Category: Blog

Just because the police handcuff you does not necessarily mean you're under arrest.  That's what the Florida Supreme Court ruled in a case called Reynolds v. State of Florida.   In Reynolds, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that it is legal for a police officer to handcuff someone if the officer reasonably believes that it […]

On February 10, 2008, I posted an article entitled "When Are Miranda Warnings Required?"  In that article, I stated that the police are required to give a person Miranda warnings only when that person is in custody and is being interrogated by the police.  After writing that article, I came across a recent Florida case which […]

For several years it has  been the law in the United States that if the police illegally seize someone, then any contraband that the police find on that person--such as guns or drugs--cannot be presented at that person's trial.  This is sometimes referred to as the doctrine of the "fruit of the poisonous tree." However, when […]

Many people who have grown up watching TV mistakenly believe that the police must always give a person Miranda warnings as soon as they begin speaking with him.    From watching television, many people know that Miranda rights include the following:   1. You have the right to remain silent—you do not have to talk. […]

Many people who are convicted of DUI are eligible to obtain a work permit while their driver's license is still suspended.  Florida statute section 322.271 authorizes two different types of work permits: 1.  A business-purposes-only permit "means a driving privilege that is limited to any driving necessary to maintain livelihood, including driving to and from […]

If a person is convicted of DUI in Florida, his driver's license is suspended by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.  How long his license is suspended for varies depending upon such things as how many DUI convictions he has and when they occurred.  Florida statute section 322.28 lists the following periods of […]

The amount of fine in a DUI case depends upon such things as whether the person has any prior convictions for DUI, whether the person's blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol level was 0.20 or higher when driving, or whether the person had a minor in his vehicle while driving. Florida statute section 316.193 lists the possible […]

The amount of jail time that a judge can sentence a person to in DUI cases depends upon such things as whether the person has any prior convictions for DUI, whether the person's blood-alcohol level or breath-alcohol level was 0.20 or higher when driving, or whether the person had a minor in his vehicle while […]

A new website called Florida Lawyers Blog Watch has been designed to track the latest online commentary by 36 different lawyers currently blogging in Florida. This site presents the 50 most recent blog postings by Florida attorneys. The purpose of Florida Lawyers Blog Watch is to present a stream of Florida lawyer commentary which will […]

If a police officer stops your car for, say, speeding and then smells an odor of marijuana when he walks up to your car window, Florida law states that that officer has probable cause to believe that a violation of Florida's narcotic's laws has occurred.  When that happens, the officer is legally entitled to search the entire […]