The Florida Supreme Court has sided with state prosecutors over a criminal defendant in a due process dispute that created conflict between Florida appellate courts. In the case of Patterson v. Florida, the state high court sided with the 1st District Court of Appeals, which found no due process violation in a case…
Drivers in states where marijuana is legal cannot be pulled over in other states by cops who make assumptions based on solely on the origin of the license plate. That’s according to a ruling by federal justices with the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Tenth Circuit. Mind you, this ruling…
Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal recently denied Wellington polo magnate John Goodman’s motion for a rehearing in his DUI manslaughter case. However, the court did submit several questions “of great importance” to the Florida Supreme Court. In Goodman v. Florida, Goodman asked the court to rehear his evidence regarding…
When it comes to red light cameras, states have come to different conclusions about them. According to the Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA), 21 states plus the District of Columbia have laws that permit some form of red light camera use, while 10 states prohibit use of them. Another 19…
Two stolen prescription pads. That’s all authorities say was needed to forge 140 prescriptions for approximately 17,250 doses of powerful prescription drugs, which were then resold on the streets of South Florida, likely for tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Authorities allege the group operated in Boynton Beach…
U.S. prosecutors were dealt a significant blow recently with a decision by justices with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in their decision regarding 10 consolidated appeals of persons facing federal marijuana charges. What the court ruled was that prosecutors can’t use federal tax dollars to prosecute…
A 20-year-old woman reportedly engaged to a 62-year-old man was shot dead, as was a 50-year-old male friend, allegedly by her fiance who police say was jealous. Authorities told the Sun Sentinel that George McCray, who has a long list of prior felony convictions, shot the pair after discovering the…
There have been a number of recent high-profile cases of theft of motor vehicles in South Florida in recent weeks, with defendants in each case facing serious penalties. Still, it’s important to note that grand theft auto and carjacking, while both major crimes, are inherently different, which means the approach…
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people sentenced to life in prison as minors deserve to have their cases reviewed to determine whether there is any chance they may in fact be eligible for parole. Now, the effect of that retroactive split 6-3 decision is that courts…
Bank robbery has historically been a man’s game. Even dating back to the days of “Pretty Boy Floyd” and “Baby Face Nelson,” bank robberies generally involved men who organized a hostile takeover of the entire bank, holding up the entire business at gunpoint, forcing managers to open the vaults, taking…