It was a neighborhood dispute turned ugly. Even the defense attorney for one of those involved would concede his actions were criminal. But he insisted the more than five dozen phone calls, containing “disgusting and vile messages,” were misdemeanor rather than felony offenses. A Palm Beach County jury agreed. Now,…
Florida is fairly permissive with regard to firearm purchase and possession, but there is a major exception: Felons. In the state of Florida, it is illegal for those convicted of felonies to possess firearms and/or ammunition. There are two general exceptions to this. The first is when a convicted felon…
Violations of probation in Florida can be extremely serious matters. Many criminal cases are resolved through plea agreements that offer plaintiff an opportunity to avoid a lengthier jail or prison term by submitting to community control (i.e., probation). However, a person who does not abide by the terms of that…
A father in Davie recently came under police scrutiny after he allegedly shot his 12-year-old daughter on accident while teaching her about gun safety. Police decided ultimately not to arrest him. The girl was admitted to a local hospital with a gunshot to her left forearm, and the injury wasn’t…
A mother and her two adult children were arrested after an apparent attempt at group shoplifting ended in violence, with two workers alleging they were spat on and battered. The incident reportedly happened in Sunrise, where authorities arrested a 59-year-old woman, her 27-year-old son and her 20-year-old daughter. According to…
Florida law enforcement and prosecutors are extremely tough on individuals whose alleged criminal activities are believed to have been committed in connection with gang activity. F.S. 874.04 is the statute that governs gang-related offenses and enhanced penalties. A gang enhancement essentially boosts whatever the level of the underlying crime to…
A scorned paramour who posts nude images or video clips of an estranged ex-lover isn’t likely to deemed great dating material. But as of this moment, they probably won’t face criminal charges, at least in Florida. That is almost certainly going to change very soon. The practice, dubbed “revenge porn,”…
Dozens of cases linked to allegedly racist former ex-Fort Lauderdale police officers have been dropped by prosecutors, according to recent news reports. As of this writing, 12 felonies, 19 misdemeanors and one juvenile case had been dropped, while another 20 were being analyzed. Each of these cases had one thing…
There are tens of thousands of Floridians currently under community control – also known as probation – following conviction for a crime. The standard terms of this control usually involve some type of regular meeting with a probation officer, no contact order with the victim, potentially a restitution order, routine…
The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled all Florida juveniles convicted of homicide and sentenced automatically to life imprisonment must now be resentenced under a new law passed last year. The ruling addresses the issue of retroactivity for Miller v. Alabama, which was a U.S. Supreme Court decision that barred life…