Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

Cell phone use while driving has been in the news a lot lately, thanks in part to a recently announced Department of Transportation ban on text messaging while driving for interstate truckers and bus drivers. Here in Florida, Palm Beach County commissioners are considering a ban on cell phone use while driving and on roadside panhandlers.

However, they'd have to overcome serious legal hurdles in the process.

For starters, the county does not have the authority to ban handling on city and state roads that crisscross the county, so the ban would only apply to county roads. And to be legal, the ban would also have to apply to roadside fundraisers like sports teams and community groups. In addition to that, the county attorney's office claims that state law prevents local communities from banning cell phone use while driving, even though other South Florida counties have considered text messaging bans.

Source: Palm Beach County considers ban on roadside panhandlers and drivers using cell phones, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, February 2, 2010

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The attorneys at our South Florida traffic ticket law firm recently read about a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who has been arrested for writing fake traffic citations. Prosecutors estimate that hundreds of drivers received these bogus citations during 2009 and the citations were missing driver signatures.

One of the drivers the trooper cited actually lives in Peru, while others claim they were not on the road on the day that there traffic ticket was allegedly issued.

The trooper was arrested on 22 counts of official misconduct, which is a third-degree felony. Hundreds of his traffic citations have been dismissed. Authorities say that he wrote the tickets to boost his output, despite the fact that the FHP does not have a quota for its troopers.

The incident is being investigated by the State Attorney's Office.

Sources: Miami-Dade trooper accused of writing hundreds of fake tickets, South Florida Sun Sentinel, February 3, 2010
Trooper arrested for issuing bogus tickets, WSVN.com, February 3, 2010

Continue reading "Miami-Dade Trooper Charged With Felony for Writing Fake Tickets" »

Our Broward County Criminal Defense Attorneys have recently learned that the Broward County commissioners will tax property owners to help fund a new courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. The 50-year-old courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale had problems including rats and mold. County administrators say it would probably not survive another hurricane, so commissioners voted on Tuesday to continue with a $328 million project to replace it.

Beginning either this fall or in 2011, homeowners will pay an average of $8 on their tax bills. Because the taxes to pay for new libraries and parks will soon expire, commissioners say tax payers will not notice a difference in their tax bills. They also argue that the county does not get voter approval on big projects like the convention center or sports arena.

The new courthouse will include 75 courtrooms and judicial chambers and spaces for clerk of court and prosecutor offices. It will also have a parking garage to accommodate roughly 1,300 cars.

Source: UPDATE: Broward residents to be taxed to build new courthouse, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, February 2, 2010

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Police in Hillsboro Beach and Lighthouse Point have added stationary license plate scanners to record tags within or entering the city. They say the cameras will help them locate stolen cars, fugitives, or people under restraining orders, not to catch drivers who speed or run red lights. Police add that it's unrealistic to position an officer on every street corner and cameras give officers another way to monitor activity without having a physical presence.

But some local residents and members of the American Civil Liberties Union say the strategy could backfire if it redirects crime to other areas or violates the privacy of law-abiding citizens in that area. Police counter that there is no expectation of privacy in a public place.

Lighthouse Point and Hillsboro Beach are the only agencies in Broward County that have opted for stationary cameras. Police in Coconut Creek, Plantation, Coral Springs, and Sunrise use portable scanners to record individual plates at the discretion of the officer. Several other agencies are testing systems of their own.

Source: Lighthouse Point, Hillsboro Beach add cameras to scan license plates entering their cities, Palm Beach Post, January 4, 2010

Continue reading "Two Florida Police Agencies Add Cameras to Scan License Plates" »

Our Fort Lauderdale DUI defense attorneys read an article about the increasing number of young people who broadcast the location of DUI checkpoints on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. While it's not illegal, the practice has some police concerned, because they worry that making information about DUI checkpoints public could cause some drunk drivers to choose an alternate route.

In fact, Mexico City police are so concerned about the trend that they are threatening fines and jail time to people to post the location of DUI checkpoints. But some DUI defense lawyers say that could violate freedom of speech.

Others say the trend doesn't pose a problem, because it raises awareness about the consequences of drunk driving. Plus, checkpoint locations often change after a few hours anyway.

Source: Police Concerned About DUI Checkpoint Tweets, WHTM.com, January 21, 2010

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale DUI Laywer Examines Ethics of Tweeting about DUI Checkpoints " »

Our South Florida law blog has already covered the new federal identification requirements for renewing a driver's license on January 13, 1010 - "Broward and Palm Beach County Traffic Attorneys Discuss New ID Requirements for Driver's Licenses." We anticipated that it could cause delays at the DMV, and that proved to be an understatement for one Port St. Lucie doctor who tried to renew his driver's license earlier this month.

The 52-year-old man brought along all the necessary paperwork, including his United States password and Social Security card. But his renewal application was rejected because the names on his identification documents didn't match. Both had his first and last name listed, but his passport includes a middle name that was missing from his Social Security card. After making calls to the state Division of Highway and Safety and getting help from the office of a state representative, the doctor will be able to renew his driver's license.

Florida is among the first states to enact Real ID. All drivers must age 50 and younger must have the Real ID by December 1, 2014. Those over 50 have until three more years.

Source: Real ID a real problem for Port St. Lucie doctor who wanted to renew license, TCPalm.com, January 20, 2010

Continue reading "Real ID Poses Problem for Florida Man Renewing Driver's License" »

The defendants in roughly 300 Florida DUI cases in Palm Beach County could be released if a February 23 challenge on blood-alcohol testing equipment succeeds. Lawyers involved with the challenge say that the Intoxilyxer 8000 machine is not legal, because it differs from federally approved models for test blood-alcohol levels.

They also say there is reason to believe that law enforcement officials covered up failed machine inspections. The filing claims that officials covered up failed inspections by unplugging machines that looked like they not pass inspection. In fact, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement fired a breach-machine analyst in 2008 after discovering that the analyst instructed officers to unplug machines.

According to a traffic division commander for the Sheriff's Office, three deputies watch each inspection and the plugs may have been knocked out accidentally. Challenges elsewhere in Florida have failed, and our DUI defense law firm will be interested in seeing how this one plays out.

Source: DUI challenge leaves 300 cases in doubt, Palm Beach Post, January 2010

Continue reading "Palm Beach DUI Attorney Discusses Breath Testing Issues" »

The Law Offices of Leifert & Leifert, Aronberg & Aronberg and Sign A Rama in Delray Beach will be holding a food drive for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

The food drive will begin on Monday, January 25, 2010 and will last for the entire week from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

We are asking for canned food, rice, and bottled water.

We are located at 2160 West Atlantic Avenue, in Delray. It is on the southwest corner of Atlantic Avenue and Congress, just west of I-95.

National unemployment rates are around 10%, but here in Florida, unemployment has reached 11.5%, the highest it's been since the mid-seventies. As a result, our Palm Beach criminal defense law firm is seeing a record number of clients who want their criminal records expunged or sealed.

In fact, more than 14,000 Florida residents had their records sealed or obliterated in 2008 (which is the last year complete records are available at this time). That's double the number from 2007, which is not surprising given the current job climate.

Of course, one issue remains unresolved, and that is the data mining companies who compile information from courthouse records and sell that data for a fee. Unfortunately, there is no legal precedent for forcing these private companies to remove outdated information, if a judge approves sealing or expunging someone's record.

Source: Florida Criminals Expunging Records, LiveShots, January 5, 2010

Continue reading "Palm Beach County Criminal Lawyer Discusses Expunging Criminal Records" »

Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Fort Lauderdale Traffic Attorneys at Leifert & Leifert have learned that the Ft. Lauderdale city commission will be voting tonight on the installation of red light cameras. Should the vote pass, Fort Lauderdale will be installing the red light cameras at the following pre-determined locations:

Eastbound E. Sunrise Boulevard at NE 15th Ave.
Southbound NE 15th Ave. at E. Sunrise Boulevard

Southbound N. Federal Highway at E. Oakland Park Boulevard

Westbound NW 62nd St./W. Cypress Creek Road at NW 9th Ave./Powerline Road

Eastbound NW 62nd St./W. Cypress Creek Road at NW 31st Avenue

Southbound NW 31st Avenue at NW 62nd Street/W. Cypress Creek Rd.

Eastbound W. Sunrise Boulevard at NW 9th Avenue
Westbound W. Sunrise Boulevard at NW 9th Avenue

Eastbound E. Commercial Boulevard at N. Federal Highway/US 1
Westbound E. Commercial Boulevard at N. Federal Highway/US 1

Broward County Traffic Ticket Lawyer Discusses Fort Lauderdale and Red-Light Cameras

"10 stop lights getting red light cameras in Lauderdale; vote is tonight", South Florida Sun-Sentinel, January 20, 2010.

Update: Fort Lauderdale City Commission Approves Red Light Cameras

Continue reading "Fort Lauderdale Traffic Attorney: Red Light Cameras to be Approved?" »

Our Florida criminal defense attorneys recently read about an experiment in Daytona Beach. Last Wednesday, Greater Friendship Baptist Church in partnerships with Volusia County Police opened its doors to wanted fugitives as a way to get some of the 4,000 people with warrants off the streets.

The church had a closed circuit TV connection to a judge at a Daytona courthouse. Dozens of people made a safe surrender, and most of them came in on minor crimes such as violation of probation or too many traffic tickets. Some of those people went to prison, but after police and volunteers checked their warrants, a few realized they didn't have a warrant after all.

The public defender, clergy, police, and the state attorney have already deemed the event a success and say they plan to repeat it in the future.

Source: Fugitives Turn Themselves In At Church, WFTV.com, January 13, 2010

Continue reading "Daytona Beach Criminal Lawyer: Fugitives Flock to Church for Safe Surrender" »

Last week, USA Today reported that the Supreme Court had reopened a 2009 case involving the question of whether criminal prosecutors who introduce lab reports of drug or blood evidence must call the analyst who prepared the report to testify. The original ruling last June stated that criminal defendants have the right to confront the witnesses against them; therefore, the analyst needs to present findings in live testimony.

However, the decision has gotten protests from a majority of states, who claim it has placed extra burden on their labs. The new case asks the justices to limit or overturn the 2009 decision, saying that prosecutors are reducing the charges or dropping drug charges altogether because states don't have enough lab analysts to provide witnesses in criminal cases.

According to the Virginia Supreme Court, the confrontation right is satisfied if the defendant has the chance to call a prosecution witness for cross-examining. But criminal defense attorneys say this puts on the burden on the prosecution to call the analyst. Our South Florida criminal defense lawyers will be interested in seeing how this issue plays out.

Source: States protest Supreme Court ruling on live testimony, USAToday.com, January 11, 2010

Continue reading "South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers Discuss Supreme Court Ruling on Live Testimony" »