In a landmark decision that is set to reshape legal standards across the state, the 5th District Court of Appeals (5th DCA) issued a significant decision in Ford v. Florida, addressing the use of dog sniffs in drug-related searches. This case sheds light on the legal...
Cases of Interest
Appeal Victory Paves Way for Trial in Race Discrimination Lawsuit Against JFRD
The Sheppard, White, Kachergus, and DeMaggio team won another appeal in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals last week. The case involved race discrimination and retaliation claims against the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. Our client, Captain Eric...
I’m Going To Make You Live By The Constitution If I Have The Power To Do It”
William Sheppard and Betsy White were interviewed last week by the Bar Bulletin Staff of the Daily Record about the recently filed complaint against Chief Judge Mahon and Sheriff Mike Williams as it relates to the unfair bail practices against misdemeanants. Read the...
DNA
A new case has come out of the circuit court in Miami denying the State's Motion to Obtain Oral Swabs from a gentleman who was charged with robbery of a drug store with a firearm. According to the State, he "gave a full post-miranda confession" and "lead officer to...
Is It a Crime for a Sex Offender to Use the Internet?
Thousands of sex offenders have been prosecuted for engaging in activity which most of us take for granted. In many jurisdictions, it is a felony for a registered sex offender to access the internet for any reason. Some statutes also prohibit offenders from creating...
Pierce v. State: Can Police Lie to Obtain a Confession?
It has been conventional wisdom for many years that police are allowed to lie to obtain incriminating statements against a defendant. For instance, during interrogation, police can tell the accused that an eyewitness has identified him as the person who committed the...
A Mother’s Death, a Botched Inquiry and a Sheriff at War
As is his practice, Mr. Bogdanich has written an extensively researched article about how Agent Rodgers became the object of a campaign to destroy his career and reputation. His offense was the refusal to rubber stamp the conclusions of a deeply flawed investigation...
United States Supreme Court Issues New Qualified Immunity Decision in Police Shooting Case
Qualified immunity is one of the largest obstacles facing civil rights attorneys. The doctrine of qualified immunity gives police officers or other state actors immunity from suit in certain situations. To overcome the defense the plaintiff first needs to prove that...
The Limits of “Knock-and-Talk” Police Encounters
The Fourth Amendment only applies residences when a police officer conducts a "search" of that residence. A common tactic that police officers use to get around the Amendment's protections is to use a technique called a "knock-and-talk." During these encounters,...
Pennsylvania Court Recognizes Sexual-Orientation Harassment Claim Under Title VII
In August of this year, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission succeeded on a Title VII claim on behalf of an employee who was discriminated against due to sexual orientation. We wrote about that opinion in a previous blog post. Last month, they achieved a...