Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

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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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

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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

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In Deerfield Beach, Florida, the north satellite courthouse in Broward County reopened this morning after a water pipe burst early Wednesday morning, forcing the courthouse to close for the day. The incident shut off water throughout the building, but there was no damage reported to the building. It is believed to be the first time the courthouse closed since Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

According to reports, water service has restored to the building and temporary repairs were made. Permanent repairs should be complete by Saturday, January 9.

On Wednesday, two judges stood outside and directed away people who had come to pay tickets, attend small claims court hearings, or get marriage licenses. Court dates are being rescheduled.

Sources: North Regional Courthouse Re-Opens Thursday, CBS4.com, January 6, 2010

Deerfield courthouse closed after pipe bursts, South Florida Sun Sentinel, January 6, 2010

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A November 17 ruling from the state's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee says that Florida attorneys and judges should not be "friends" on Facebook, the popular online social networking site.

The committee ruled that online "friendships" could create a false impression that lawyers are able to influence their judge friends. A few members of the committee dissented on the grounds that Facebook relationships are more like a list of contacts rather than actual "friendships."

However, the committe ruled a judge can post comments on another judge's profile and a judge's campaign may have a lawyer as a "fan" during judicial elections.

While the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee cannot officially mandate what judges do, a spokesperson for the Florida Supreme Court said most judges will probably follow the ruling out of caution and the need to appear impartial.

Source: Fla. judges, lawyers must 'unfriend' on Facebook, Associated Press, December 11, 2009

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com

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Our Miami DUI defense attorneys have been following a news story out of Illinois. A judge ruled that the state law aimed at penalizing repeat DUI offenders by giving police the authority to seize their vehicles is unconstitutional. The judge ruled that the statute gives the state too broad an authority, saying the law violates the due process clauses protected in both state and federal constitutions.

The ruling came out of a case involving three men who claimed the law did not allow defendants to petition a judge for return of their vehicles until their drunk driving case was resolved. Seized vehicles are periodically auctioned off or assigned to local law enforcement officers for their use.

Anti-drunk driving groups say the damages imposed on the vehicle's co-owners or family members are far less than the greater public good. The county's attorney apparently hopes to appeal the ruling to the state's Supreme Court.

Source: Illinois Judge Rules Seizure of Drunk Drivers' Vehicles is Unconstitutional, DUI.com, November 25, 2009

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At Michigan State, nine football players have been charged with misdemeanors in connection with a fight that broke out at a fraternity potluck dinner last month. Each of the nine players is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit an assault and battery, punishable by up to one year in prison. The players also face at least one count each of assault or assault and battery, punishable with a maximum 93-day term in jail.

Two of the players who were charged with misdemeanors have been kicked off the team and five others were suspended. None of the suspended players will be able to play in the Alamo Bowl on January 2. Some wonder if charging several players is a legal strategy aimed at getting the truth out of the players, since charging one or two might not get the full the story about the altercation.

The incident is still under investigation.

Source: Legal strategy at issue in Michigan State altercation, Freep.com, December 10, 2009

Continue reading "Florida Lawyers Discuss Legal Strategy in Football Fiasco" »

A recent article in the New York Times discusses a growing phenomenon among the left and right wing people who believe that the criminal justice system has gotten too big for its britches. While some conservatives once supported the tough-on-crime stance of the Republican party, many now worry that prosecutors have taken things too far.

According to the conservative research group the Heritage Foundation, the federal code now includes more than 4,400 criminal offenses. Many of these offenses do not require prosecutors to prove criminal intent in the traditional ways. A book by a civil liberties attorney in Massachusetts states that all Americans violate federal criminal law every day, because it’s too vague.

Several upcoming cases will examine the boundaries of the federal government. For instance, United States v. Comstock will go before the Supreme Court in January and test whether Congress has the constitutional right to authorize the continued confinement of people convicted of sex crimes after they have served their criminal sentences. Our South Florida criminal defense attorneys will be interested in watching this case unfold and seeing how the issue develops over the next several months.

Source: Right and Left Join Forces on Criminal Justice, New York Times, November 23, 2009

Continue reading "South Florida Lawyers Examine Questions of Overcriminalization" »

Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office are overworked and giving inferior legal help to its clients, judges from the Third District Court of Appeal have ruled that they must continue handling minor felony cases. The appeals court rejected a request to transfer third-degree felonies to another state-funded legal defense agency.

According to Public Defender Carlos J. Martinez, the office's noncapital felony caseload increased by almost one third between 2003 and 2008. However, resources have decreased 11% from two years ago.

Last fall, a Miami-Dade Circuit Judge ruled that the office could refuse new third-degree felonies like grand theft auto, battery, and marijuana possession. This week's ruling has reversed that decision, saying that the Public Defender's Office could not violate defendants' right to representation. The ruling added that the courts are not an appropriate venue for a political statement about workload and lack of funding.

Martinez has said he will appeal the decision to the Florida Supreme Court.

Handle minor cases, public defender told, Miami Herald, May 13, 2009

Appeals court says Miami defender can't shed cases, PalmBeachPost.com, May 13, 2009

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A Florida woman who was convicted of writing bad checks in 1996 once again faces jail time for failing to pay $240 in leftover court fees and fines. Across the state, courts are stepping up their collections efforts to make up for shrinking budgets.

Court clerks say the pressure is on them to ensure that the state gets every dollar it is owed. In the process, they’ve jailed thousands of people who failed to pay. According to state officials, some clerks use collection agents, and roughly a third use collections courts. In one county over 800 people were arrested last year because of court debts or failure to appear at collections court.

Several other states are looking to Florida as an example, but not everything thinks that squeezing defendants for court fees is a good idea. Rebekah Diller, deputy director of the justice program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law compared the focus on collecting from defendants “to [getting] blood from a stone.”

As Courts Face Cuts, a Push to Squeeze Defendants, New York Times, April 6, 2009

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The wheels of justice at one of Florida's busiest courthouses are plodding through a soggy mess - again! A broken bathroom fixture on the eight floor of the Broward County Main Courthouse was the culprit this time.

The courthouse remained opened today but some hearings were delayed and the building sustained some minor property damage.

Broward County lawyers, Judges, courthouse workers and citizens faced a one week work stoppage in early December as a result of major courthouse flooding. The juvenile division of the Broward County State Attorneys Office faced damage last month as a result of a burst pipe.