Category: Blog

          During the 1990's, many people credited the revitalization of downtown West Palm Beach, Florida to then-Mayor Nancy Graham.  Graham's fortune has changed for the worse, however, as she is now facing criminal charges in San Diego, California.  The following story about Graham's current legal plight appears at voiceofsandiego.org:           Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 | City Attorney Mike Aguirre's […]

I recently posted an article entitled "11 Frequently-Asked Questions About Sealing Your Record in Florida." In that article, I noted that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) website contains several frequently-asked questions and answers about sealing criminal history records in Florida. This article discusses 11 more of those questions and answers. 1. If I […]

          If you think that the police cannot search your trash simply because you put it into your garbage can and place it in front of your home to be picked up by trash collectors, think again!  In the case of California v. Greenwood, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the police are allowed […]

            If you would like to get your record sealed or expunged in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Belle Glade, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Lake Park, Lake Worth, Lantana, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Riviera Beach, Royal Palm Beach, or Wellington, call me, attorney Ron Chapman, […]

          The Florida Department of Law Enforcement website answers the question regarding where registered sex offenders and sexual predators may live in Florida as follows:           "In very general terms, barring any exceptions as so outlined in Florida Registration Statute, if a subject is a registered offender, who has a released status (meaning he/she is […]

          Florida statute section 933.09--sometimes called Florida's version of the so-called knock-and-announce rule--states that a police officer "may break open any outer door, inner door or window of a house, or any part of a house or anything therein, to execute [a] warrant, if after due notice of the officer's authority and purpose he or she […]

            If you have been charged with a drug crime in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Belle Glade, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Lake Park, Lake Worth, Lantana, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Riviera Beach, Royal Palm Beach, or Wellington, call me, attorney Ron Chapman, at 561-832-4348 […]

          On July 25, 2008, the Alaska Supreme Court declared Alaska's Sex Offender Registration Act unconstitutional.  In a blog that I posted on this website on June 5, 2008 entitled "Sex Offender Registration:  Is It Punishment?," I observed that "[i]n the case of Smith v. Doe, the [United States Supreme] Court ruled that Alaska's sex-offender registration statute did […]

        According to Florida statute section 812.014, it is a third-degree felony in Florida for a person to steal property that is valued at $300.00 or more but less than $5,000.00.  Although this law is perfectly straightforward, prosecutors sometimes have trouble actually proving that the stolen property had a value of at least $300.00 on […]

          When a person is placed on probation in Florida, the sentencing judge orders the person being placed on probation (the probationer) to complete certain conditions; he also orders the probation office to monitor the probationer's progress.  As long as the probation officer is simply supervising a specific, judge-ordered condition of probation, all is […]