Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Pink Cocaine, a Miami Original That Is Less Original Than It Sounds
In the 1980s, Miami Vice granted a pop culture mystique to several aspects of Miami’s aesthetic that never would have been cool in the 1970s. It wasn’t the obvious things, though, not the cops or the cocaine. Police-themed shows have represented an astonishingly large percentage of programming throughout the television era, and cocaine was… Read More »
The Many Faces of Obstruction of Justice
Federal and state laws outline very strict rules about how criminal cases are supposed to proceed, from start to finish. The origin of these rules of criminal procedure go all the way back to the Bill of Rights, and case law has elaborated on them over the years; every time someone appeals a verdict… Read More »
Can You Get Post-Conviction Relief?
To say that it is a disappointment to hear a jury declare you guilty at a criminal trial is an understatement, but the story does not always end there. It is true that most defendants, after pleading guilty or being convicted at trial, are eager to get through their sentences so that they can… Read More »
Affirmative Defenses
A defendant’s interaction with the criminal court is less like a coin flip and more like a flow chart. Deciding whether to plead innocent or guilty is not a simple “yes” or “no” question, even though it would seem that way if the only part of the proceeding that you saw was the part… Read More »
The Entrapment Defense
Is saying, “So-and-so made me do it” a valid defense to criminal charges? If you claim that someone else induced you to commit a crime, you are acknowledging that you committed the crime, but at the same time, you are denying responsibility. As defense strategies go, it seems like a rookie move. When two… Read More »
South Florida Rapper Accused of Domestic Violence Against Wife and Infant Daughter
On reality television, people play a fictionalized version of themselves. It is easy to idealize or, conversely, to have a one-sided love-hate relationship with the cast members, because they seem like fictional characters. In fact, many former cast members of reality TV shows are relieved when the season ends and they can go back… Read More »
Palm Beach County Doctor Acquitted of Sexual Battery of Patient
Being under investigation for an alleged crime is no fun, but remember that, unless and until you plead guilty or a jury unanimously finds you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, you cannot receive criminal penalties. Sometimes legal investigations go on for years, but the burden of proof is on the state even to file… Read More »
Charged With A Drug Crime?
Schedule I controlled substances are the most illegal of illegal drugs. They do not have any legally approved medical uses, and it is illegal to possess them under any circumstances. By contrast, the drugs on the other four schedules have at least one legally acknowledged medical application. In other words, what the drugs on… Read More »
Federal Target Letters
If you get a piece of correspondence from a court, it is natural to worry and to expect the worst. You do not want to get a letter from the court unless it is in the context of a current legal case that you initiated. For example, it is a relief when the court… Read More »
Do Defendants Testify at Their Own Criminal Trials?
You are probably not the only person you know who has ever been arrested. Statistically speaking, the chances are highest that the people you know who have been arrested either pleaded guilty and received plea deals, or else the court dismissed the case quickly. Most criminal cases do not go to trial, although every… Read More »
Floridian’s Guide to Quaaludes
Like so many once prevalent pharmaceutical drugs, methaqualone is now a Schedule I controlled substance. It was once popular with doctors to prescribe as a sleeping pill. The problem is that it was a little too popular with patients. If you think Ambien makes you behave out of character, you should see how the… Read More »
The Jury and Your Criminal Case
If you plead not guilty in a criminal case, the next step is to prepare for a jury trial. In criminal cases, it is the jury, not the judge, who decides whether you are innocent or guilty. The Seventh Amendment grants the right to a jury trial, and over time, federal and state laws… Read More »
Federal Agency Says It’s High Time Federal Law Rescheduled Cannabis
It is a piece of news that cannabis aficionados across the United States have been hoping to hear for a long time. Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a memo to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in which it recommended removing cannabis from the list of Schedule I controlled… Read More »
South Florida Physician Avoids Prison Time After Case Involving Sexual Assault Allegations
If you have never faced criminal charges, it may be hard to understand why the vast majority of defendants in criminal cases plead guilty. People do not wish to serve time in prison or on probation when the alternative is to simply go on with their lives as if the criminal case had never… Read More »
Financial Crimes in Florida Businesses
People who want to be seen as perfect angels tend to gravitate toward certain professions, and business is not one of them. A certain Machiavellian streak can be useful in entrepreneurship. Likewise, being able to sound like you are 100 percent sure of things that you cannot possibly predict is a talent of many… Read More »
What Not to Do at a Traffic Stop: Tales of Florida Man
Anger and fear are normal responses when a police officer pulls you over while you are driving and seems sure that you have drugs in your car, even though nothing about your driving behavior indicates that you are under the influence of drugs, and even though no drugs are visible in your car. Police… Read More »
All About Carfentanil, an Extremely Potent Synthetic Opioid
Clickbait is no longer a new tactic in sensational journalism, and people scroll right past headlines that include phrases like “jaw dropping” and “you won’t believe.” Fentanyl isn’t new, either, but it is scary enough that people will still click on headlines that include the phrase “scarier than fentanyl.” Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about… Read More »
What Is the Ideal Speed for a Speedy Trial?
Some types of legal cases are faster than others. For example, most traffic court cases resolve in a single day. On the other end of the spectrum, inheritance disputes can drag out for years; Charles Dickens’ Bleak House, in which a probate case had been going on for decades, is a fictional example, of… Read More »
All About Arraignments
Only a small fraction of arrests lead to a criminal trial, but many more of them get as far as the arraignment. An arraignment is the first hearing in a criminal case. It typically occurs about three days after the arrest. At the arraignment, the court formally notifies the defendant of the charges, and… Read More »
Two New Changes to Florida Cannabis Laws
Floridians know more about citrus than people in most parts of the world do. We know a Clementine from a tangelo and a grapefruit from a pomelo, and to the surprise of everyone, we have been known to wolf down kumquats in a single bite, peel and all. Despite our superior knowledge and impeccable… Read More »