Category: Blog

           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 […]

           In the case of Anderson v. State of Florida, a judge denied Mr. Anderson's petition to seal his criminal record because he had already received a "break" from the criminal-justice system when adjudication was withheld in his case and when he was allowed to successfully terminate his probation early.  Anderson […]

           In a case from New York called People v. LeGrand, the issue was whether the trial judge was correct in refusing to admit expert testimony regarding the reliability of eyewitness identifications.  In refusing to admit such testimony, the judge in the LeGrand case ruled the same way that most judges […]

          A privileged communication is a statement that you cannot be forced to disclose in a legal proceeding because it was made in connection with a legally-protected relationship.  Some of the privileged communications recognized by Florida law are:   Journalist's privilege; Lawyer-client privilege; Psychotherapist-patient privilege; Sexual assault counselor-victim privilege; Domestic violence advocate-victim privilege; Husband-wife privilege; […]

          In the case of Edwards v. Arizona, the United States Supreme Court ruled that when the police question someone who is in custody and that person expresses a desire to deal with the police only through a lawyer, the police have to stop questioning that person unless he or she voluntarily initiates further communication […]

          In the case of A.J.M. v. Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the issue was whether the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had to issue a certificate of eligibility to seal a criminal-history record where the charge to be sealed was resolved without an adjudication of guilt, but where remaining charges stemming from the original […]

          On August 3, 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 which reduces sentences for crack-cocaine crimes.  An article that appears on my website, Federal Criminal Lawyer:  Frequently Asked Questions, looks at some of the details of this new law.

          Before someone can be lawfully convicted of both false imprisonment and robbery, it must be proven that the movement or confinement associated with the false imprisonment was not "slight, inconsequential, and merely incidental" to the robbery.  Such movement is considered slight and inconsequential when it is necessary or intertwined with the commission of the […]

          When someone is charged in an alleged drug conspiracy and that person is located in an automobile that has drugs in it at the time of his arrest, it is not enough that he is merely present in the car; there must also be “circumstances evidencing a consciousness of guilt” on his part before […]

          In order to get your criminal record sealed or expunged in Florida, there are certain legal requirements that you must meet before a judge is even allowed to consider whether he or she will grant your request to seal or expunge your record.  But if you do meet those requirements, a judge still is not required to […]