Category: Blog

          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 […]

           If you were to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ("FDLE") to do a background check on either yourself or someone else, that department would search various state and federal databases for records of such things as arrests, warrants, and domestic violence injunctions.  An article that I wrote on […]

 A recent article by Will Hanlon, a Tampa criminal attorney, discusses a change to the sentencing process in Missouri's criminal courts which could come to Florida.  This change to the factors which judges could consider during sentencing is so important for Florida taxpayers that our lawmakers should examine it.   

           The Innocence Project has identified the six most common causes of wrongful convictions.  They are:   Eyewitness misidentification Unvalidated or improper forensic science False confessions or admissions Misconduct by the police or prosecutors Informants or snitches Bad lawyering             The Innocence Project found that of the first […]