Many episodes of scripted television courtroom feature an “a-ha!” moment where the outcome becomes apparent: a witness breaks down on the stand and conclusively implicates themselves, someone other than the accused confesses to police or prosecutors, or a decisive piece of evidence is discovered at the last second. In the real world, few cases have […] The post When the State Can (and Cannot) Use Evidence of a Defendant’s Past Bad Acts in a Florida Criminal Trial appeared first on Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog ..read more

Florida has some of the strictest sex crime laws in the country, and that includes enforcement of the sex offender registry. Failure to follow all your registration obligations with precision can have extremely harmful consequences. A notification violation may be a felony crime, carrying a penalty of as much as 15 years in prison. With […] The post A Celebrity Case from South Florida Spotlights the Severe Consequences of Failing to Update Information Filed With the State’s Sex Offender Registry appeared first on Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog ..read more

A lot of arrests start out as something smaller. It could be a traffic stop or an officer stopping someone on foot to ask them questions. The law in Florida says that the police must have a “reasonable suspicion” of criminal activity before they stop you. If they did not, then an investigatory stop may be a violation of your constitutional rights and any evidence they procured from that stop may be subject to suppression if you have to go to trial. A skilled Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer knowledgeable in Fourth Amendment law can enhance your chances of winning arguments about search-and-se ..read more

You have certain rights when you stand trial in Florida, and the state has many procedural obligations. Full vindicating your rights means, among other things, knowing all of those prosecutorial obligations, correctly identifying violations when they occur, and taking the proper steps to act once a violation has been identified. That requires having diligent and detail-oriented counsel on your side. To ensure you are fully protected when you are on trial, you should speak to an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer about your case. One place where parties have substantial obligations ..read more

Many Florida drivers have known the pain of seeing police lights in their rear-view mirror because they were speeding. Typically, the price is, at most, the fine associated with a basic speeding infraction. In some high-speed circumstances, however, Florida law has much more severe punishments. Whether you received an ordinary speeding ticket or your situation is more complex, a Tampa Bay traffic infraction defense lawyer can be essential to avoiding outcomes like the revocation of your driver’s license or jail time. A 20-year-old man in greater Orlando recently was involved in one of those “h ..read more

Everyone has the right to be tried by a jury of their peers, and for that trial to be fair. The many protections enshrined in Florida law to protect a criminal defendant’s right to a fair trial exist to ensure justice; in other words, to make certain an accused person doesn’t receive a conviction or a punishment not supported by the evidence. Trials often become unfair when prosecutors overstep the bounds of what they can say to the jury. The potential for prosecutorial overstep is one reason among many why, if you’re on trial, you need a knowledgeable Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer advocat ..read more

Felony battery cases are serious matters. Aggravated battery is a second-degree felony in Florida punishable by up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. People accused of felony battery crimes are entitled to put on affirmative defenses to overcome criminal liability. These include defenses like self-defense. When putting together a defense strategy, including affirmative defenses, in your felony trial, be sure your rights are protected by retaining representation from an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer. Successfully arguing self-defense can be central to the accused person ..read more

A conviction on a theft charge can have serious ramifications. A Florida judge can suspend your driver’s license even if your conviction is only a misdemeanor. If you’re facing theft charges, a skilled Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer may have many options in your case. These could include challenging the value of the item(s) in question, arguing mistaken identity, or contesting your intent to deprive the owner of their property (among other possibilities.) With all these potential avenues out there, contacting an experienced lawyer about your case is well worth your while. A well-worn phrase ..read more

Many procedural details go into the pretrial, trial, and post-conviction phases of presenting a defense. It is important to have a Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer who is fully immersed in the knowledge of all of these details, as any one of them may be the key you need to a dismissal, an acquittal, or a reversal of your conviction. One area where that’s especially true is the rules regarding discovery violations. As an example of how important a prosecutorial discovery violation can be, we have this recent drug case from Lee County. The incident began when local deputies responded to a 911 c ..read more

Certain types of alleged crimes — namely, drug and/or weapon charges — frequently arise from evidence that the police seized in a search performed without a warrant. The law generally falls on the side of disallowing warrantless searches, but the law also has many exceptions that the state can use to get items seized without a warrant into evidence. Many times, the key to a successful defense is countering those arguments and persuading the court that no exception applies and that the court should exclude the item(s) in dispute. Having a knowledgeable Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer on your ..read more