Category: Blog

I am quoted in the following article which appeared February 7th in the St. Augustine Record and was written by Tiffany Pakkala .   The Manuel Tapes He's guilty — but was he set up? Legal experts differ There is no shadow of a doubt that former St. Johns County Commissioner Tom Manuel took $60,000 […]

A pardon has been defined as “the forgiveness of crime and the penalty associated with it.”  In Florida, it is the governor who has the power to grant pardons.  Assuming you are fortunate enough to obtain a pardon, does that automatically mean that you can get your criminal record sealed or expunged?  That was the […]

          In 2008, the Chief Judge in Palm Beach County Florida signed Administrative Order 4.605-9/08 which automatically dismisses the following types of cases:             1.  All nontraffic-related misdemeanor cases (for example, battery cases or trespassing cases) that have had no court activity for the past 5 years.             2.  All violation of probation cases […]

          Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5 states in part that "[a] person making an arrest within the United States must take the defendant without unnecessary delay before a magistrate judge, . . ., unless a statute provides otherwise."             But what happens if the police violate this rule and the arrested person confesses […]

The penalties are severe for drug trafficking in Florida.  For example, if a person is convicted in State Court of trafficking in 200 grams or more of cocaine but less than 400 grams, that person must be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 7 years and ordered to pay a fine of […]

          In a recent case called Michigan v. Fisher, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a police officer may enter a home without a search warrant to render emergency assistance to an injured occupant or to protect an occupant from imminent injury.  An article that I posted on my Federal Criminal Lawyer website examines […]

          According to Florida law, a judge is not allowed to deny an individual’s request to have his criminal record expunged simply because of the seriousness of the charge.  An article that I posted on my website Florida Criminal Records Frequently Asked Questions examines one case in which the judge mistakenly did just that.

I'm pleased to announce the launch of another FAQ style website for our firm. The Federal Criminal Lawyer FAQ, located at www.federalcrimefaq.com, answers common questions on a wide variety of federal crime topics, including sentencing, defenses, and types of federal crimes. The range of topics and questions answered run from standard definitions to more complex […]

A minimum mandatory sentence is a minimum prison sentence that a judge must impose for a particular crime, without consideration of mitigating circumstances. In federal court, there are only two ways to avoid such a sentence: safety valve and cooperation.  An article that I posted on my Federal Criminal Lawyer website examines these two provisions […]

         I previously published two articles on this website entitled "Florida Sentencing and Drug Court Programs" and "Amended Law Provides Additional Ways to Avoid Prison."  Both of those articles looked at new laws that make it possible for some people to avoid being sent to prison even though the Florida Sentencing Guidelines call for a prison […]