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Criminal Law

Palm Beach Criminal Defense Blog

Information about law and order in Florida for both practitioners and potential clients. Also some discussions about evidence and the death penalty.
By Ron Chapman

Post Frequency: 0.8/day

Last Entry: October 15, 2020 at 18:08:06

Finding Empathetic Jurors

Posted on January 20, 2008
"Empathy" is defined as "the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another." When selecting a jury, it is important that a lawyer try to find empathetic jurors or jurors who will be able to stand in the client's shoes (figuratively speaking)...

Leadership Traits are Important When Selecting Jurors

Posted on January 20, 2008
When selecting a jury, it is very important that a lawyer learn which potential jurors have leadership responsibilities at their jobs because such jurors frequently become leaders during jury deliberations. If those jury leaders then decide to vote against the lawyer's case and are able to persuade other jurors to vote the same way, the verdict will almost inevitably go against the lawyer...

When the Police Come Knocking

Posted on January 09, 2008
Florida law states that the police may break open a door leading into a home if: The police have a warrant. The police announce who they are and what they want. The occupant of the home refuses to let the police enter his home after the police have waited a reasonable period of time after knocking and announcing their purpose...

Keep an Eye on Your Watch When the Police Stop Your Car

Posted on January 05, 2008
The law throughout the United States is that the police may not detain an individual whom they have stopped for any longer than necessary to accomplish their reason for stopping that person in the first place. For example, say that the police stop your car because you are driving 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit...

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Capital Punishment in Texas and DNA Testing

Posted on January 04, 2008
Since the reimposition of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, 1,029 people have been executed (as of March 2007). Over one-third of those have been executed in Texas (385 as of March 8, 2007). One has to wonder about this large number of executions in Texas in light of the fact that just one county in that entire state--Dallas County--has freed 15 wrongfully-convicted individuals since 2001 as a result of DNA testing...

Suspension of Your Driver's License in Drug Cases

Posted on January 03, 2008
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. Often these individuals ask me if they can resolve their case quickly by simply going to court and pleading guilty...

Suspension of Your Driver's License in a DUI Case

Posted on January 03, 2008
When a person is charged with DUI in Florida, there are two different ways for that person's driver's license to become suspended:1. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles can suspend someone's license if the person refused to submit to a lawful breath, blood, or urine test or if the person had an unlawful blood-alcohol or breath-alcohol level of 0...

Sealing Versus Expunging Your Criminal Record

Posted on January 01, 2008
I often receive telephone calls from people asking if I can help them get their criminal record expunged. I ask them if they are eligible to have their criminal record expunged or merely sealed. The response is usually silence since most people do not realize that there is a distinction in Florida law between getting one's criminal record expunged versus getting it sealed...

Is Lethal Injection Unconstitutional?

Posted on January 01, 2008
Is Lethal Injection Unconstitutional? The United States Supreme Court is set to decide this very important question. The following article discusses the death penalty case that the High Court will rule upon in deciding whether lethal injection passes constitutional muster:Public Defender Builds Injection Case Published: 1/1/08, 12:45 PM EDT By BRETT BARROUQUERE FRANKFORT, Ky...

Mistaken Identification|Wrongful Conviction|DNA

Posted on December 24, 2007
The following story appears in the Palm Beach Post newspaper. Although it originates in South Florida, the story could happen anywhere.DNA TESTING ON TRIAL By Susan Spencer-Wendel Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 23, 2007 WEST PALM BEACH — Exonerations using DNA evidence have topped 200 cases now, corroding confidence in the American criminal justice system...

No-Contact Orders Can Be Modified

Posted on December 22, 2007
Sometimes when a man is arrested for the crime of domestic battery in Palm Beach County Florida, the judge who sets his bond orders him to have no contact with the alleged victim (which is usually the man's wife or girlfriend). Often the judge enters such a "no-contact" order without first getting any input from the wife or girlfriend because she is not present in court when the judge enters the no-contact order...

Crack Cocaine Amendment to be Applied Retroactively

Posted on December 16, 2007
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 that they are effectively mandatory. Judges must consider the Guideline range for a cocaine violation, the Court said, but may conclude that they are too harsh when considering the disparity between punishment for crack cocaine and cocaine in powder form...

Disparity in Sentencing for Crack Cocaine Offenders: the U.S. Supreme Court Speaks

Posted on December 16, 2007
I previously authored a post entitled "Disparity in Sentencing and Crack Cocaine." Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed this same issue in two different cases. The result was a resounding win for both defendants. In his blog entitled "Sentencing Law and Policy," Professor Douglas A...

Can You Bond Out of Jail if You Are Arrested for Assault and Battery in Florida?

Posted on December 09, 2007
If you are arrested for domestic battery in Palm Beach County Florida, the good news is that you will probably be able to get out of jail either by paying a monetary bond or else by agreeing to be supervised by certain government employees who have been designated by the Court to perform that task...

Jury Gets Scam Case Involving Millions

Posted on December 09, 2007
By Sarah Prohaska Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Thursday, March 08, 2007 FORT PIERCE — A jury deliberated for more than four hours Wednesday and will return today to mull the fate of two men accused of orchestrating a complex scheme that prosecutors say defrauded elderly investors out of millions of dollars...

Police Interrogations Should Always be Tape Recorded

Posted on December 08, 2007
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 veteran detective in the middle of perjury charges, authorities said Thursday...

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