Drug CrimesThe Worst Consequences for a First-Time Offender for Drug Possession in Florida
Are you facing a first-time drug possession charge in Florida? The Sunshine State's strict drug laws can cast a dark shadow over your future. Even as a first-time…
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Drug CrimesAsset Forfeiture and How Ron Chapman Can Help You
Asset Forfeiture Asset forfeiture is a confiscation of assets by the state. It can be civil or criminal. It typically applies to alleged proceeds of crime. Asset…
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Which is more dangerous? A Krispy Kreme Doughnut or Methamphetamine?
Sometimes drug evidence listed by local authorities as methamphetamine can turn out to be something else. This recent story from the Orlando Sentinel describes how…
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Drug Kits Used By Police Can Sometimes Send Innocent People to Jail
I once represented a client who was arrested and formally charged with trafficking in heroin . However, when that so-called heroin was sent to the lab at the Palm…
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Married TV Reporters Charged with Child Abuse After Cocaine Found in Their 4-Month-Old's System
Yahoo.com News recently reported the following bizarre story . Two former local TV personalities have been indicted in Arizona for child abuse after their…
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Can the Police Search You and Your Car If They Smell Marijuana?
If you are accused of committing a drug-related crime , it is critical you have an experienced criminal defense attorney to handle your case. Knowing your rights…
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Be Careful When Pleading Guilty to a Drug Crime
When someone is charged in Palm Beach County with committing a drug-related crime such as possession of marijuana or possession of cocaine, he or she is given a…
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Drug Convictions Overturned Where Drugs Were Found in Girlfriend's Home
In the case of Thomas Smith versus the State of Florida , Mr. Smith was convicted of possession of methamphetamine and possession of chemicals used to make…
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Retroactive Federal Drug Sentence Reductions
Last week, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to retroactively cut federal prison sentences for drug crimes. The Commission voted to retroactively…
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It was Illegal for the Police to Take Pills from a Woman's Purse
In the case of Melva Gay versus the State of Florida , a police officer stopped a car for failing to come to a complete stop at at stop sign. Melva Gay was a…
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Remember the Prescription Defense
In the case of Daniel Shedd versus the State of Florida , Mr. Shedd was convicted of possession of alprazolam and hydrocodone as well as marijuana. The facts of his…
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Drug-Sniffing Dogs and Search Warrants
In the case of Florida versus Jardines , the p olice took a drug-sniffing dog to Jardines' front porch where the dog gave a positive alert for illegal drugs. Based…
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Conspiracy to Distribute Narcotics
In the case of the United States v. Alvin Gaskins , Mr. Gaskins was convicted of conspiracy to distribute narcotics. He appealed. The court of appeals reversed his…
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How Does a Prosecutor Prove that Someone Had an Intent to Sell Cocaine?
In the case of Derek Martin versus the State of Florida , Mr. Martin was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to sell. Martin appealed, and the court of…
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Probable Cause and Drug-Detection Dogs
In the recent case of the State of Florida versus Clayton Harris , the United States Supreme Court held that a police officer had probable cause to search Mr.…
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You Are Not Guilty of Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs in West Palm Beach, Florida Unless the Prosecutor Can Prove that You Agreed with Someone Else to Violate a Drug Law
One of the things that a prosecutor must prove in order to convict someone of conspiracy to distribute drugs is that the accused person agreed with someone else to…
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If You Have Been Charged with Conspiracy to Commit a Drug Crime in Palm Beach County, Florida, You May Have a Defense
In the case of Betsy Dieujuste versus the State of Florida , Ms. Dieujuste was convicted of the crime of conspiracy to traffic in oxycodone. She appealed and won…
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How to Determine When a Drug Dog's Alert to a Vehicle is Reliable
In the case of Clayton Harris versus the State of Florida , the Florida Supreme Court was asked to decide this question: When does a drug-detection dog's alert to…
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Florida Drug Law Declared Unconstitutional
In the case Mackle Vincent Shelton versus the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections , United States District Judge Mary Scriven ruled that one of…
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The Prescription Defense
In the case of McCoy versus the State of Florida , Cynthia McCoy was charged with committing the crime of trafficking in hydrocodone based upon her possession of a…
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The 2010 Crack-Cocaine Amendment
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,…
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When is an Automobile Passenger Not Guilty of Conspiracy to Commit a Federal Drug Crime?
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…
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Amended Law Provides Additional Ways to Avoid Prison
Earlier this month, I published an article on this website entitled Florida Sentencing and Drug Court Programs in which I noted that if a criminal defendant has…
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Florida Sentencing and Drug Court Programs
Florida's sentencing guidelines determine sentences for felony offenses (except for death-penalty cases) based primarily on the following two factors: The conduct…
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Florida Sentencing and Drug Court Programs
Florida's sentencing guidelines determine sentences for felony offenses (except for death-penalty cases) based primarily on the following two factors: The conduct…
Read More → - Drug Crimes
Unless You Object to the Police Searching Your Home Now, You May Not Be Able to Complain Later
Wayne R. Lafave , a noted criminal-law scholar, has said that "there is no dispute that [police searches based upon consent] affect tens of thousands, if not…
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When is Consent to a Police Search Invalid?
In many cases in which the police want to search someone's car or home, they try to obtain the owner's verbal or written consent so that they do not have to get a…
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Florida's New Marijuana Grow House Law
If you have been charged with a drug crime in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Belle Glade, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Lake Park, Lake Worth, Lantana, North…
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How to Get a Criminal Charge Dropped
Florida statute section 948.08 and section 948.16 pertain to what are called "pretrial intervention programs." If someone has been charged with a crime in…
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19 Types of Drug Paraphernalia in Florida
According to Florida law , the term "drug paraphernalia" includes many different types of devices that can be used to consume or to make controlled…
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Drugs in Automobiles: Who's Guilty?
When the police search a car and find drugs such as marijuana or cocaine, the person located closest to the drugs is often arrested even though there were other…
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Have You Been Entrapped?
Entrapment occurs when the police, or someone working for the police, cause a person to commit a crime using methods that create a substantial risk that the crime…
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Smoking Can Be Hazardous to More Than Just Your Health
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…
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Suspension of Your Driver's License in Drug Cases
I am sometimes contacted by individuals who have been charged with the crime of possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana. In Florida, that crime is a misdemeanor.…
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Crack Cocaine Amendment to be Applied Retroactively
Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal guidelines on sentencing for cocaine violations are advisory only, rejecting a lower court ruling…
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Disparity in Sentencing for Crack Cocaine Offenders: the U.S. Supreme Court Speaks
BODY: I previously authored a post entitled " Disparity in Sentencing and Crack Cocaine ." Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this same…
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Disparity in Sentencing and Crack Cocaine
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…
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Drug Laws Lead to Absurd Results
Federal drug laws can sometimes lead to paradoxical results. Consider the following story from the Drug Law Blog : The United States Gets Tough on Methamphetamine…
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