Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

June 1, 2015

Kendrick v. State – Crimes, Cell Phone Location Data and The Fourth Amendment

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. The law requires that with only a few exceptions, law enforcement officers have to get a warrant before they can conduct a search and seizure upon a suspect.

Most modern technology we enjoy today – cell phones and computers in particular – did not exist when these protections were written. That means legislators and the courts are constantly trying to keep pace in determining how and when these laws apply and what exactly constitutes a “search” in the digital sphere.

Cases like the recent Kendrick v. Florida, before Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, underscore this point.
Continue reading

May 29, 2015

Milam v. Commonwealth – Unlawful Entry by Officers

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Police officers may not enter one’s dwelling, absent consent by owner or a warrant, except in the most extreme circumstances. Such a case might involve the reasonable belief that someone inside is in danger.

Beyond that, any evidence collected as a result of unlawful entry – no matter how powerful – may not be used against a defendant in a court of law.

This point was underscored yet again in the recent case of Milam v. Commonwealth, wherein officers entered a fraternity house connected to a Kentucky university without a warrant.
Continue reading

May 27, 2015

Youth Justice Bill to Limit Juvenile Convictions Passes Florida Senate

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A measure that would inject some common-sense into the impossibly stringent sentences imposed on young, non-violent offenders in Florida is gaining widespread support.

Passing by a vote of 37-1 in the Florida Senate, HB 99 would increase the use of civil citations for juveniles who run afoul of the law for crimes like trespassing or shoplifting. It would also grant law enforcement officers discretion to simply issue a warning and notify parents if a juvenile admits to committing a non-violent misdemeanor. The law even allows repeat misdemeanor juvenile offenders to participate in the civil citation diversion program, as opposed to limiting the option to first-time offenders.

The twin bill in the state senate is SB 378.

The effect of this legislation on the lives of minors could be huge.
Continue reading

May 23, 2015

DUI Manslaughter Defendant Gets No Jail Time

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

One of the key pieces of evidence in many criminal Florida DUI cases is the breathalyzer test, typically conducted with a brand of machine known as the “Intoxilyzer.” It is designed to measure a person’s blood-alcohol content by analyzing particles released in one’s breath.

But the science behind the machines has been sketchy, and there have been more than a few successful challenges to admitting this evidence. This can have a profound impact on a case, as evidenced by the recent outcome in a South Florida DUI manslaughter case.

According to news reports, a fatal accident in Bonita Springs in 2011 set off an emotional, four-year legal battle. Much of it was centered on whether the court should allow the results of the driver’s breathalyzer test, which indicated she had a blood-alcohol level of between .138 and .146 – nearly twice the legal limit of .08.
Continue reading

May 21, 2015

Reed v. Pettit – Sobriety Checkpoint Arrest Challenged

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Although the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints has been challenged repeatedly across the country, it has consistently been upheld.

That being said, police agencies are held to strict standards regarding how these operations must be carried out.

Those include officers having a valid reason for establishing the checkpoint (high number of DUI arrest or alcohol-related accidents in a certain area). There must also be a specific plan regarding which vehicles will be stopped (i.e., every third car, every other car). Any deviation from that plan must be explained and may be grounds to challenge a subsequent arrest.
Continue reading

May 14, 2015

Implied Consent Means Punishment for Refusal to Submit to Alcohol Testing

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Florida law requires drivers arrested for a DUI to take a breath, urine or blood test if the arrest is lawful and the officer has probable cause to believe you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Defendants may be asked to take more than one test and in order to be in compliance with the law, have to agree to all of them.

Refusal to submit to these tests will result in a one-year license suspension for the first-time offense, and that refusal could be used against you in criminal court.

There is much debate about whether refusal to testing actually helps a case. First of all, the license suspension is mandatory, regardless of whether you are later convicted of a Florida DUI. Also, the state is not required to show your blood-alcohol level was 0.08 percent or higher, which the legal limit for 21-and-over drivers. The state can use other circumstantial evidence to secure a conviction, including the fact that you refused the drug or alcohol testing. They might also point to officer observations of glassy eyes, slurred speech, the smell of alcohol or behaviors behind the wheel that might indicate intoxication. It’s worth noting too that in the event of an accident, investigators can force you to undergo alcohol testing involuntarily, so long as they first obtain a warrant signed by a judge for it.
Continue reading

May 10, 2015

“Revenge Porn” Soon to Become Illegal in Florida

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

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,” is the subject of SB 538, a measure on sexual cyber-harassment. Recently passed by the Florida Senate 38-2, the bill is on its way to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk for final approval. Most predict he will sign it.
Continue reading

May 7, 2015

Fort Lauderdale Identity Theft Arrest Requires Strong Defense

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A Fort Lauderdale man arrested for identity theft is accused of heisting the identities of others in order to open store credit cards in both Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

The investigation has been ongoing for a full year, since last April, when a Pembroke Pines man reported to police someone used his identity to open a store credit card at Nordstrom’s and charge thousands of dollars worth of merchandise to it. The alleged victim said he’d never been to the store and had never tried to open a line of credit with the firm.

Store managers told police the man opened the account with a driver’s license that contained the name, address and birth date of the victim, although the photograph was different. The store closed the account, and turned over surveillance video to officers. Using that information, police were able to spot the vehicle used by the suspect and got the license plate number.
Continue reading

April 29, 2015

Coffey v. Shiomoto – Rising Alcohol Content in DUI Case

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

The case of Coffey v. Shiomoto involved a woman who was arrested for DUI, pleaded guilty to “wet reckless” (a lesser charge available in California, where this case originated) and then fought to have her administrative license suspension vacated.

Similar to what happens in Florida, a person arrested in California for drunk driving will automatically have his or her license suspended. Challenging license suspension is done through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

In this case, what she argued was the theory of rising blood alcohol as a defense. It’s based on the knowledge that there is a time lapse between when someone consumes a drink and when the alcohol from that drink becomes fully absorbed into the body. What this means is that a person may consume alcohol, get in a motor vehicle and be under the legal limit to drive. However, as time wears on, and while they continue to drive, their blood-alcohol may exceed the legal limit.
Continue reading

April 28, 2015

Roop v. Florida – Homicide Conviction Affirmed, Lack of Remorse Weighed

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Several sociologists, psychiatrists and law school professors have in recent years sought to answer the question of whether a defendant’s perceived matters in criminal cases.

For example, the “Capital Jury Project in South Carolina,” by researchers of law at Cornell University delved into the issue of remorse in capital murder cases: The role it plays and how jurors perceive a defendant as remorseful. They studied more than 150 juries in that state, and concluded a defendant’s remorse or lack thereof did matter in capital case sentencing, though not with every defendant. When crimes were perceived as especially vicious, remorse didn’t tend to matter.

More recently, there was the analysis published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, which explored the fact that defendant remorse is generally accepted as a mitigating factor in capital murder sentencing in the legal system and concluded the ways in which jurors determine whether defendants are genuinely remorseful.
Continue reading