Category Archives: Criminal Defense
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 »
Federal Jury Acquits Man After Drug Bust at Fort Lauderdale Airbnb
Every person accused of a misdemeanor or felony in the United States has the right to a trial by jury, but in practice, very few defendants exercise those rights. The punishments are usually worse if a jury returns a guilty verdict at trial than if the defendant had pleaded guilty. Sometimes defense lawyers are… Read More »
Leesburg Woman Sentenced to Four Years for Stealing and Selling Patients’ Information
In October 2019, Stacey Hendricks of Leesburg was arrested for selling confidential patient information she illegally obtained in the context of her medical billing job. On three separate occasions in 2019, Hendricks sold a total of 20 images of patient records to undercover agents in Orange County. In January 2020, she pleaded guilty to… Read More »
NFL Player Pleads Not Guilty in South Florida Armed Robbery Case
As reported by 4 CBS Miami, DeAndre Baker of the NFL’s New York Giants was recently arrested on armed robbery charges in Broward County. Mr. Baker, who was a former high school football star in Miami, allegedly pulled a gun on and stole property from multiple men after a dispute arose at a party… Read More »
Woman Arrested After Refusing to Leave a Public Beach in Violation of a Miami-Dade County COVID-19 Order
According to a report from WPLG Local 10, Kimberly Falkenstine, a 33-year-old Miami woman, was arrested and charged with multiple criminal offenses for refusing to leave the beach at Lummus Park. Police allege that Ms. Falkenstine went on the beach in violation of a Miami Beach public safety order that closed the area in… Read More »
Supreme Court: Sixth Amendment Requires a Unanimous Jury Verdict for Serious Crimes
All defendants have a right to a fair trial. If you were charged with a crime, a fair trial is one in which a unanimous jury verdict is required for a conviction—at least as it pertains to serious crimes. On April 20th, 2020, the Supreme Court determined that the Sixth Amendment of the United… Read More »
Report: Miami Police Have Made At Least 16 Curfew Arrests
On March 26th, the City of Miami enacted a strict 10 PM curfew as part of its effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 (coronavirus). Under the local ordinance, residents are instructed to stay inside from 10 PM to 5 AM—unless their conduct falls under an exception. Failure to comply with this law… Read More »
Florida Pastor Arrested After Defying COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Order
In an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), state and local officials throughout the United States have issued a wide range of different legal orders—many of them temporarily closing down ‘non-essential businesses’, banning large gatherings, and requiring people to stay home or shelter in place. As of April 1st, 2020, Florida… Read More »
Supreme Court Decision Gives Individual State Prosecutors Additional Authority to Bring Criminal Charges Against Undocumented Immigrants
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the Supreme Court of the United States recently released a decision that, in effect, will give individual states additional legal authority to prosecute undocumented immigrants. On March 3rd, 2020, the nation’s top court released its opinion in the case of Kansas v. Garcia—deciding in favor… Read More »
Dozens Arrested in Joint Law Enforcement Operation in Miami-Dade County
According to reporting from NBC 6 South Florida, several dozen people have been arrested in a large “gang violence” and “gun violence” crackdown in Miami-Dade County. In a joint effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the operation—which is being called ‘Operation Triple Beam’—resulted in the arrest of more than 150 suspects… Read More »
Arrest Made in South Florida’s Decades Old “Pillowcase Rapist” Case
On January 20th, 2020, the Miami Herald reported that Robert Eugene Koehler, a 60-year-old Florida man, has been arrested on sexual battery charges. Investigators believe that Koehler is likely responsible for many other crimes. Indeed, they believe committed a spree of sexual assaults that took place across Southeastern Florida in the early and mid… Read More »
