Recent News

Last month, Bill Cosby's request for parole was denied. On Wednesday, as a result of the decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, he left prison a free man. Not only did the court vacate Mr. Cosby's convictions for sex offenses alleged to have been committed in 2004, but also barred the prosec...

       Although other counties in Florida have previously adopted diversion programs for drivers arrested for DUI, the program had met previous resistance in Florida's 6th Circuit, which is comprised of Pinellas and Pasco Counties. With Bruce Bartlett now serving as State Attorney, the times have...

        As most Florida residents are aware, in 2016 voters approved Amendment 2 - the "Medical Marijuana" amendment. It resulted in Article X, Section 29 being added to the Florida Constitution which states in pertinent part: " The medical use of marijuana by a qualifying patient or caregiver in...

       When I began work as a Pinellas County prosecutor in 1982, there were no such thing as "sentencing guidelines". Those charged with felony offenses were sentenced by judges armed only with Pre-sentence Investigations ("PSIs") prepared by the Department of Corrections which provided the judg...

       Recently I received a call from a person who had been attacked without any provocation by either an intoxicated or mentally unstable neighbor. He was taken to jail, for aggravated battery and she ended up in the hospital where she underwent a series of CT scans which revealed bleeding in h...

There you are, sitting in your car in front of the police officer who just pulled you over for an inoperative taillight. The officer writes you a ticket and when he hands it to you he notices what appears to be a small baggie of marijuana in the back seat, left there by the careless friend you ju...

In my prior life as an Assistant State Attorney, I was given a badge and legal authority to carry a concealed firearm without the need for obtaining a license. Those times have changed. Florida residents are required to obtain a concealed weapons and firearm license in order to possess and concea...

From time to time in my criminal practice I represent clients who have been stopped by police for committing various traffic infractions while driving such as making an improper turn, not coming to a complete stop or equipment violations for having a broken tail light or excessive tint on their w...

A number of years ago, I defended a client who was charged with conspiracy to traffic narcotics in which detectives attempted to attach a GPS transmitter to the underside of my client's vehicle. For whatever reason, the device fell off the car shortly after my client began driving it - an obvious...

Florida law provides that a person who has been the victim of domestic violence or is in "immediate danger" of becoming a victim of domestic violence can obtain an injunction to keep the threatening person away from the victim, whether at home, work or in public. Injunctions typically prohibit co...

The Covid-19 pandemic has wrecked havoc upon the court system nationwide, as in-person dockets have been postponed or eliminated, jury trials have been cancelled at least through the end of 2020, and both the civil and criminal discovery process has been slowed significantly. In response, the Flo...

One cannot open the newspaper or turn on the television without hearing of the latest nationwide protests concerning the status of the investigation involving the shooting death of Tayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. Most media commentators and every community activist, including both Jesse Jackso...

On July 28,2011, Federal Judge Mary Scriven of the Middle District of Florida ruled, in the case of Shelton v. Florida Department of Corrections, that all Florida state laws prohibiting the sale use and/or possession of illegal drugs per Florida Statute 893 are unconstitutional. Crimes are classi...

Recently, one of my clients called me after she had been arrested for possession of a controlled substance which was discovered in her house by police officers who gained entry and subsequently searched her home under the guise of conducting a “protective sweep”. A “protective sweep” is narrowly ...

At common law, no government could be sued for damages by one of its citizens, no matter how egregious the negligence by a government agent or employee may have been. “The King can do no wrong” was the operative phrase which insulated governments from liability since Medieval times. In Florida, t...

As part of my criminal defense practice, I often represent juveniles and young adults who have been charged with criminal offenses. Since there is confusion and much bad information out there regarding the possible consequences of a criminal charge in juvenile and adult court, my first duty is of...

Many clients come to me after they have been arrested for a felony charge and quickly ask me “what they are looking at” as far as a possible sentence should they be found guilty. Prior to 1983, that determination was totally within the discretion of the Judge, who could render, in almost all case...

When I was growing up and at times a bit too prone to physical confrontations, my father advised me that while I should never run away from a fight, I should walk away whenever possible. Prior to July 1,2006, and contrary to the first part of my Dad's advice, the law in Florida required people to...

Under most circumstances, evidence of the prior criminal behavior of a defendant cannot be introduced at a trial which involves a new, unrelated crime. The overriding theory has always been that, if a jury hears that the defendant has engaged in conduct similar to the crime for which he is on tri...

“Trucking”, a 1970′s song by the Grateful Dead, contains the cryptic line “if you've got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in”. While under most circumstances, the band was right, the majority of searches are conducted by police officers without a court authorized warrant. In speaking with cli...

Being arrested or informed they are the subject of a criminal investigation can create one of the most stressful situations a person can face in their lifetime. Relationships with loved ones, present and future employment, and even one's freedom are all placed in peril, oftentimes in an instant. ...

In 28 years of practicing criminal law, I have handled over 125 jury trials as both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. In those roles, I have learned that one of the most important misconceptions I have had to dispel is that almost nothing of what is depicted in film or television cour...

In 28 years of practicing criminal law, I have handled over 125 jury trials as both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. In those roles, I have learned that one of the most important misconceptions I have had to dispel is that almost nothing of what is depicted in film or television cour...

      In my 28 years of practicing criminal law, first as a prosecutor and now as a criminal defense attorney, I have handled many hundreds of DUI cases. Approximately 30 of those cases have culminated in a jury trial. As a result of that experience, I have been asked numerous times about what ha...

While scanning the letters to the editor recently in the St Petersburg Times, I came upon a letter which was highly critical of the fact that the local police had notified the public in advance of the location and times they were planning on setting up a DUI checkpoint to apprehend drunk drivers....