The Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Judge Weinstein’s sentence of a 19 year old for distribution of child pornography. The Circuit Court’sdecision found that the mandatory minimum five year sentence did not violate the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment and required Judge Weinstein to, at a minimum, sentence the defendant to the required...
Continue ReadingThe Lautenberg Domestic Violence Gun Confiscation Law states that if a person is convicted of a domestic violence involved misdemeanor, he or she cannot ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms or ammunition, and also adds to the list of “prohibited persons”. In this case, a prohibited person can now be a person convicted of a misdemeanor involving domestic violence...
Continue ReadingI recently had a client complete the Seminole County Mental Health DiversionProgram. This program allows those with mental health issues and who elect to participate an opportunity to have their criminal case dismissed. It is a fairly rigorous process and is overseen by Judge John Woodard. I believe this is a wonderful program and Judge Woodard deserves a...
Continue ReadingA Florida woman has been accused of embezzling $190,000 from her employer. Police state that she was purportedly overpaying herself and also endorsing checks from the office in order “to make personal credit card payments.” She is now charged with felony grand larceny. Though the woman apparently works for a medical office, the specific location of the employer was...
Continue ReadingFDLE makes a press release on September 24, 2013 boasting about prescription drug deaths falling across Florida. The supply of the drugs has been shut down so much that doctors and pharmacists are scared to prescribe and fill certain opiate pain medication. Doctors and pharmacists have been the target over prosecution across the state. We need FDLE and the state...
Continue ReadingWhen individuals are accused of committing criminal activity, their attorneys must oftentimes hire experts to refute claims made by the prosecution and to ultimately prove the innocence of the accused. Similarly, when trying to disprove an individual’s criminal defense strategy, prosecutors also must oftentimes hire expert witnesses to support their claims. A telling new study conducted by psychologists from...
Continue ReadingThe ACLU is filing a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The law suit is alleging that the DMV is violating the due process and equal protection rights of individuals by suspending their license without a hearing to show that the person has the ability to pay their outstanding fees. These outstanding fees can...
Continue ReadingLaw enforcement agencies targeting drug crimes in Central Florida make another major bust. These Law enforcement agencies shut down another synthetic marijuana and K2 operation. (this drug is also referred to as “Spice”) Local law enforcement along with Drug Enforcement agency (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have all been collaborating to target these similar operations. These agents...
Continue ReadingIn 2010 this blog reported that Backages.com was becoming the new Craigslist.com when it came to “adult services” on the web. Well two years later and it still looks like backpages.com has continued down this road. The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that a landlord was suspicious of people coming to a tennant’s apartment. Law enforcement was notified and discovered that the...
Continue ReadingSometimes a single judge ruling in a solitary case can influence other judges all over the nation to follow his or her lead. Recently, criminal defense and criminal justice advocates hoped that a judge in New York would rule in such a way that a domino effect of similar rulings would occur all over the nation. Individuals and groups...
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