Were you arrested or given a notice to appear for leaving the scene of an accident in Florida?  Or, have you received calls from the police requesting to discuss you leaving the scene of an accident with them?  If so, there are steps you can take to avoid being found guilty even if you really did hit a car and then leave the scene. Leaving the scene of an accident, or “hit and run” as it is commonly called, is governed by Florida Statute section 316.061. Under that section, the offense of leaving the scene is committed when you: are involved in an accident or crash with another pers ..read more

Have you  been arrested, or received a notice to appear or citation, for petit theft?  If so, you will soon need to be even more careful how your case is resolved due to a recent proposal to strengthen Florida laws concerning theft crimes. Up until now, persons committing petit theft in Florida generally did not have to worry about going to jail or prison for their offense.  But earlier this week Governor Ron DeSantis announced proposed legislation aimed at slowing the increasing numbers of retail theft and porch piracy throughout the country. According to Governor DeSantis, ret ..read more

Were you ordered out of your parked car by the police who then found drugs, firearms or other contraband inside?  If so, depending on the facts of your particular situation, you may be able to get your case dropped. In Taylor v. State, Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputy David Ramires responded to a call about a man asleep in a vehicle with a knife on his lap. Upon arrival at the reported location, Deputy Ramires observed the man, Aron Taylor, was sleeping in the driver’s seat of a vehicle with a “fairly large knife” on his lap. The vehicle was legally parked, its engine was off, and no one ..read more

Are you being investigated, or have you been arrested for child abuse for spanking or similarly  disciplining your child in Florida?  If so, you may be able to use Florida’s child discipline defense to get the investigation terminated or your charges reduced or dropped.  Whether the defense applies to your particular situation will depend upon both the manner in which, and why, you disciplined our child. In child abuse cases involving knowingly or willfully abusing a child without causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement, the crime can be charg ..read more

If you have an iPhone, you may soon be subjected to warrantless searches of your photo libraries by Apple.  And, if Apple finds any child pornography on your phone, you’ll most likely end up being arrested and prosecuted.  This article explains more about this privacy intrusion and how you may end up with criminal charges from a search of your phone’s images by Apple. As Apple’s own privacy policy notes, “[p]rivacy is a fundamental human right.” Apple’s privacy policy further states “[y]our devices are important to so many parts of your life. What you share from those experiences, an ..read more

Were you arrested after the police discovered drugs, an illegal firearm and/or other contraband while checking on your safety while you were in your car?  If you were, a recent case from the First District Court of Appeals shows how you may be able to have your case dropped. In Taylor v. State, Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputy David Ramires responded to a call at 4:30 a.m. about a man sleeping in a vehicle with a knife on his lap. Upon arriving at the reported location, Deputy Ramires observed Mr. Taylor was indeed sleeping in the driver’s seat of a vehicle with a “fairly large knife” on ..read more

Were you arrested based on items found pursuant to a search warrant?  Is so, the recent case of Hill v. State shows how your lawyer may be able to obtain and then review the affidavit underlying the warrant for errors and constitutional infirmities.  If such defects exist, your lawyer may be able to invalidate your warrant and have your case dismissed. In Hill, the police obtained a warrant to search Hill’s former girlfriend’s residence where she lived with their children. Hill frequently stayed at the residence. The judge later sealed the affidavit that was submitted to get the warr ..read more

Were you arrested for possessing a firearm, drugs or other contraband found by dog sniff during a routine traffic stop?  If you so, you may have grounds to have all the evidence found by the State thrown out and your case dismissed.  A recent case shows how that can occur. In Flowers v. State, Timothy Flowers was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by Officer Josh Carswell for failure to come to a complete stop at a red light before making a right turn. The stop occurred at 10:15 p.m. While Officer Carswell was collecting the information he needed to write Flowers a citation, the K ..read more

Were you arrested after the police discovered contraband while checking on your safety?  If so, you may have a basis to have your case dropped.  A case from the First District Court of Appeals shows how this can happen. In State v. Brumelow, 289 So.3d 955 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019), an officer responding to a 911 call arrived at a bank parking lot around 10:20 a.m. on a Saturday morning.  He observed a male in the driver’s seat and a female in the passenger seat of a running car.  Both occupants appeared to be sleeping. The officer knocked on the driver’s side window several times ..read more

Have you engaged in conduct totally out of character that led to your criminal charges?  Did you take acetaminophen prior to or near the time of the incident leading to your arrest?  If so, you may have a defense and /or mitigating circumstances to raise in your case to get your case dropped or your charges reduced. Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a widely used drug used primarily to treat fever and mild to moderate pain.  It is generically available in the United States under the trade names Tylenol and Panadol.  It is also present in Acet, Excedrin, Triaminic ..read more