contractors to perform home repairs and other projects typically done by contractors and subcontractors. If the individuals who responded to the ads attempted to perform the work without the required contractor’s license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the people were arrested.

Florida law makes it criminal for contractors to do certain things without a contractor’s license. For instance, it is a crime in Florida to give someone the impression or advertise that he/she is licensed when he/she is not, impersonate someone who is licensed, knowingly give false information to obtain a contractor’s license and do any work that requires a contractor’s license without a license.

For first time violators of this law in Florida, it is a first degree misdemeanor which can be punishable by up to a year in jail. However, the crime can become a third degree felony punishable by five years in prison under certain circumstances. If a person commits a second violation of this law, it is a third degree felony. If a person commits a violation after the Governor declares a state of emergency, perhaps after a hurricane, it is a third degree felony even for a first time violation.

The Crime of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon in Florida

Published on: May 2, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

It is a serious felony crime in Florida for a person to possess a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. That is a fairly straightforward crime, but there are other aspects of the crime that are not so obvious. It does not matter where the person obtained the felony conviction. If a person was convicted of a felony in any state, that person cannot possess a gun in Florida. Additionally, if a person was adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile and is under 24, that person cannot possess a firearm in Florida.

Possession does not just mean actual possession, i.e. holding it in one’s hand or having the gun in one’s pocket. Possession can include constructive possession of the firearm which can be established with proof that the person knew the gun was present and had dominion and control over the gun. For instance, if a person is driving his car by himself and a gun is found in the glove compartment with other items belonging to that person such as a wallet, a good argument can be made that he is in constructive possession of the firearm.

The crime of possession of a firearm is not limited to guns. Once a person has been convicted of a felony, that person cannot possess ammunition or an electric weapon or device such as a taser.

Jacksonville Businesses Say Shoplifting Crimes on the Increase

Published on: April 29, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

People are shoplifting more at Jacksonville, Florida businesses these days, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. These businesses are fighting back by placing better security systems in their stores including color cameras to detect people stealing in their stores. Years before, it was fairly rare to see a shoplifting case with good, color security photos that could actually be used to identify the shoplifter. Oftentimes, companies had security cameras with grainy, black and white photos that made it difficult to identify anyone. These cameras were often focused on employees and would not capture any shoplifting or other criminal activity committed by others. As technology has become better and crime has become more prevalent in Jacksonville, companies have moved towards using better security systems that are more capable of preventing shoplifting and other thefts or at least identifying the offender when theft occurs.

In Florida, the crime of shoplifting can be a fairly minor crime or quite serious depending on the value of what is stolen. There is actually no crime called shoplifting in the Florida statutes, although that is a common colloquial term for theft in retail stores. The crime of theft is a misdemeanor if the value of the property stolen is less than $300. Misdemeanors can carry a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail. However, if the value of the property stolen is $300 or more, the theft crime becomes a felony. If the value of the property is high enough or other aggravating facotrs exist, the theft can be considered grand theft and can be a first degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Georgia Authorities Withdraw Request for Roethlisberger’s DNA in Sex Crime Investigation

Published on: April 26, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

As many people who follow professional football and sports in general may have heard, a woman accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault recently. The local police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) have been investigating the claim, although no arrests have been made as of now. In a recent article, it was reported that the GBI has decided not to request a DNA sample from Roethlisberger.

One question that has been asked in response to this story is whether this is a good thing for Roethlisberger. The answer is: not necessarily. To understand that, you have to understand what is meant by the crime sexual battery which is often called sexual assault in the media and outside of the courtroom. Sexual battery in Georgia does not typically mean rape in the sense that most of us understand the word, i.e. sexual intercourse with someone against their will. Sexual battery can include just about any physical contact with the intimate parts of another person without that person’s consent. A sexual battery crime certainly does not have to rise to the level of an actual rape, which is a separate crime in Georgia. So, a sexual battery can certainly occur without any DNA evidence being left on the victim or at the scene of the crime.

In Florida, the laws are similar. If someone rapes a person as most of us understand the term, that of course is a serious felony crime. However, if someone has unauthorized physical contact with a person’s intimate part(s), but not nonconsensual intercourse, that is a crime as well.

In Florida, Can a Police Officer Force You to Submit to a Blood Test in a DUI Investigation?

Published on: April 23, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

In most DUI cases in Jacksonville and throughout Florida, the police officer allegedly observes the driver violate some traffic law and pulls him/her over. Once the police officer approaches and interacts with the driver, the officer observes some signs of impairment from alcohol and ultimately requests that the driver submit to a breathalyzer test where the driver blows into the machine which purportedly measures the driver’s blood alcohol content.

However, in some cases, the police officer can force the driver to submit to a blood test to measure the driver’s blood alcohol content. Most of the time, the forced blood draw cases involve accidents where the driver is seriously injured and unable to blow into the breathalyzer machine. However, an accident is not required for a forced blood draw in a DUI case. What the police and the state do need to establish is that, 1) the police officer had reason to believe the driver was driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, 2) the driver appears at a hospital or other medical facility for treatment and 3) a breath or urine test is not feasible or the person cannot respond due to some physical or medical condition. If these factors are present, the police officer can request that a medical provider take the blood.

In some cases, the police get the blood, but the required elements are not met. For instance, maybe a person was involved in an accident that rendered him unconscious and the officer smelled alcohol on him. That alone is not sufficient to meet the first requirement that there is sufficient reason to believe the person was impaired by alcohol while driving. Another example would be a person who was injured but not seriously enough to make a breath or urine test impracticable.

Cook at Flagler County, Florida Jail Arrested for Bringing Drugs Into Jail

Published on: April 20, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

A cook working at the Flagler County, Florida jail was arrested for allegedly bringing drugs such as Oxycontin into the jail and giving them to inmates, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. Unauthorized possession of prescription drugs like Oxycontin is illegal, but bringing Oxycontin and other things that are not permitted into the jail for the inmates is a separate felony crime in Florida.

Under Florida criminal law, it is a felony to bring into a county jail or detention facility, or attempt to do so, anything the law considers contraband without going through the normal procedures set forth by the sheriff operating the jail. Contraband does not just cover the obvious things like illegal drugs, prescription drugs and weapons, it also includes money, written or recorded communications, food, clothing, tobacco products, medicine and other items. Some of these things can be brought to inmates in the local jails, however, they must first be authorized through the normal channels.

Another Constructive Possession of Marijuana Case Thrown Out in Florida

Published on: April 17, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

When police find drugs such as marijuana, crack, cocaine and methamphetamine in a particular place, they often arrest everyone in the vicinity of the drugs because they are not sure who exactly owned and/or was in possession of the drugs. However, this is not proper under Florida law, and criminal defense lawyers can often get these cases relying on constructive possession of drugs thrown out of court.

In Florida, there are two ways to possess drugs which can lead to a valid possession of drugs charge. The obvious one is actual possession. If you are holding a bag of marijuana or have a bag of cocaine in your pocket, that is actual possession of drugs. However, even if you do not have the drugs on you, you can still be charged with possession of drugs. The other kind of possession is constructive possession which can also lead to a legitimate possession of drugs charge if the elements can be proven. In order to establish constructive possession, the state has to show that you knew about the drugs and maintained some control over the drugs. For instance, if the police find a bag of marijuana in a room that you live in by yourself in a drawer with your wallet and other items belonging to you, you may not be in actual possession of the drugs but there is an argument that you are in constructive possession of the marijuana. As another example, I am not in my car, but I know I have CD’s in my locked car and I have control over them so I am in constructive possession of those CD’s.

On the other hand, if I go over to a party at a friend’s house and police come in and find a bag of cocaine in the closed cookie jar next to where I am standing, I am not in constructive possession of that cocaine because it cannot be proven that I knew the cocaine was in there or that I had any custody or control over the cocaine. Of course, an incriminating statement admitting knowledge of the drugs can go a long way towards disrupting that defense.

Senate Passes Bill To Make Crack Sentences Equal to Cocaine Sentences

Published on: April 14, 2010 | by Lasnetski Gihon Law

The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill that would make sentences for crack cocaine crimes more in line with sentences for similar powder cocaine crimes in federal courts. As it stands now, defendants can be sentenced much more harshly for crack cocaine crimes as opposed to equivalent powder cocaine crimes. In other words, a person can have a relatively small amount of crack cocaine and receive a much higher prison sentence than a person who has an equal or even lesser amount of powder cocaine. The unfairness of this system in federal courts has been discussed for years, and the Obama administration has given a clear indication of its intent to move towards equalizing the two crimes or at least pulling sentences closer together.

The bill that passed in the Senate does not go as far as making crack cocaine and powder cocaine crimes equal in terms of penalties, but it does reduce the disparity when a person is sentenced for crack cocaine crimes versus powder cocaine crimes. The bill also eliminates minimum mandatory sentences for people charged with simple possession of crack cocaine.

The bill making crack cocaine and powder cocaine sentences more similar, though not equal, is not yet the law. The bill still has to go through the normal legislative process. However, it is likely that at some point in the future, crack cocaine sentences and powder cocaine sentences will get in the same ballpark. But until that happens, the sentences for crack cocaine cases are much more serious than sentences for powder cocaine cases in federal courts.