A former Florida college student’s decision to speak with a detective regarding two alleged sexual assaults he allegedly committed at a party the night before will be used against him in court. Initially, the trial court granted a defense motion to suppress those statements, meaning they couldn’t be used in…
Drug-free zone laws in Florida are designed to make children and communities safer by limiting sales of illegal substances near schools, daycare centers, parks and churches. Per Florida Statute Section 893.13(1)(e), those caught selling certain narcotics within 1,000 feet of such facilities could face penalty enhancements. In some cases, it…
Acquiring a new paint job on your car isn’t grounds for police officers in Florida to pull you over. This might seem a common-sense conclusion, but it was one recently decided by the Florida Supreme Court in State v. Teamer, where officers tried to use such logic to justify a…
It’s been estimated by the Pew Research Center that some 37 percent of Americans – or more than one-third – own a firearm or have a firearm in their home owned by someone else. While the laws governing their use, sale and storage have become more restricted over the years,…
For many college students, dorm life is the first taste of freedom and adulthood. But a dorm room is not exactly like a private residence when it comes to searches. What you need to understand is that while you are protected against unlawful searches and seizures from police, the school…
Law enforcement has been targeting illicit drug use and sales for a long time now. But actually profiting? An explosive, six-month investigation by the Sun-Sentinel revealed that police agencies are literally making millions of dollars by aggressively pursuing drug arrests in Fort Lauderadale and throughout South Florida. In 2011 and…
When U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder stood before the world and promised that his office was committed to curbing “draconian” minimum mandatory sentences for lower-tier drug offenders, it sounded awfully familiar to many Floridians. For years, a bi-partisan coalition of activists in the state have been trying without success to…
Not only are arrests for marijuana possession in Florida astronomically high, they also reveal a stark racial bias, according to a recent report issued by the American Civil Liberties Union. Our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorneys understand that while the national average revealed that blacks were four times as likely…
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Florida Supreme Court’s earlier ruling dismissing all evidence obtained following an erroneous indication of drugs during a traffic stop. Our Broward criminal defense attorneys are troubled by this precedent, which holds that an indicator from a trained K-9 unit is…
The sales of synthetic marijuana and cocaine products continue to proliferate in South Florida, despite bans at the local, state and federal levels. That’s according to a recent report by The Sun Sentinel. Our Broward County criminal defense lawyers are well aware of the continuing trend, and remain one step…