Category: Blog

All police interrogations should be tape recorded so that there is an accurate record of what was said both by the suspect and by the police.  The following story about one particular interrogation illustrates this point:  NEW YORK (AP) -- A teenage suspect who secretly recorded his interrogation on an MP3 player has landed a […]

Where can convicted sex offenders live?  This is becoming an increasing problem as laws are continually being passed that limit where convicted sex offenders can live.  For instance, in Florida, persons convicted of certain sex offenses are not permitted to live within 1,000 feet of any school, day care center, park, or playground. The following […]

What is the "Ten Day Rule" in a Florida DUI case? That is the rule which says that if you have been arrested for DUI in Florida and you refused to blow into a machine or if you refused to give a sample of your blood or urine, your driver's license will be suspended for […]

Just this last week, still another story appeared in the news about a man who was a victim of mistaken identification.  That mistake resulted in his being wrongfully incarcerated in a Florida prison for almost 14 years.  The story appeared in the Sun-Sentinel on October 29, 2007 and is reprinted here in its entirety: When […]

If you are arrested in Florida, do you have to have a trial in order to resolve your case?  I am sometimes asked this question by clients who are understandably nervous about the prospect of having their case decided by a group of jurors who will be complete strangers to them.  My answer is typically no; a person […]

 I frequently receive telephone calls from people stating that they need to get their Florida criminal record sealed or expunged because it keeps rearing its ugly head whenever they apply for jobs.  I ask them what type of work they do because some jobs require that they disclose their criminal record even though it has been […]

I often get phone calls from people asking me if they can get their criminal record sealed or expunged in Florida because they are having trouble getting a job once their potential employer finds out about their record.  In order for me answer their question, I first have to get some information from them such as whether […]

I sometimes get a frantic phone call from a wife or mother stating that one of her family members has just been arrested and asking whether her loved one will be able to bond out of jail.  I ask what charge the loved one was arrested for.  If the charge is a crime of violence listed […]

In a previous blog posting, I argued for rationality in sentencing given the widespread problem of prisoner overcrowding in the United States generally and in Florida particularly.  After publishing that posting, I came upon an article that appears on the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' website.  That article points out the disparity in sentencing between […]

Time Magazine These days, judges are handing out prison time like it's candy.  I have personal knowledge of one case in which a person was convicted of kidnapping his girlfriend and then sentenced to life in prison even though the victim told the judge that she only wanted her boyfriend to be sentenced to ten years […]