Fort Lauderdale declared Beach Place, a popular outdoor mall in front of the beach on A1A, a nuisance to the city due to reported drug dealing and various other criminal activities in and around the bars and outlet shops of Beach Place. Lee Feldman, the Fort Lauderdale City Manager, threatened possible closure of the retail complexRead More
Boynton Beach Police Officer Accused Of Rape | Seeking Pretrial Release
Stephen Maiorino, a married Boynton Beach police officer and a father of two, has been accused of on-duty rape and is seeking pretrial release. The prosecutor called the officer a danger to the victim and the rest of the community. The defense attorney claims the sexual encounter was “consensual”. Maiorino is facing two counts ofRead More
Search & Seizure | Fourth Amendment
Search & Seizure The United States was founded on personal liberties. When America’s Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, they sought to protect the people from a villainous government. The Fourth Amendment allows us to live free from unreasonable, general searches performed by law enforcement officers and their agents. The United States Supreme Court has recognizedRead More
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel | Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 An appeal based on the Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, is an appeal of last resort. It is used when all other appeals have been exhausted. This appeal is a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, in which the defense attorney was unprepared, orRead More
Double Jeopardy | Tuttle v. State
Double Jeopardy Tuttle v. State Depending on which crime an individual is charged with determines the severity of penalties someone may face if ultimately convicted. As we have discussed in other posts, the prosecutor’s decision on which charge to file matters. In Tuttle v. State, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals reviews a case inRead More
Florida Supreme Court | Recording Cannot Be Used As Evidence
Two-Party Consent Law The Florida Supreme Court ruled in McDade v. State of Florida, that secretly recorded statements by the victim of a crime cannot be used as evidence against the defendant; this applies even in cases of child sex abuse, or neglect. It was unanimously decided by the justices that the FloridaLegislature would haveRead More
Child Neglect | Gun in Toddler’s Mouth
Video of Toddler with Gun in Mouth Parents Arrested | Child Neglect & Criminal Recklessness Parents from Evansville, Indiana, are facing charges of criminal recklessness and child neglect after police found a video of their one-year-old child placing a gun in her mouth, which police later identified as a .40-caliber handgun. According to the report, aRead More
Colorado v. Schaufele | Driving Under the Influence
Driving under the influence of alcohol is a common offense in the United States of America. Sobriety tests and blood analysis are two common ways of testing for alcohol consumption. The offense is a misdemeanor and therefore rarely gets to the Supreme Court. Recent questions have however arisen pertaining as to whether warrants to conductRead More
Drug Trafficking | State v. Sanchez
Drug Trafficking Charge Not All Charges Are Equal There are often completely different outcomes in similar criminal cases depending on the statute an individual is charged with. Prosecution must be accurate and precise in their charging decisions. Charging someone with the wrong crime can result in charges being dropped; cases are lost all the timeRead More
Most Common DUI Question Answered
Most Common DUI Question Answered: What Do I Do If I Am Pulled Over? The moment you see those blue lights flashing in the mirror, your heart skips a beat and you begin to have sweaty palms. Your mind starts to race and you ask yourself – what do I do now? Knowledge is power.Read More