Category: Blog

The Florida Legislature on May 5, 2017, passed a bill that now puts the burden on the prosecution to prove by “clear and convincing” evidence to overcome a person’s request for immunity from criminal prosecution in a ‘Stand Your Ground’ case.

In a renewed posture, both chambers of the Florida Legislature are, once again, taking up the requirement that all portions of law enforcement interrogations be recorded. Currently, there is no requirement under Florida law that law enforcement officers record all portions of a custodial interview with an arrestee, let alone any of it.

An appeals court in our state has recently ruled that law enforcement authorities must obtain asearch warrant from a court as part of any criminal investigation before they can search ordownload information from a car’s ‘black box’, which is otherwise known as an electronic datarecorder.

One of the first things I look at when I am retained to represent someone in a criminal case is whether they are eligible for what is referred to as a Diversion. This can mean different things in different jurisdictions, but what I am referring to is whether the criminal case can be taken out of the regular court that it is pending and for a favorable result or outcome.

It is very important to realize that if you are arrested for any crime, it can be tempting to do certain things due to being scared, upset, and confused about the situation. When I am speaking with someone after they have been arrested (or if they have not been arrested, but are the subject of a criminal investigation), I find quite often that they have done one or more things that they should not have when dealing with law enforcement.