Category: Blog

If you were to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ("FDLE") to do a background check on either yourself or someone else, that department would search various state and federal databases for records of such things as arrests, warrants, and domestic violence injunctions.

A recent article by Will Hanlon, a Tampa criminal attorney, discusses a change to the sentencing process in Missouri's criminal courts which could come to Florida.  This change to the factors which judges could consider during sentencing is so important for Florida taxpayers that our lawmakers should examine it.        

           The Innocence Project has identified the six most common causes of wrongful convictions.  They are:   Eyewitness misidentification Unvalidated or improper forensic science False confessions or admissions Misconduct by the police or prosecutors Informants or snitches Bad lawyering             The Innocence Project found that of the first […]

           The Innocence Project has identified the six most common causes of wrongful convictions.  They are:   Eyewitness misidentification Unvalidated or improper forensic science False confessions or admissions Misconduct by the police or prosecutors Informants or snitches Bad lawyering             The Innocence Project found that of the first […]

In the case of Anderson v. State of Florida, a judge denied Mr. Anderson's petition to seal his criminal record because he had already received a "break" from the criminal-justice system when adjudication was withheld in his case and when he was allowed to successfully terminate his probation early.  Anderson appealed.

           In a case from New York called People v. LeGrand, the issue was whether the trial judge was correct in refusing to admit expert testimony regarding the reliability of eyewitness identifications.  In refusing to admit such testimony, the judge in the LeGrand case ruled the same way that most judges […]

          A privileged communication is a statement that you cannot be forced to disclose in a legal proceeding because it was made in connection with a legally-protected relationship.  Some of the privileged communications recognized by Florida law are:   Journalist's privilege; Lawyer-client privilege; Psychotherapist-patient privilege; Sexual assault counselor-victim privilege; Domestic violence advocate-victim privilege; Husband-wife privilege; […]

In the case of Edwards v. Arizona, the United States Supreme Court ruled that when the police question someone who is in custody and that person expresses a desire to deal with the police only through a lawyer, the police have to stop questioning that person unless he or she voluntarily initiates further communication with […]

In the case of A.J.M. v. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the issue was whether the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had to issue a certificate of eligibility to seal a criminal-history record where the charge to be sealed was resolved without an adjudication of guilt, but where remaining charges stemming from the original arrest […]

On August 3, 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 which reduces sentences for crack-cocaine crimes.