Supreme Court changes a long standing rule
A general rule has been broken by the U.S. Supreme court this past term. It ruled that when clear evidence emerges after a jury verdict that there was racial bias during deliberations, the trial judge [...]
Evidence Destruction
The Florida Supreme Court has recently come down with two cases which deal with due process when the state destroys evidence. The first is Patterson v. State found at 199 So. 3d 253 (Fla. 2016). [...]
Cell phone pass codes: Give ’em up or go to jail!
Recently, an appellate court in Florida has ruled that if law enforcement obtains a search warrant to be able to look into someone's cell phone for data, a judge may lawfully require the owner of that [...]
Ethics of the Criminal Defense Lawyer
A criminal defense lawyer is often asked to give legal advice to someone who inquires about a crime that they are committing. For example, a potential client may tell a lawyer that he is stealing [...]
FROM THE PITS
A Selfless Act The following story was neither told to me firsthand nor do I know if it ever occurred. It really doesn’t matter. An old man, who had no family, was in a hospital, [...]