Category: Blog

          Florida's sentencing guidelines determine sentences for felony offenses (except for death-penalty cases) based primarily on the following two factors:   The conduct associated with the offense.  (For example, manslaughter is a Level 7 on the guidelines which means that that particular crime has 56 sentencing points.) An individual's criminal history.  (So, for example, if someone has 5 […]

When someone seeking to have her criminal-history record sealed or expunged files the appropriate paperwork with the Court including a certificate of eligibility issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, that person is legally entitled to have her record sealed unless the judge hearing the case finds that there is a good reason to […]

          The rule that governs the expunction of criminal history records in Florida states that “any request for expunction of a criminal history record may be denied at the sole discretion of the court.” Nevertheless, Florida law has consistently held that the words “sole discretion” do not permit judges to arbitrarily deny requests for expunctions. […]

          The Double Jeopardy Clause, which is contained in the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, states that no person shall "be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb."             The Double Jeopardy Clause is designed to protect individuals accused of committing crimes against the […]

          Imagine the following scenario:  You have been charged in federal court with one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.  After reviewing the prosecutor's evidence against you, you decide that it is in your best interest to plead guilty to the one count that you have been charged with.  Your lawyer then obtains a […]

It is becoming more and more commonplace to hear news accounts of individuals who were convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to death, and then released years later after it was discovered (typically through DNA testing) that they were actually innocent. Whenever a horrific story like this appears, someone who favors the death penalty invariably states […]

          It has long been the law in Florida that a person's probation cannot be violated based solely upon hearsay.  This particular rule of law was at issue in the case of Lewis v. State of Florida which was decided in 2008 by Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal.             In the Lewis case, Monica […]

          It is common knowledge that it is illegal for someone who has been convicted of a felony to possess a firearm.  But what is not so commonly known is that it is also a federal crime for a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess a firearm. […]

It used to be the case that anyone convicted of driving with a suspended license in Florida three or more times was guilty of a third-degree felony carrying with it a maximum penalty of five years in prison. But in July 2008 the law changed to the extent that certain individuals convicted of driving with […]

       Florida law provides that under certain circumstances an individual may have his name removed from the sex offender or sexual predator registry.  However, before that can occur, the judge deciding the matter must determine that removal of the person's name will not conflict with federal law.           In a recent case called Miller v. State […]