Ordinarily, when a police officer seeks to enter a person's vehicle without their permission, they need to have some reasonable suspicion that its occupants have engaged in criminal activity. One exception to this rule is the "community care-taker" exception. This...
Criminal Defense
Florida Appellate Court Upholds 45 Year Sentence for Juvenile Offender
Earlier this week, the First District Court of Appeal denied a juvenile offender's request for the court to remand his 45 year term for a non-homicide crime for resentencing, which he contended violated the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The...
Involuntary Consent: When Permission Is Not Enough to Justify a Search
One of the first things we tell clients in our criminal defense practice is never give a law enforcement officer permission to search anything. The Constitution places strict limits on when law enforcement can perform a search, and oftentimes officers won't have a...
No Deportation for Immigrant Charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
On June 1, 2015, the Supreme Court decided Mellouli v. Lynch, 2015 WL 2464047 (2015). Mellouli was arrested in Kansas for DUI. During a post arrest search, the police officers found four orange Adderall tablets hidden in his sock. Mellouli ended up pleading guilty to...
The Plain Feel Exception to the Warrant Requirement
Most people are familiar with the "plain view" doctrine, which permits police officers to seize items without a warrant, if those items are clearly visible while the officer is performing his or her official duties. For instance, if an officer observes contraband...
Recent Favorable Case Law on Search and Seizure
On February 13, 2015, the Fifth District Court of Appeal decided the case of Oliver v. State, 2015 WL 585536 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015). In Oliver, the defendant was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for an inoperable tag light. The stop itself was not challenged on...
Opinion Issued by the First District Court of Appeal
The First District Court of Appeal has issued an opinion in a case in which we represent the Appellant. It states: "Under the facts of this case, the motion to suppress the firearm should have been granted because the hot pursuit to effect an arrest for possession of...
Facebook and Free Speech: What Constitutes a Threat in the Digital Age?
The Supreme Court of the United States is currently tackling a major issue: when do comments on social media cross the line from protected speech to illegal threats? See Elonis v. United States, Docket No. 13-983. In this modern age of Twitter, Facebook, chat-rooms,...
Police Entrapment and Solicitation of a Minor
Both child pornography and solicitation to have sex with a minor cases are on the rise. Police departments have committed numerous resources to monitoring chat rooms and trying to lure people into attempting these crimes. A recent Florida case, State v. Martinez,...
System Failure: Breathalyzer, Fingerprint Analysis and Other Scientific Evidence
There is a common misconception that scientific evidence is infallible and the results of scientific testing are used to convict people for criminal offenses throughout this country on a daily basis. Many people do not realize undetected or undisclosed system errors...