Criminal Law Blog & News

On Tuesday , April 11, 2012, the so-called former attorneys of George Zimmerman announced to the media, and thus the public at large, they were withdrawing from further representation of the man under investigation for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.

Although attorneys have the ability to withdraw from cases under certain circumstances and although there really wasn’t an actual case to withdraw from as of Tuesday, questions remain regarding the decision to publicly disclose certain matters which may have the potential to negatively impact the defense.

I suppose I should not write this.  I suppose I should just go with the flow created by the apparent overwhelming ground swell of the media and popular outrage over the Sanford Police Department’s failure to arrest George Zimmerman on a murder charge.  As a criminal defense attorney that knows well that the police are not only fallible but also capable of outright dishonesty, I still feel the need to speak in opposition to the idea that we can know with certainty the facts of this investigation by reading news reports or listening to popular media accounts.  As my friends and associates lineup on Facebook acknowledging that they have signed a petition essentially demanding that Zimmerman be immediately arrested, I can’t help but smell a lynch mob mentality that causes me to step back and urge caution.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with several other local law enforcement agencies, has arrested at least twenty different individuals for utilizing various Internet social meeting sites to allegedly attempt communication with a person believed to be a minor regarding sexual activity.   No actual children were involved - only adult law enforcement officers posing as minors.  The Gainesville television station WCJB reports that one of those arrested was an elementary school teacher.  This blog will not report the names of those arrested as all are presumed innocent.

In a rare unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled on January 23, 2012, in U.S. v Antoine Jones,  that attaching a GPS device to a suspect’s vehicle is a search under the Fourth Amendment.   In one of the first major cases to test constitutional privacy rights in the digital age, the court ruled that police must obtain a search warrant before attaching a GPS tracker to a vehicle in a criminal investigation.

At least one Florida Appellate Court has ruled that it is lawful to stop a vehicle because the driver was seen drinking a beverage in a paper bag.

A recent N.Y. Times editiorial exposes how prosecutors are charging a retired chemistry professor with jury tampering as a result of him handing out pamphlets providing information on the historical doctrine of jury nullification.

Attorneys who practice DUI law understand that in Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 (1966), the US Supreme Court upheld the right of states to forcibly extract blood from DUI suspects.  Now the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that many states, including our own, have adopted or are considering adopting "no refusal" laws that allow the police to hold you down and jam a needle in your arm and extract your blood when you refuse to provide a breath sample in a DUI case.  Not surprising, Texas appears to be leading the way in this new initiative.

The Florida Supreme Court heard oral argument on Tuesday, December 6, 2011, regarding the constitutionality of Florida’s drug laws as raised in the criminal case of Luke Jarrod Adkins et al v. Florida.  An assistant public defendant and assistant attorney general were questioned by the Florida Supreme Court Justice’s about their legal positions.  The Florida Supreme Court has not issued a ruling on the issue raised in the appeal and does not have a specific timetable for issuing a written order in the case.

The Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI) is a diversion program available to some alleged felony offenders that, if successfully completed, results in the criminal charge being dismissed.

The Alachua County Drug Court program is a supervision and treatment program serving nonviolent felony offenders whose criminal allegations are related to drug or alcohol addiction. Alachua County’s Drug Court Program has been operating since 1993 and was one of the first fully functional programs in the State of Florida.  It’s offices are located at 249 W. University Ave. (Rear Entrance) Gainesville, Florida.

The Florida Supreme Court has accepted jurisdiction to decide the constitutionality of Florida’s drug statutes pursuant to the request of Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal.  Meanwhile, in another case, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal upheld the constitutionality of Florida’s drug law.

Gallup reports that fully 50% of those polled support the decriminalization of marijuana.  With arrests for cannabis increasing three fold since 1991, support for decriminalization has risen.

In an editorial published on 10-13-11, the Herald-Tribune cites a host of problems associated with the Intoxilyzer currently being used throughout the State of Florida including incorrect measurements of breath volume, unreliable results, increased government costs, and wasted court time.

On Thursday September 29. 2011, in an editorial entitled “ An Invitation to Overreach”, the New York Times joins the  American Bar Association, the Judicial Conference of the United States , and every major organization focusing on criminal justice  in opposing  mandatory minimum sentences.  The Times stated the rise in mandatory minimum sentences has damaged the integrity of the justice system , reduced the role of judges in meting out punishment, and has increased the power of prosecutors beyond their proper role.

In an opinion dated September 28, 2011, a Florida District Court of Appeal has certified that an appeal from a recent ruling finding Florida’s primary drug prossession statute unconstitutional involves an issue of great public importance that requires immediate resolution by the Florida Supreme Court.  The appellate court’s certification is essentially a request that Florida’s highest court resolve issues recently raised about the constitutionality of Florida's drug statute as quickly as possible. The appellate court’s certification was entered as prosecutors in Manatee County Florida appealed Circuit Court Judge Scott Brownell’s dismissal of drug charges against forty-two defendants to the Second District Court of Appeal.  Judge Brownell’s recent order finding Florida’s drug statute unconstitutional, as well as other similar recent court rulings, have been discussed previously in this blog and can be found here.

On Monday, September 26, 2011, the New York Times reported in a front page story that as a result of decades of passing laws to increase punishments, prosecutors have gained greater leverage to extract guilty pleas from defendants which has dramatically reduced the number of cases proceeding to trial. The Times examined statistics from the National Center for State Courts and the Bureau of Justice Statistics which illustrate this trend towards lower trial rates

On September 16^th the Fifth District Court of Appeals declared Florida Statute 316.3045 (1 ) ( a ) unconstitutionally overbroad and found that it restricted the right of free expression. This ruling was consistent with a prior ruling of the Second District Court of Appeals from May of this year in a case styled as State of Florida v. Catalano 60 So. 3d 1139 ( Fla. 2^nd DCA , 2011).

Following the lead of U.S. District Court Judge Mary Scriven, who found on July 27, 2011 that the provisions of Florida Statute 893.13 violated fundamental rights of due process (read the Shelton order here), two State of Florida Circuit Court Judges have now also ruled that Florida’s primary drug prohibition statute is unconstitutional.   On August 17, 2011, Judge Milton Hirsch of the State of Florida’s Eleventh Judicial Circuit dismissed thirty-nine felony drug cases finding Florida Statute 893.13 violates due process and is unconstitutional.   Read the Hirsch order here.  Similarly, on September 14, 2011, Judge Scott Brownell of the State of Florida’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit, dismissed forty-two felony drug cases, finding that Florida Statute 893.13 is unconstitutional.  Read the Brownell order here.

The Gainesville Sun is reporting that local law enforcement will be conducting a saturation patrol to get drunken drivers off the roads after the UF/Tennessee Game.

The agencies participating include: Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville Police Department, University of Florida Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, Alachua Police Department and High Springs Police Department.  According to the Gainesville Sun, “Officials said the intense patrol efforts will begin at the end of Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game and continue until about 4 a.m. Sunday.”

Whether you are a litigant in a civil case or a defendant facing criminal charges, there will be difficult decisions you must face. Maintaining good relations with your attorney and assisting throughout the process can make your tough decisions easier.