Category Archives: Criminal Law
Practicing Medicine Under False Pretenses
Illegal drugs and prescription drugs that are widely sold on the black market for recreational purposes are known as “controlled substances” because they are subject to the tightest legal controls regarding their use in clinical practice. Schedule I controlled substances have no legally accepted medical uses at all and are always illegal. The others… Read More »
Illegal Possession Of Sea Turtle Eggs
Florida law protects the nests and eggs of endangered wildlife species as much as it protects the endangered animals themselves. Perhaps you have seen signs in parks, or even in the grassy medians of shopping center parking lots, warning you to avoid disturbing the habitats of burrowing owls, and you might have even seen… Read More »
Unsuccessful YouTube Stunt Leads To Drug Charges
According to Florida’s Youthful Offender Law, if you get convicted of a crime you committed before you turned 21, the longest sentence you can get is six years of prison time, six years of probation, or some of each adding up to six years; longer sentences are only possible for violent felonies and repeat… Read More »
Impersonating A Law Enforcement Officer
Several months ago, police approached a man who was sitting in an ordinary looking parked car in a driveway in Florida and asked him why he was there. He said that he was a police officer and that monitoring the area was part of his duties, and he showed them a police badge to… Read More »
Can An Anonymous Letter Prove A Defendant’s Guilt?
Everyone has complaints about the effect that the Internet has on our lives. Most people complain that it competes for our attention, taking it away from the things that really matter, like family and sleep. For people who work in professions where evidence matters, such as medicine and law, have a specific pet peeve,… Read More »
What Is Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel?
What does it mean to have a fair trial? The Bill of Rights sheds some light on the matter, and case law has further interpreted it. For example, a fair trial should take place soon enough after the original accusations that the defendant does not have to spend years in suspense about his or… Read More »
Lottery Winner Arrested For Assaulting Police Officer During Trip To Florida
If you win the lottery jackpot, the lessons you will learn will be more valuable than anything you buy. Money can’t buy happiness. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Be careful what you wish for. No one is above the law. News stories about lottery winners fall into two categories. Either… Read More »
Florida’s Sentencing Guidelines For Youthful Offenders
People in their late teens and early 20s are legally adults. They can engage in adult activities such as marriage and getting tattoos, but the current version of you probably resembles your 25-year-old self more closely than it resembles your 20-year-old self. The criminal justice system acknowledges that the defendant’s age makes a difference;… Read More »
Does Hearsay Count As Evidence Or Gossip?
Talk is cheap, even when it is big business. These days, it seems like everyone aspires to make a living by running their mouth on social media, giving their reactions to other people’s reactions to videos depicting events that, in the grand scheme of things, are inconsequential. It is to everyone’s benefit that these… Read More »
Criminal Charges For Leaving Children Unattended
Florida law does not indicate a specific age at which children can stay home alone or for how long parents can leave children home alone before their behavior counts as neglect. Disagreements over when and for how long it is appropriate to leave children home alone are a frequent source of co-parenting disputes among… Read More »
