Category: Blog

          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 […]

I previously wrote an article on this website entitled "U.S. Supreme Court Modifies Search-Incident-to-Arrest Exception to Warrant Requirement" in which I discussed the case of Arizona v. Gant.  In that article, I stated that:   "[The Gant decision held] that the police are authorized to search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only […]

          One question that I am often asked is whether it is possible for someone to get his name removed from Florida's sex offender list and, if so, how?              In an attempt to answer that question, I looked at the frequently-asked-questions page from the section of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ("FDLE") website pertaining to sexual […]

The following article was published Monday, February 8th in the Palm Beach Post News, and was written by Susan Spencer-Wendel. It refers to one of my recent cases. IQ tests key in Palm Beach County trial that is longest delayed death penalty case in state WEST PALM BEACH — His is one of the longest-running […]