Category: Blog

In the case of Hume Hamilton versus the State of Florida, Mr. Hamiton was an 82-year-old man who was out walking his dog on a leash when a cat got too close to the dog. The two animals began fighting, so Mr. Hamilton tried to separate them while keeping the leash on his dog. Unfortunately, […]

In the case of Thomas Smith versus the State of Florida, Mr. Smith was convicted of possession of methamphetamine and possession of chemicals used to make methamphetamine. The case began when the police executed a search warrant at a home that was leased by a woman named Kelly Jiminez. The police found a Gatorade bottle […]

In the case of Dwight Parker versus the State of Florida, a police officer made a routine traffic stop of Mr. Parker's car after which he found a gun and some drugs located in the car. Before trial on the drug charges, Parker's lawyer asked the judge to not let the prosecutor mention the gun […]

In the case of Juan Guardado versus the State of Florida, Mr. Guardado was involved in a three-vehicle crash. Two of the passengers in Guardado's car were killed. When a Trooper from the Florida Highway Patrol arrived at the scene of the accident, he saw Guardado in the driver's seat with injuries to his face, […]

Last week, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to retroactively cut federal prison sentences for drug crimes. The Commission voted to retroactively decrease the drug table by two offense levels for all drug types. The result is that approximately 50,000 people who are currently incarcerated in the federal prison system for drug crimes could be […]

In the case of the United States versus Quartavious Davis, Mr. Davis was convicted of several armed robberies that occurred at different times and in several different locations. In order to prove that Davis was in the general vicinity of the robberies when they occurred, the prosecutor presented "cell site location information" at Davis' trial. […]

In the case of Riley versus California, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the police generally may not, without a warrant, search the contents of a cell phone that is taken from someone who has been arrested. The facts in the Riley case are as follows: David Riley was stopped for a traffic violation […]

In the case of Melva Gay versus the State of Florida, a police officer stopped a car for failing to come to a complete stop at at stop sign. Melva Gay was a passenger in that car. The officer asked the driver to get out of the car and then asked him if he could […]

In the case of the State of Florida versus Dennis Baker, some security guards at a department store located inside a shopping mall saw Mr. Baker take a videotape recorder and leave the store without first paying for it. When Baker saw the guards coming towards him, he put the recorder down inside the mall […]

In the case of the State of Florida versus Melissa Hope Williams, Ms. Williams moved to Florida in 2005 from Michigan where she had been adjudicated delinquent for a misdemeanor sex offense and required to register as a sex offender. She was 11 years old when she committed her crime and 13 years old when […]