Recent Blog Posts
The Entrapment Defense And Drug Cases
Defendants in criminal cases sometimes base their defenses on the concept of illegal search and seizure, a practice forbidden by the Fourth Amendment. In other words, they claim that they committed the crime, but the police had no right to catch them doing it. For example, this defense applies if a defendant had illegal… Read More »
Post-Conviction Relief: How And Why
Only a tiny fraction of defendants in criminal cases make it their goal to have the last word; most of them just want to put their criminal cases behind them. The vast majority of cases result in guilty pleas; defendants want their sentences to start and end as quickly as possible, so that they… Read More »
Affirmative Defenses: Do You Dare To Confess While Maintaining Your Innocence?
In civics class, your teachers make it sound like the answer to any question about whether you did what the police are accusing you of doing is a simple “yes” or “no.” You begin your adult life thinking that, if the answer is, “yes, I did it,” then your criminal defense lawyer helps you… Read More »
Mistrials And Florida Criminal Law
Due process of law requires that, in order to ensure a fair trial with a fair outcome, all parties must do everything right. Prosecutors must disclose the evidence that they plan to present at trial, so that the judge can decide whether it is admissible in court, and the defendant can come up with… Read More »
Pink Cocaine Isn’t Cocaine, And It Isn’t Always Pink
There’s a new drug making an appearance in South Florida’s nightclubs, except that it is not all that new; the drug was first synthesized in 1974, which means that it is possible for you to be a full 20 years younger than the drug and still be too old to go to nightclubs. Meanwhile,… Read More »
Does Simple Refusal To Snitch Count As Obstruction Of Justice?
The term “obstruction of justice” refers to a wide variety of actions, as well as some instances of lack of action. You can be charged with obstruction of justice if you attempt to interfere with any aspect of the criminal process, from the initial arrest all the way to the trial. Furthermore, not only… Read More »
If You Got Acquitted At Trial, Thank The Sixth Amendment
Remember that scene in various film adaptations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass where, one minute, Alice is casually exploring the strange world in which she finds herself, and the next minute she is on trial? Before she can even find out what crime she is being accused of, the… Read More »
Domestic Violence Allegations: Hard To Prove Beyond A Reasonable Doubt, But Harder To Live Down
The standard of evidence required to convict a defendant of any felony charge is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” but the most reliable ways for prosecutors to do this vary from one case to another. In financial crime cases, records of bank transactions and online money transfers don’t lie. In drug trafficking cases, the prosecution… Read More »
When Does A Parenting Mistake Become A Crime?
How many parents have left their children home alone while the parents worked, because they had no other feasible options? Probably more than admit to doing so. Failure to provide adequate supervision for children or placing them in unsafe situations can get parents into legal trouble, though. It can lead the court to place… Read More »
Jury Acquits Doctor Accused Of Inappropriately Touching Patient
When you are on trial in criminal court after pleading not guilty to committing a crime, you do not have to prove to the jury that you are a perfect angel. You must only prove that the prosecution’s evidence leaves reasonable doubt about whether you committed the crime of which you are accused. Although… Read More »
