Category: Blog

           In the case of Sheriff versus State of Florida, an individual named Myron Sheriff was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in heroin.  He appealed his conviction to Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal.  That appellate court reversed his conviction and in doing so stated the following:          […]

           In the case of Gregory Schlicher versus State of Florida, Mr. Schlicher was convicted of six counts of conspiracy to purchase cocaine as well as two other charges.  The facts of his case are as follows:             "During  the  trial,  the  [prosecutor]  presented  a  number  of  […]

          In the case of Negron Gil De Rubio versus the State of Florida, Mr. Negron was convicted of both conspiracy to commit racketeering and conspiracy to commit drug trafficking after evidence was presented at his trial that he and others were involved in smuggling cocaine into Florida from Puerto Rico and […]

          In the case of Cline vs. State of Florida, the issue was whether Mr. Cline could have two different criminal-history records sealed.  An article that I wrote on my website Florida Criminal Records:  Frequently Asked Questions looks at how one Florida court answered this question.

          In the case of Arizona v. Johnson, the United States Supreme Court addressed the following question:           Whether a police officer may lawfully frisk a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a minor traffic infraction when the officer has no reason to believe that the passenger has committed, is committing, […]

           I recently represented an individual who, while going though security at Palm Beach International Airport, was stopped because he had a Smith & Wesson Tactical Pen in his carry-on luggage.  According to the police report, it was "a metal pen that is made for stabbing."  (I think Smith & Wesson […]

          The Columbia Human Rights Law Review has published a very informative handbook of legal rights and procedures for people in prison.  It is called the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual, and some of its chapters include: Introduction:  how to use the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual Definitions of words used in the Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual […]

          I am sometimes asked whether the information contained in a criminal-history record that has been sealed or expunged is ever released to anyone.  An article that I wrote on my website Florida Criminal Records:  Frequently Asked Questions tries to answer this question.

           In the case of Carr v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA") does not apply to sex offenders who traveled to another state or country before that law went into effect in 2006.  An article that I posted on my […]

Last week, CBS News published the following article regarding a significant change in the law pertaining to the charge of marijuana possession in California:   "California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on [September 30, 2010] signed into law a bill that reduces the charge for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a […]