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Criminal Law

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CASES

By Jeffrey Ivashuk

Criminal law -- Bribery by public official -- Receiving unlawful compensation for official behavior -- Trial court properly denied motions for judgment of acquittal on both counts where there was direct evidence that defendant, as public official, solicited an ?equity piece? in a real estate development project and repeatedly threatened that city commission and housing department would not support the project if he was not involved in itReported at 33 Fla. L. Weekly D701bCriminal law -- Search and seizure -- State failed to prove that canine alert provided probable cause for search of defendant's vehicle -- Certification of narcotics detection dog, standing alone, is insufficient to establish that the dog is reliable so as to allow the dog's alert to constitute probable cause for a search -- Conflict certified -- Factors to be considered include exact training dog has received, standards or criteria employed in selecting dogs for marijuana detection training, standards dog was required to meet to successfully complete training, and track record of dog, including amount of false alerts or mistakes dog has furnished -- Alert followed by a search in which no drugs are found is a ?false alert? -- Trial court erred in denying motion to suppress evidence obtained as result of search of defendant's truck -- Detention -- Based on totality of circumstances, retention of defendant's driver's license after completion of warrants check while officer asked additional questions and completed a field interrogation card did not transform encounter into detention -- Trial court correctly denied suppression of defendant's statements made prior to time narcotics dog alerted on vehicle and defendant's post-arrest statementsReported at 33 Fla...continue to full post

Full post as published by JAABlog on March 08, 2008 (boomark / email).