Category: Blog

          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 […]

          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 […]

          In Florida, the crime of false imprisonment is defined as "forcibly, by threat, or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning, or restraining another person without lawful authority and against her or his will."  If the confinement is of a child who is less than 13 years old, it is against her will only if it occurs […]

          In the case of Gray v. State of Florida, Mr. Gray was convicted of kidnapping based on the following facts:             "Gray entered a convenience store in Fernandina Beach on February 24, 2004, at around 11:00 p.m., wearing a mask. He seized the clerk by the hair, threatening to blow her head off […]

Florida appellate courts have repeatedly said that simply moving a robbery victim at gunpoint from one room to another, even if a door is closed and the victim is ordered not to come out, does not constitute the crime of kidnapping.   For example, in the case of Cole v. State of Florida, Mr. Cole […]

          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. […]