Category: Blog

         In the case of Clayton Harris versus the State of Florida, the Florida Supreme Court was asked to decide this question:  When does a drug-detection dog's alert to the outside of a vehicle provide a police officer with probable cause to search the inside of that vehicle without a search warrant? […]

It is a federal crime for a convicted felon to be in unlawful possession of a firearm.  The maximum sentence for that crime is typically 10 years in prison.  If, however, a convicted felon has three prior convictions for a violent felony or serious drug offense when he unlawfully possesses a firearm, the punishment increases […]

           The facts in the case of the State of Florida versus Jeffrey Singming Sun are as follows:             "A deputy arrested Jeffrey Sun's brother for driving under the influence. In the car, the deputy found a notebook. Seeing that the notebook contained information on different […]

In the case Mackle Vincent Shelton versus the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, United States District Judge Mary Scriven ruled that one of Florida's drug laws is unconstitutional because:   1.  It does not require prosecutors to prove that someone accused of violating that law knew that the controlled substance he had in his […]

In the case of Kevin Jackson versus the State of Florida, Mr. Jackson was convicted of racketeering (more commonly known as RICO), and conspiracy to commit racketeering. The relevant facts of Jackson's case are that:   In 1997 and 1998 the Miami-Dade Police Department began investigating drug sales which were occurring at Riverside Park in […]

          The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, more commonly referred to as RICO, is a federal law that provides for criminal penalties for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.               Florida has its own RICO law which requires that one have […]

          In the case of Joe Bryant versus the State of Florida, a jury convicted Mr. Bryant of the crimes of battery, handling or fondling a child under sixteen in a lewd, lascivious, or indecent manner, and showing obscene material to a minor.  The facts of Bryant's case are as follows: […]

          Florida law states that "a single indictment or information may, under proper circumstances, charge theft and dealing in stolen property in connection with one scheme or course of conduct in separate counts that may be consolidated for trial, but the trier of fact may return a guilty verdict on one […]

         In the case of Casey Steil versus the State of Florida, Mr. Steil was convicted of the crime of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer based on the following facts:             "At around 4:00 a.m., three officers in a restaurant went outside after […]

           In the case of Kopelovich versus Kopelovich, a domestic violence injunction was issued against Mr. Kopelovich based on the following facts:            Mrs. Kopelovich filed a form petition that asked her to describe the latest act or threat of violence that caused her to honestly fear imminent domestic […]