Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

July 16, 2014

State v. Teamer – Vehicle Color Discrepancy Not Grounds for Traffic Stop

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

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 stop that ultimately led to a drug trafficking arrest and conviction.

Fort Lauderdale drug defense lawyers see this ruling as an important one in that it narrows the circumstances under which police can claim a legitimate stop based on non-criminal activity.
Continue reading

July 8, 2014

Tolbert v. State – Wrongful Admission of Firearm Evidence Sends Case Back to Court

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.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, the fact remains these weapons are legal. What’s more, our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorneys know that evidence of gun possession – absent a clear connection to a crime – is not admissible in criminal court to be used against the defendant.

This issue recently arose before Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal in Tolbert v. State, where justices cited the 2011 Florida Supreme Court decision Agatheas v. State as a guide.
Continue reading

July 1, 2014

U.S. Supreme Court: Warrant Needed for Cell Phone Search

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

In May, the Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling in Smallwood v. Florida in which justices held police in this state would need a warrant before searching a person’s cell phone.

Now, in a new decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, the same is true nationwide.

Our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers know that the greatest significance of the Riley v. California case in the wake of the Smallwood ruling is that these rights have been solidly cemented. The Riley case sets a precedent and leaves defendants less vulnerable to a challenge on this issue.
Continue reading

June 29, 2014

Constant v. State – 3rd DCA Remands Single-Witness Case Back for Trial

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

Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers have long known that eyewitness identifications in criminal cases are fraught with all kinds of potential problems. Setting aside those who have motivation to lie, memory errors are a major issue when someone’s reputation and future is at stake.

Extensive research by legal and psychology scholars has made it clear that memory is fallible, subject to suggestion, bias and other outside factors.

So when a criminal case is based in large part on the foundation of eyewitness testimony, defense lawyers have an obligation to carefully question these accounts. In the recent case of Constant v. Florida, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed a robbery conviction and remanded a case for a new trial, following evidence that there were prosecutorial errors in the single-eyewitness case.
Continue reading

June 22, 2014

State v. Jones – Case Felled by Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine

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

When a traffic stop is predicated on illegal pretenses, everything police discover as a result becomes void and barred from the courtroom.

This is the basis for the “fruit of the poisonous tree” legal doctrine, and our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers know that it is intended not only to serve as a protection for the accused, but also to encourage police officers to have legitimate reasons before initiating a traffic stop. Otherwise, they recognize their efforts will be for naught.

This point was illustrated recently in the case of State v. Jones, which was reviewed by Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.
Continue reading

June 15, 2014

Brandon v. Florida – Admission of Hearsay Evidence Prompts New Trial

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

A Florida man convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon will receive a new trial, following an appellate court’s finding that admission of a 911 transcript absent the testimony of the caller was erroneous.

The burden of proof is always on the prosecution in criminal cases, but it’s important to effectively challenge evidence that doesn’t meet appropriate legal standards. These are the kinds of arguments an experienced Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer can raise on your behalf, which could ultimately result in the scales tipping in your favor.

The case of Brandon v. Florida stemmed from an alleged assault that was called into 911 dispatchers in Duval County. The woman reported she had been assaulted by the defendant, who threatened to kill her while simultaneously pointing a gun at her.
Continue reading

June 9, 2014

Smallwood v. Florida – Cell Phone Search Without a Warrant Unconstitutional

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

The Florida Supreme Court has determined that a police search of cell phone content without a warrant is unconstitutional.

The case of Smallwood v. Florida establishes an important precedent in Florida that our Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers hope will ensure greater constitutional and privacy protections for the accused.

Although prosecutors attempted to argue cell phones searched in the course of a valid arrest were no different than any other item found on a person (citing the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. v. Robinson), the state high court rejected this theory.
Continue reading

May 23, 2014

Kunkel v. Stanford – Challenging Florida Domestic Violence Injunctions

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

A domestic violence injunction is not as bad on your permanent record as a criminal domestic abuse conviction, but the person on the receiving end can still suffer serious consequences.

As a public record, it can be viewed by anyone, even when the allegations aren’t proven. This can have a direct impact on career and educational opportunities. It can also result in the restriction of gun ownership rights and other freedoms. Sometimes referred to as “restraining orders,” injunctions can arise out of a criminal case or be requested through a civil filing. They may also significantly impact the outcome of child custody and divorce proceedings.

Hiring an experienced domestic violence defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale can help to effectively defend those facing injunctions or criminal charges. In many cases we can reduce the chances that a temporary order will be granted or that a temporary order will give way to a permanent one.
Continue reading

May 15, 2014

Violation of Florida Accident Report Privilege Sends DUI Case Back to Trial

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

A man convicted of felony DUI in Florida has been granted a new trial by Florida’s First District Court of Appeals, which ruled a violation of the state’s accident report privilege in Wetherington v. Florida was not harmless.

For Lauderdale DUI defense lawyers recognize that this decision underscores the rights of defendants in the course of a DUI investigation.

Florida Statute 316.066 holds that information given to a law enforcement officer for the purpose of completing a crash report, as required by Florida law, will be done so without prejudice to the individual reporting. That is, no such report or statement can be used as evidence in any trial, civil or criminal.
Continue reading

May 13, 2014

Fate of Florida DUI Offenders Rests in Lawmakers’ Hands

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

A 36-year-old with a long history of driver’s license suspensions and DUI convictions is facing yet another charge after Broward County Sheriff’s Office officials say he wrecked his motorcycle into a car while drunk in Fort Lauderdale.

Based on the statement by the judge at his first appearance, it doesn’t seem as if the court will be inclined to grant him reprieve. The judge was quoted as saying the defendant is an “extreme danger” to the community with multiple driver’s license revocations and suspensions, no insurance and a record of fleeing and eluding police and driving impaired.

DUI defense lawyers in Fort Lauderdale know that for many, ignition interlock has been the go-to deterrent for repeat offenses. However, that only works if the driver is legally allowed to drive a vehicle. Now, lawmakers have proposed a new solution that essentially amounts to forced sobriety.
Continue reading