Medical marijuana remains a complicated topic in Florida. As you probably know, voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 2016 to authorize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. But this doesn’t mean you can simply roll your own joint and smoke it because you think you have glaucoma. The Florida legislature adopted extensive regulations to implement the voters’...
Continue ReadingIn Florida, vandalism is called “criminal mischief” and it is covered by Florida statute 806.13. If you have been accused of criminal mischief, you will need an aggressive criminal defense attorney on your team. Penalties can be quite serious, and you will need to begin building a defense right away. Defining Criminal Mischief In Florida A person commits criminal...
Continue ReadingEach year, thousands of teens move through Florida’s juvenile criminal justice system. However, questions continue to mount about whether the justice system is failing Florida’s young people. A recent story from ABC News has highlighted many of the problems with juvenile systems around the country, including in Florida. Basics of Juvenile Justice At the center of the juvenile criminal...
Continue ReadingThe opioid crisis continues to draw attention of the national media. The crisis has been used to explain everything from the increased mortality rates for some Americans to President Trump’s popularity in rural America. One aspect that has not drawn nearly enough attention is the link between opioid use and criminal history. According to recent research, however, the link...
Continue ReadingEveryone has a “youthful indiscretion” they would like to forget. Unfortunately, if that indiscretion left you with a criminal record, forgetting may not be so easy. There is a good chance a potential employer will inquire about your criminal history. So what do you do if you were convicted of a crime, and maybe even served some jail time?...
Continue ReadingThere’s a school of thought that believes smiling in your mugshot following a criminal arrest is a good idea. Public officials charged with crimes sometimes do this as a way of showing defiance or that they consider the charges politically motivated. But even private citizens are known to smile when the police take a mugshot, perhaps because they do...
Continue ReadingThe Fourth of July is a time for celebration. Of course, the first Independence Day was a tumultuous time for the nation’s founders–they were literally facing treason charges from the British Crown. Fortunately, few Orlando residents will find themselves in that kind of legal trouble today. But there are other more ordinary crimes that can lead to your arrest...
Continue ReadingMany Florida residents are accustomed to sharing their daily activities with friends via Facebook and other social media networks. But the darker side of this phenomenon was on display recently when a 22-year-old Tennessee man took to his Facebook page to confess to the murder of two people, including his own mother, shortly before taking his own life. According...
Continue ReadingDrugs are widely used in the United States, but it’s not just illegal ones that are leading to criminal charges and deaths. Prescription drugs have become an epidemic in the country over the past decade. People are living longer and relying on painkillers to help them feel good. The problem with prescription drugs, though, is that they stop working...
Continue ReadingThe mass shooting that happened in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is still on the minds of many. Victims who survived are still recovering from the tragedy. The 19-year-old boy who committed the crime is currently behind bars. But authorities believe that a threat still exists: the boy’s younger brother. While the boy...
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