Category: Blog

          In the courts of Florida, heat of passion is recognized as a defense to the crimes of first and second-degree murder.             Heat of passion is a mental state provoked by fear, rage, anger or terror that, combined with adequate provocation, is a defense to the crimes of first and second degree murder. […]

          On July 12, 2008, I wrote an article on this website entitled "How to Get a Criminal Charge Dropped" in which I discussed Florida's pretrial intervention programs [PTI] that are authorized by Florida statutes sections 948.08 and 948.16.  In that article, I stated that "[s]uccessfully completing a PTI program is one way of getting a criminal […]

          On September 20, 2008, I posted an article on this site which contains a videotaped recording of a police officer repeatedly using a taser on a man who was sitting on the ground by the side of the road in Washington County, Florida.  Fortunately, that man lived.  Yesterday, however, a man was tasered by the […]

          In a recent federal case called Buckley v. Haddock, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals was asked to decide whether a deputy sheriff's repeated use of a taser gun while trying to arrest a motorist by the side of the road in Washington County, Florida constituted excessive use of force in violation of the Fourth […]

          It is often the case that the evidence against persons charged with federal crimes is overwhelming while the sentences imposed are severe.  Because of that, many people who are charged with federal crimes are more interested in entering into a plea agreement with the prosecutor (who is called an Assistant United States Attorney) than […]

          During the 1990's, many people credited the revitalization of downtown West Palm Beach, Florida to then-Mayor Nancy Graham.  Graham's fortune has changed for the worse, however, as she is now facing criminal charges in San Diego, California.  The following story about Graham's current legal plight appears at voiceofsandiego.org:           Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 | City Attorney Mike Aguirre's […]

I recently posted an article entitled "11 Frequently-Asked Questions About Sealing Your Record in Florida." In that article, I noted that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) website contains several frequently-asked questions and answers about sealing criminal history records in Florida. This article discusses 11 more of those questions and answers. 1. If I […]

          If you think that the police cannot search your trash simply because you put it into your garbage can and place it in front of your home to be picked up by trash collectors, think again!  In the case of California v. Greenwood, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the police are allowed […]

            If you would like to get your record sealed or expunged in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Belle Glade, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Lake Park, Lake Worth, Lantana, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Riviera Beach, Royal Palm Beach, or Wellington, call me, attorney Ron Chapman, […]

          The Florida Department of Law Enforcement website answers the question regarding where registered sex offenders and sexual predators may live in Florida as follows:           "In very general terms, barring any exceptions as so outlined in Florida Registration Statute, if a subject is a registered offender, who has a released status (meaning he/she is […]