Category Archives: Criminal Defense
Mistrials and Florida Law
When a filmmaker ends a movie on an ambiguous or anticlimactic note, it is either annoying or a stroke of brilliance, depending on your perspective. For example, in many scary movies, the main characters manage to avert the danger that forms the main plot of the story, only for the movie to suggest, in… 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 Report Argues That Juvenile Detention Does Not Help Young People Stay Out Of Trouble
Whether you are 26 or 76, you probably would not want to meet your 15-year-old self face to face. Compared to adults, young people are impulsive and impressionable; they lack perspective, and compared to their elders, many of them lack self-control. It stands to reason that the state’s response should be different when a… Read More »
How Does A Diagnosis Of Mental Illness Affect Your Criminal Case?
It seems like everyone is talking about mental health and mental illness these days, but the relationship between the criminal justice system and defendants’ mental health remains poorly understood. Initiatives that treat substance use disorder as an illness rather than a predisposition toward criminal behavior help people charged with drug crimes achieve sobriety and… Read More »
Expungement Of Criminal Records In Florida
In a court of law, defendants in criminal cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and they have the right to discuss the prosecution’s case against them and to prepare defenses and present them in court. In the court of public opinion, things are very different. How many times have people judged you, and… Read More »
Recreational DNA Testing Leads To 2021 Arrest In 2007 Rape Case
Getting a DNA test for genealogy purposes sounds like a lot more fun than it actually is. On the one hand, it is a wonder that you can find out so much about a person’s ancestry from a simple blood test or cheek swab; consumer DNA testing (as opposed to court-ordered or forensic DNA… Read More »
BSO Supervisor Arrested On Allegations Of Workers’ Compensation Fraud
The people who answer the phone when you call 911 have a responsibility to take all calls seriously. No matter how strange the emergency that the caller is describing, the dispatchers must send first responders to your location until it becomes clear that there is no emergency. (For this reason, making fraudulent calls to… Read More »
Palm Beach County Chiropractor Pleads Guilty to Fraud for Durable Medical Equipment Scheme
You are not the only person who has ever been astounded by the huge numbers on your billing statements from doctors’ offices and hospitals. The bills are still expensive even after your insurance pays its share, but the amounts billed to insurance companies and Medicare are nothing short of astronomical. Where does all that… Read More »
Former Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Gets Five Years in Plea Deal for Sober Home Patient Brokering Scheme
The shady machinations of South Florida’s addiction treatment centers and sober living homes in the second decade of the 21st century have become the stuff of legend. Tales of “druggy buggies” transporting people on a desperate quest for sobriety from one candy-colored beachfront house-turned-rehab to another have featured in everything from “Florida man” memes… Read More »
