Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer Blog

A recent article has concluded something just about all of us already knew- not that 2 + 2 = 4, but something much more fundamental: that the war on drugs was a catastrophically expensive failure. The article notes that even the U.S. drug czar acknowledges that the war on drugs has not worked. As a result, the Obama administration has decided to focus more on prevention and treatment and less on wasteful enforcement of ineffective criminal laws.

The article is worth reading and gives a brief, but interesting, history of U.S. drug policies. One troubling part of the article notes that the first war on drugs budget was $100 million in the 1970's. Now, it's $15.1 billion. It is scary to think where all of that money is going, why it's being spent and how much of it is wasted.

In Florida, a first time DUI, without an accident and injuries, is always a misdemeanor, but the penalties can still be quite severe. They range from possible jail time to a license suspension a fine and community service. The more DUI convictions a person gets, the more severe the penalties can be. In Florida, a third DUI charge can be charged as a felony which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. With a fourth DUI conviction, Florida law requires that the person's driver's license be suspended permanently.

However, a new proposed law in Florida would allow people with four DUI convictions and a permanent license revocation to possibly regain their driving privileges, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. With the proposed law, the person would have to go though educational courses and have an interlock device installed in his/her vehicle. An interlock device is a breathalyzer that the driver must blow into and pass before the car will start.

Interestingly, MADD supports the bill. Their reasoning is that there are a lot of people with permanently suspended licenses who are going to drive one way or another. With this law, those people would at least have the interlock device on their vehicles so they would not be able to drive their cars if they were under the influence of alcohol.

In a recent trafficking in cocaine case that took place a couple of hours south of Jacksonville, Florida, a police officer found cocaine in a person's vehicle and arrested him after a long police encounter that was initiated as merely a traffic stop. Because the police officer too too long to conduct the search, the court ultimately threw the case out due to an illegal search.

Many drug arrests start out simply as traffic stops but turn into something more serious after the police officer searches the car. Once the police officer has stopped the driver for speeding, running a red light or some other traffic violation, the police officer may try to look for a way to conduct a search of the vehicle. Most of the time, the police officer will simply ask the driver for consent to search the vehicle. Everyone should understand that they have an absolute right to refuse when a police officer asks for permission to search a vehicle or anything else owned by that person.

If the police officer cannot get consent to search, he/she may look for evidence that drugs or other evidence of illegal activity are in the vehicle and use that as a basis for a search. However, if the basis for the traffic stop was a traffic violation, the police officer has limited time to come up with such evidence. The police officer cannot ask a bunch of questions or make up reasons to keep the driver at the scene while he/she waits for a drug dog to show up. If the police officer cannot uncover specific evidence of illegal activity within the time it would take to write a normal citation or warning for the traffic violation, he/she cannot extend the encounter in the hopes that incriminating evidence will surface or the drug dog will get there to sniff the vehicle. Once the time necessary for the traffic violation investigation has elapsed, the police officer has to let the driver go if no other incriminating evidence is revealed. If the police officer keeps the driver at the scene any longer, any evidence that is ultimately uncovered should be thrown out of court pursuant to the criminal defense lawyer's motion to suppress.

In this case, the police officer pulled the defendant over for speeding. After a few minutes, the officer indicated he was going to give the driver a warning for the speeding offense. Thereafter, the police officer asked the driver and his passenger a bunch of questions about who they were, where they came from and where they were going. He asked the driver questions about the rental car and his occupation while he was waiting for the drug dog to show up. After almost 30 minutes, the police drug dog arrived, sniffed the exterior of the car and alerted to cocaine inside. The driver was arrested for trafficking in cocaine after the cocaine was found by the officer in the vehicle. However, the evidence of the cocaine was ultimately thrown out because the police officer had detained the driver for much longer than it took to handle the speeding offense. Because the drug dog did not arrive to locate the cocaine for almost 30 minutes and the stop was only based on a speeding violation, the detention of the driver was too long and violated his Constitutional rights. As a result the trafficking charge was ultimately dismissed.

A man from Connecticut was charged with DUI manslaughter in St. Johns County, Florida after the victim, Jeanne Aramini, died from her injuries suffered in the crash, according to an article on News4Jax.com. In Florida, a DUI charge can be anything from a misdemeanor for a first offense that normally carries penalties such as probation, a license suspention, a fine and community service to a third degree felony whcih can carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison to a first degree felony which can carry significant prison time. Obviously, when there is a crash and someone dies as a result of the crash, the state can charge the highest level of DUI which is DUI mansalughter. This is a second degree felony which carries a maximum penalty of fifteen years in prison in most cases, but it can be a first degree felony which carries a maximum of thirty years in prison if the suspect leaves the scene of the accident without providing the required information.

I read an article on a local Jacksonville website about an accident that occurred on Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida where a driver ran into the back of a motorcycle and then left the scene only to return with her mother ten minutes later. Is this a crime in Florida?

Most people are aware that all drivers have an obligation to remain at the scene of an accident that results in property damage and/or injury to exchange insurance and identification information. If a person is involved in an accident and leaves the scene without providing the required insurance and identification information, he/she commits a crime in Florida. If a person is injured in the crash, the hit and run crime is a third degree felony. If someone dies in the crash, the hit and run crime is a first degree felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in Florida state prison. On the other end of the spectrum, if the accident results in property damage only, the hit and run crime is a misdemeanor.

What happens if a person keeps driving for some period of time but then decides to return to the scene of the accident? Technically, this is still a crime. The hit and run (aka leaving the scene of an accident) criminal statute says the person must stop at the scene of the crash immediately. Of course, police and prosecutors have discretion to forego an arrest or prosecution for a person who leaves but comes back on his/her own. However, as criminal defense lawyers who have handled many hit and run cases, we have seen cases where a person leaves the scene temporarily but returns and is still arrested and charged with a crime. In some cases, a person who temporarily leaves the scene may have an emergency which would provide a good defense to hit and run charges if the state decided to pursue them

But, since the statute requires a person to stop at the scene of the accident immediately, the best course of action is to remain at the scene without leaving and postpone any other business until released by the officer.

In Jacksonville and throughout Florida, when a person pleads guilty or no contest to a crime or has a trial that ends in a guilty verdict, the judge will sentence the defendant. For more serious crimes, that sentence may include jail or prison time, probation or a combination of the two. When a person is on probation, he/she will have certain conditions with which he/she must comply or risk going back in front of the sentencing judge, having the probation revoked and being re-sentenced to harsher penalties. Prior to any sentence for a violation of probation, the defendant is entitled to a hearing on the probation violation allegations. These hearings are unlike a trial in two major ways. First, the judge decides whether the defendant violated his/her probation. A defendant does not have a right to have a jury decide probation violation cases in Florida. Second, the legal standard is lower for probation violation cases. In regular criminal cases, the state must prove the defendant is guilty by the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard. In probation violation cases, the state need only prove a violation(s) occurred by "a preponderance of the evidence" standard, which is much lower. That latter standard is basically a "more likely than not" or "50% plus 1" standard.

A new crime committed by the defendant can certainly be the basis for a violation of probation case if the defendant was on probation when the new crime occurred. However, when the alleged violation of probation is a new crime, the state must still prove the elements of that crime. If the new alleged crime is a possession of marijuana or other illegal drug case and the state is relying on a constructive possession theory, the state must prove the elements required for constructive possession.

As we have written several times in the past, the state can prove possession of illegal drugs in two general ways. Actual possession is what it sounds like- a person is holding the drugs or has them on his person. Constructive possession deals with drugs near a person or in a place the person controls (such as his/her car or home) where the person knows the drugs are there and has the ability to exercise dominion and control over the drugs. Where drugs are near a person or in a place he/she is commonly found but the person does not know the drugs are present, the elements of constructive possession are not met and the person is not guilty of possession of the illegal drugs. This is true whether the allegation is a new drug possession charge or a violation of existing probation.

In a recent case in Jacksonville, Florida, a person who was on felony probation was driving his car and had a woman passenger in the backseat. Jacksonville police found marijuana concealed in a makeup bag in the backseat of the car. The defendant did not admit to knowing anything about the marijuana but did say that he knew the woman used marijuana and told the officer he probably should not have had her in his car. The state attempted to violate his probation based on his alleged possession of the marijuana.

Even though this was a probation violation case with the lower legal standard, the violation of probation charge was improper. The state still had to prove the elements of constructive possession of the marijuana. However, the state could not prove that the defendant driver knew the marijuana was in the makeup bag and had any ownership or control of the makeup bag and the marijuana inside. As a result, there was insufficient evidence that the defendant driver constructively possessed the marijuana. The violation of probation case was thrown out as to the possession of marijuana allegation.

Police searched the home of a Jacksonville, Florida couple on East Stanford Road and found illegal mushrooms growing in one of the closets, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The criminal drug statutes in Florida cover possession and manufacture of many illegal drugs including these kinds of mushrooms. However, in cases such as this where the police go into someone's home based on an anonymous tip, the search of the house and seizure of the mushrooms may not be legal. Police often get anonymous tips about certain allegedly criminal activity, but that kind of tip alone does not authorize the police to search someone's house.

Under the Florida and U.S. Constitutions, a person has a strong privacy interest in being free from illegal searches and seizures in his/her home. Because of that Constitutional protection, the police cannot just come into a person's home, or get a search warrant, based on an anonymous tip. The tip has to be specifically verified or corroborated before it can even be considered as a legitimate basis for a search. Any time an anonymous tip is used by the police as a reason for a search, the criminal defense lawyer should closely scrutinize all of the facts the police allegedly had to justify the search and consider a motion to suppress any evidence found as a result of the search based on the defense that the search was illegal. If the search is found to be illegal, any evidence of illegal drugs found during the search will be thrown out of court.

Recent statistics show that arrests and prosecutions for white collar crimes have markedly increased in the U.S. as of 2009. For instance, on a month to month basis, white collar crime prosecutions increased by an average of 8.8% in 2009 from the prior year and almost 20% from five years ago.

Two Florida districts were among the federal districts with the largest number of white collar cases per capita, but those were the Southern District and the Northern District. Jacksonville is in the Middle District of Florida. In Federal District Court cases, bank fraud was the most common lead charge. Wire fraud and mail fraud, which can consist of any number allegedly fraudulent activities, were the second and third most common lead charged.

Many people in Florida and throughout the country face serious challenges in getting basic health care. They do not have access to doctors and other medical providers nor do they have the ability to obtain prescriptions for necessary painkillers and other drugs used to treat their various medical conditions. These people are often forced to obtain medicine, which includes prescription drugs and controlled substances, in less traditional ways. The Florida legislature has addressed this issue by making crimes and penalties for the illegal possession of prescription drugs more extremely severe.

For instance, most people think of drug traffickers as people involved in moving large amounts of illegal drugs through the state. However, in order to qualify for drug trafficking of illegal pills such as Hydrocodone, Xanax, Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin and others, a person only needs to have four or more grams of illegal pills in his/her possession. Four grams are far from a large amount and what a normal person would expect to be a trafficking amount. In fact, for people who are prescribed painkillers by a doctor, four grams are within a normal daily prescription amount, although at the very high end for one day. So, contrary to what people might believe about the crime of drug trafficking, being in possession of a daily dose of illegal pills (i.e. without a prescription) may subject someone to a charge of drug trafficking. By contrast, a person must possess more than 25 pounds of marijuana to reach the first level of trafficking marijuana.

Despite the very low threshold for the crime of drug trafficking of various pills in Florida, the penalties are still very severe. There are different levels of drug trafficking in Florida. At the lowest level is someone in possession of 4 or more grams but fewer than 14 grams of pills. That person faces a minimum mandatory sentence of three years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of thirty years in prison. In other words, if a person has a daily dosage of Vicodin or other prescription drug without the prescription, he/she faces at least three years in prison if charged and prosecuted for trafficking. If a person has 14 or more grams of a controlled substance in his/her possession but less than 28 grams, which is still not a extremely large amount and reasonable for someone who has a condition that causes him/her severe pain, the minimum mandatory penalty is 15 years in prison.

Considering the disastrous state of health care in this country, there are many people out there who need painkillers and other prescription drugs such as Percocet, Vicodin, Hydrocodone and others to manage their pain and other medical conditions but do not have traditional access to them. As a result, their medical conditions and less fortunate financial and insurance status may leave them no choice but to treat their pain by obtaining needed drugs in other ways. However, the criminal laws in Florida do not make any concessions for these folks who do not have insurance and cannot afford proper medical treatment but feel the need to relieve their pain just as the more fortunate members of society do. For those more fortunate members of society, they have insurance cards and access to medical providers and prescriptions for pain relieving medicine and they are well on their way to treatment, or at least pain management. For those less fortunate with similar or worse conditions, they have no access to doctors or prescriptions, must find some other way to get treatment and pain relief and may be on their way to a drug trafficking conviction and a mandatory long prison sentence.

A six month Jacksonville, Florida investigation that involved multiple law enforcement entities ended with the arrest of thirty-one people recently, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The undercover law enforcement agents apparently advertised on the Internet on websites like Craigslist for contractors to perform home repairs and other projects typically done by contractors and subcontractors. If the individuals who responded to the ads attempted to perform the work without the required contractor's license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the people were arrested.

Florida law makes it criminal for contractors to do certain things without a contractor's license. For instance, it is a crime in Florida to give someone the impression or advertise that he/she is licensed when he/she is not, impersonate someone who is licensed, knowingly give false information to obtain a contractor's license and do any work that requires a contractor's license without a license.

For first time violators of this law in Florida, it is a first degree misdemeanor which can be punishable by up to a year in jail. However, the crime can become a third degree felony punishable by five years in prison under certain circumstances. If a person commits a second violation of this law, it is a third degree felony. If a person commits a violation after the Governor declares a state of emergency, perhaps after a hurricane, it is a third degree felony even for a first time violation.

When the economy is bad and jobs are hard to come by, some people may try and do some extra contracting work or take jobs out of necessity. For someone doing contracting work without a license, it is important to understand that it may be a crime and apparently law enforcement officials are taking the time and effort to investigate these cases.

It is a serious felony crime in Florida for a person to possess a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. That is a fairly straightforward crime, but there are other aspects of the crime that are not so obvious. It does not matter where the person obtained the felony conviction. If a person was convicted of a felony in any state, that person cannot possess a gun in Florida. Additionally, if a person was adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile and is under 24, that person cannot possess a firearm in Florida.

Possession does not just mean actual possession, i.e. holding it in one's hand or having the gun in one's pocket. Possession can include constructive possession of the firearm which can be established with proof that the person knew the gun was present and had dominion and control over the gun. For instance, if a person is driving his car by himself and a gun is found in the glove compartment with other items belonging to that person such as a wallet, a good argument can be made that he is in constructive possession of the firearm.

The crime of possession of a firearm is not limited to guns. Once a person has been convicted of a felony, that person cannot possess ammunition or an electric weapon or device such as a taser.

The crime of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is very serious and can carry significant penalties. It is either a second degree felony with a potential penalty of 15 years in prison or possibly a first degree felony punishable by life in prison depending on the circumstances.