| Read Time: < 1 minute | Domestic Violence

Thousands charged with domestic violence in Florida

Domestic violence charges are taken very seriously by law enforcement officials in Florida. Domestic violence charges can result in going to prison, paying fines and even having restricted or no access to your family. Law enforcement officials in Florida recently finished a domestic violence crackdown across the state. The Florida Sheriff’s Task Force arrested more than 2,500 people on...

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| Read Time: < 1 minute | Criminal Defense

Forms of mortgage fraud evolve with economy

Among clichés about the crime of fraud, the one about selling swamp land in Florida is one of the most enduring examples. It refers, on its face, to a type of real-estate scam in which someone is offered a supposedly can’t-miss investment opportunity. Real-life mortgage fraud is often quite different than this caricatured scenario would suggest. As we discussed...

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| Read Time: < 1 minute | Criminal Defense

Your cellphone and law enforcement efforts: Part I

Over the past several months, a great deal of public outrage has been voiced over the fact that the federal government regularly spies on the electronic communications of both Americans and foreign citizens. The privacy implications of this story are so vast that they can be difficult to fully contemplate. They are so widespread as to appear almost abstract....

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| Read Time: < 1 minute | Drug Charges

The Absence of Justice in Life Sentences for Non-Violent Crimes

We have previously discussed that one of the primary aims of the American criminal justice system is to hold criminal offenders appropriately accountable for their actions. Tragically, decades of mandatory minimum sentencing laws and other “tough on crime” approaches have produced punishments that are often grossly disproportionate to the criminal wrongdoing of low-level convicted offenders. A large number of...

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| Read Time: < 1 minute | Sex Crimes

Florida cases grapple with important sex crime issue

Recent cases filed in Florida court ask important questions about a seemingly straightforward sex crime law. In the majority of states, including Florida, it is considered a sex crime to have sexual intercourse with a partner if you have a sexually transmitted disease and have not disclosed this information to your sexual partner. This law seems fairly straightforward at...

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| Read Time: < 1 minute | Domestic Violence

What to do if you have been charged with domestic violence

Being convicted of any criminal wrongdoing can affect your life in a myriad of ways. But being convicted of domestic violence charges can uniquely impact your access to your children, your right to legally carry weapons and even your ability to remain in your own home. For these and a host of other reasons, it is critical that you...

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| Read Time: < 1 minute | Sex Crimes

Another Sex Sting in Osceola County

Law enforcement conducted yet another undercover child-sex sting operation in Osceola County.  The obvious hope is to arrest would be child molesters and abusers.  The people who were caught up the sting will most likely be arrested for charges of traveling to meet a minor or solicitation of a minor. Let’s be clear nobody wants children to get hurt or...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Sex Crimes

Orlando TV coverage of sex crime accusation found wanting

When an allegation of a sex crime has been made and a suspect has been arrested, Orlando TV stations will often give the arrest sensationalist coverage. A subsequent release of a suspect or an acquittal at trial is typically given far less coverage, if any at all. We were reminded of this pattern when Orange County deputies recently arrested...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Drug Charges

Why the drug war is doomed

An article in Forbes by Jacob Sullum examined the economics of the war on drugs.  I have read plenty of articles which looked at the amount of money that the United States has expended in the war on drugs including law enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration.  However this is the first article that I have seen which looks at this from...

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| Read Time: 2 minutes | Drug Charges

Black Market Drug website SILK ROAD finally closed for business

Its taken years for the FBI to catch up with the black market website Silk Road and shut them down. The black market drug sales have been going on for years and escaping the grips of federal criminal law enforcement while playing a simple cat and mouse game to avoid detection. The FBI is now accusing Ross William Ulbricht of...

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