The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether to uphold a federal law that prohibits individuals subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing firearms. The case is U.S. v. Rahimi, and it involves a Texas man accused of striking his girlfriend during an argument and later threatening…
The charge of domestic violence often conjures up images of bruises, black eyes, and broken bones. But one of the most serious Florida domestic violence offenses often leaves no marks at all. If you are arrested for domestic violence by strangulation in Fort Lauderdale, it’s important to understand that this…
If you’re arrested in Broward County, you might qualify for a Florida criminal case outcome that involves “withholding adjudication.” As a Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer can explain, this is a type of case outcome that isn’t a conviction – but it isn’t an acquittal or dismissal either. If you’re…
When it comes to domestic violence arrests and prosecutions, the State of Florida does not discriminate or give a pass to those in same-sex relationships. F.S. 741.28 defines domestic violence as any assault, battery, sexual violence, stalking, kidnapping or false imprisonment involving a family or household member by another. The…
Police and other law enforcement officers are increasingly asking people to turn over their cell phones, whether in the course of a traffic stop, after a motor vehicle collision or in the course of investigating the crime. A record number of people in America now have smartphones – nearly 80…
Florida lawmakers are considering a pre-arrest diversion program – something many counties and judicial circuits already offer – that would be uniform throughout the state. HB 1197 and companion bill SB 1392 would create two separate pre-arrest diversion programs in each judicial circuit in Florida. The measure calls for a…
In the 1980s and into the 1990s, many states adopted severe drug sentencing policies that resulted in packed prisons across the nation. Corrections costs were driven to near bankruptcy and communities, families and individuals’ lives were torn apart – all for drug offenses that were often non-violent and usually related…
He’d just turned 18 and, according to police, was celebrating this milestone with a joyride in a stolen BMW late last month. But in those predawn hours, the teen is accused of using his cell phone and not paying attention to the road, causing him to slam into a sport…
The high-profile murder-for-hire plot case of Dalia Dippolito is slated for a second jury trial before the end of the year, now that the Florida Supreme Court has refused to hear a request from defendant to toss out the charges. In the matter of Dippolito v. Florida, justices gave no…
Florida State University football team’s strength & conditioning coach was suspended for a month without pay following his Florida DUI arrest in Tallahassee, following a blow-out party with crew members of the “Showtime” network. According to The Tallahassee Democrat, Coach Vic Viloria spent the evening drinking whiskey on the Florida…