Recent Blog Posts
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 »
Depositions in Domestic Violence Cases
When witnesses testify at trial in movies, the witness testimony often reveals surprising plot twists. In real life, it is still suspenseful for a defendant when a witness takes the stand at a criminal trial, even though the defendant already knows what the witness is going to say. What the defendant cannot predict is… Read More »
Wiretapping and Interception of Communications
Secret recording of conversations is a well-known tactic in criminal investigations, especially in cases involving conspiracy. In some cases, prosecutors will greatly reduce the charges against defendants or even grant them complete immunity from prosecution if the defendant will agree to wear a recording device and secretly record his or her conversations with conspirators. … Read More »
When Is Breach of Fiduciary Duty a Crime?
In many criminal cases, the person who accuses the defendant and claims to have suffered physical injury or financial losses because of the defendant’s actions is someone that the defendant knows. Consider that, in many cases involving sexual assault and illegal sexual contact, defendants have known the victims and their families for a long… Read More »
Florida Criminalizes Eight Synthetic Opioids
Opioids are not new, and neither is opioid abuse and addiction. Despite this, the opioid drugs most prevalent in the illegal drug supply change frequently, due to the availability and cost of these drugs and to new drugs being synthesized and sold legally or illegally. In the early 2010s, legal but poorly regulated pain… Read More »
The Sixth Amendment And Criminal Trials
Protecting people from excessive and unwarranted punishment and criminal prosecution is one of the foundations of a just society. The United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which are the first ten amendments to the Constitution, deal in various places with safeguards that protect people accused or suspected of crimes from unjust and… Read More »
Recreational Cannabis In Florida Gets One Step Closer To Ballot Initiative
If your only evidence was the number of people rolling joints in plain sight, it would be understandable if you thought that recreational cannabis was legal in Florida and had been since before you arrived here. In fact, cannabis laws in Florida have changed quickly over the past decade, but recreational cannabis use remains… Read More »
Can Florida Defendants Represent Themselves In Criminal Court?
Even if you do not go to jail, the costs of being a defendant in a criminal case add up. If you serve a probation sentence, you must pay all the costs associated with your probation, including drug testing and, if applicable, a GPS ankle monitor. The court can suspend your driver’s license, sometimes… Read More »
Direct File: A Nightmare For Florida Teens
Most adults, if they are being honest, will tell you of times when they engaged in dangerous or thoughtless behavior. Whether you regard the incidents from your youth that reflect the worst on your character with humor or horror most likely depends on the consequences. If a youthful mistake led to a disproportionate punishment,… Read More »
New Florida Law Seeks To Regulate The Production And Sale Of Kratom
Many tropical regions have plants that do more than just look beautiful and make food taste better. Plants of the genus Cannabis grow anywhere that the weather is warm enough. In Yemen and East Africa, there is khat. South America has coca and the ingredients of ayahuasca. In Mexico and southern Texas, you can… Read More »
Forgery Crimes And Florida Law
The pastor of New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Pompano, is currently facing charges for financial crimes, as well as theft, drug possession, and possession of a stolen firearm. His case is still pending, but the investigation began when parishioners complained that he had an unfair amount of control over the church’s funds and claimed… Read More »
Will The Jury Acquit You Just Because Your Accuser Has A Motive For Lying?
The jury cannot return a verdict of guilty unless the prosecution’s evidence and arguments leave no room for reasonable doubt, but to establish reasonable doubt, you must do more than just say, “He’s lying!” You must show why the exhibits that the prosecutors show do not mean what the prosecutors say they mean or… Read More »
