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          In Florida, the crime of false imprisonment is defined as "forcibly, by threat, or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning, or restraining another person without lawful authority and against her or his will."  If the confinement is of a child who is less than 13 years old, it is against her will only if it occurs […]

          In the case of Gray v. State of Florida, Mr. Gray was convicted of kidnapping based on the following facts:             "Gray entered a convenience store in Fernandina Beach on February 24, 2004, at around 11:00 p.m., wearing a mask. He seized the clerk by the hair, threatening to blow her head off […]

Florida appellate courts have repeatedly said that simply moving a robbery victim at gunpoint from one room to another, even if a door is closed and the victim is ordered not to come out, does not constitute the crime of kidnapping.   For example, in the case of Cole v. State of Florida, Mr. Cole […]

          In Florida, the crime of kidnapping can be committed in four different ways.              "The term 'kidnapping' means forcibly, secretly, or by threat confining, abducting, or imprisoning another person against her or his will and without lawful authority, with intent to:   1.  Hold for ransom or reward or as a shield or hostage. […]

          In the case of State of Florida v. Figarola, Mr. Figarola was charged with child abuse because he struck his son Carlos twice for refusing to eat food which Mr. Figarola had prepared and served.  Mr. Figarola split Carlos' lip when he struck him, and he also caused Carlos to choke while trying to […]

          In the case of King v. State of Florida, Mr. King, who was a school administrator, was charged with child abuse based on the following facts:             "One of the disciplinary policies at Charlotte Regional Christian Academy is the use of     corporal punishment, and the parent of each enrolled student signs a form consenting […]

          In Florida, the crime of child abuse is defined as the:   (a)  Intentional infliction of physical or mental injury upon a child;   (b)  An intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury to a child; or   (c)  Active encouragement of any person to commit an act that results […]

        There are many websites that provide legal information, some sites being better than others.  In this article, I have provided links to several websites which contain legal information that hopefully you will find both interesting and useful.   1.  The United States Constitution.   2.  Opinions from the United States Supreme Court.   3.  The home page for the Federal Courts […]

The United States Supreme Court recently decided a case called Padilla v. Kentucky in which the issue was whether Mr. Padilla's lawyer provided him with ineffective assistance of counsel when he failed to tell Padilla that he might be deported from the U.S. after pleading guilty to drug-distribution charges because he was a lawful permanent […]

          I frequently get calls and emails from people telling me how difficult it is for them or for a family member to comply with various sex-offender restrictions.  Based upon the following article that appeared on January 22, 2010 in the Miami Herald, it appears that legislators in Miami-Dade County, Florida are being told the […]