Congratulations to Mr. Sheppard for being named Jacksonville's 2018 Lawyer of the Year in Criminal Defense: White Collar by Best Lawyers In America. This will be the fourth time Mr. Sheppard has been selected as Lawyer of the Year in his areas of practice, in...
Criminal Defense
How a plea negotiation works
Not all criminal cases in Florida end up in trial. Many end early thanks to plea bargaining. The purpose of plea negotiation and how it works are described below. According to the American Bar Association, plea bargaining helps the court system be more efficient by...
Rooming Houses and the Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment provides citizens with the most protection inside their own homes. A recent decision by the Florida Second District Court of Appeal-Davis v. State-addressed which areas in a rooming house constitute a Defendants' "home" for the purposes of such...
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...
Can a Refusal to Admit Sexual Misconduct Be Grounds to Violate Sex Offender Probation?
CSI-style forensic labs at a retail location near you
While the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television franchise ended first-run episodes and only exists in syndication, new CSI-style "adventures" continue at high-profile locations. Law enforcement does not have a corner on the market in digital-forensics...
Knowledge That Victim Is a Law Enforcement Officer Now Required to Convict for Attempted Murder of Law Enforcement Officer
Florida law imposes harsher penalties on defendants who knowingly commit crimes of violence against law enforcement officers. For instance, a defendant found guilty of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer is subject to a mandatory life sentence....
Black Box Recorders and the Fourth Amendment
Approximately 96% of all vehicles manufactured since 2013 are equipped with devices called event data recorders-or "black boxes"-that keep track of data such as when the driver brakes, steering, engine rpm during a crash. More sophisticated black boxes record a wealth...
Are BB Guns “Deadly Weapons” under Florida Law?
One issue with which criminal defense attorneys must often grapple is what constitutes a "weapon" under Florida's criminal code. A recent decision out of the Second District Court of Appeal, C.W. v. State, has added some additional clarification as to whether, and...