In criminal prosecutions in Florida, the state has to establish a “chain of custody” for certain kinds of evidence in order for it to be admitted. Prosecutors have to show that what they are offering into evidence is exactly what they purport it to be. For example, the drugs being…
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…
In the recent case of Green v. Florida, a man convicted of trafficking cocaine appealed on several grounds, most notably for the fact the court allowed officers to testify he was arrested in a high-crime neighborhood. Although the Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld conviction, it wrote to address this…
For the death of a 6-year-old boy and injuring three others, a 20-year-old Davie man is facing serious felony charges that could send him to the prison for the next 35 years or more. According to news reports, the suspect, who was 19 at the time of the wreck, had…
“Extortion” sounds like one of those charges that might commonly be associated with 50s-era mob bosses. However, we are seeing an increasing number of extortion charges filed with the advent of technology. Our increasing reliance on technology makes companies vulnerable to threats of targeting their websites or databases if they…
For the first time in the history of the Sunshine State, a jury in Broward County acquitted a man for growing a Class I illegal substance based on his argument of medical need. Defendant was the first in Florida to argue medical need in a marijuana case, despite the fact…
For a long time, the stigma of prostitution primarily stung those arrested for selling their bodies. However, there is a growing awareness that in many of those cases, those individuals may not have had a choice in the matter. Because of this, and the fact that a prostitution conviction can…
Following a Broward Circuit judge’s conviction for driving under the influence in Boca Raton, it was agreed she would suffer additional sanctions. Those included a 20-day, unpaid suspension from the bench, a public reprimand and a $5,000 fine As well, she must undergo an evaluation for alcohol abuse and addiction…
In the last handful of years, state lawmakers have handed down increasingly tougher laws pertaining to leaving the scene of a crash – particularly when it involves a fatal crash. Those efforts include a measure last year that increased the penalty for leaving the scene of a deadly crash to…
George Zimmerman is the man most prominently known to America as the neighborhood watch leader who fatally shot unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin in Central Florida in 2012. Although he was acquitted of murder in the case, the 31-year-old hasn’t stayed out of trouble, mostly with regard to violent ends…