Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer Blog

Federal prosecutors recently charged 73 people, from Georgia to California, for allegedly defrauding Medicare out of $163 million, according to an article on Foxnews.com. The people arrested were apparently setting up fake doctor-patient relationships and billing Medicare for medical services that were never performed. More traditional Medicare fraud involves doctors or other medical professionals billing Medicare for medical services that are not necessary or never performed and medical devices that are not needed or used by the patient. However, in this case, the suspects apparently made up the whole thing. They are reported to have used stolen social security numbers and identification information to create patient accounts. They also allegedly used stolen identification information from doctors to make it seem like the facilities had actual doctors ordering the medical services and devices. Phantom medical facilities were also created where the fictitious patient visits were supposed to take place.

The authorities were alerted to this scheme when they matched up a large number of the social security numbers on the Medicare reimbursement forms with the social security numbers of Medicare patients who reported having their identification information stolen. In addition to that evidence, the Medicare reimbursement forms also showed that some of the medical treatment for which reimbursement under Medicare was requested, was ordered by the wrong kind of doctor. As an example, the article notes that the suspects asked Medicare for reimbursement for a pregnancy ultrasound performed by an ear, nose and throat doctor.

In Florida, when a defendant is charged with a violent crime, such as battery, aggravated assault or murder, the defendant's criminal defense lawyer may present evidence at the trial that the victim had a reputation for violence in the community. Normally, such evidence about a victim's character is not admissible at the trial. However, in some cases, the victim's character may be admissible. One example is in a self defense case. However, there is a condition that must be met before that evidence of the victim's violent reputation is admissible. The defendant must first establish that the victim committed some violent or threatening act around the time of the incident that caused the defendant to act as he did. Once that foundation for a self defense claim is laid, the defendant can then present evidence of the victim's reputation for violence.

Under Florida law, the reason for allowing a criminal defense attorney to present evidence of the victim's reputation for violence in a self defense case is to support the defendant's claim that the victim was the initial aggressor and the defendant was justified in using force in self defense. The evidence of the victim's violent reputation helps prove that the victim acted consistently with his reputation in this case. Therefore, there is no requirement that the defendant prove that he/she actually knew of the victim's violent reputation before that reputation evidence can be admitted into evidence.

However, this last part is different in a self defense case where the criminal defense lawyer is seeking to introduce evidence of specific acts of violence committed by the victim prior to the incident in question. Prior specific acts of violence by the victim may be relevant to show that the defendant was reasonably in fear of the victim in this case and used force against the victim as a result. Because this evidence relates to the defendant's state of mind, i.e. his/her legitimate fear of the victim, the defendant must establish that he/she was aware of the victim's prior acts of violence before they are admitted at the trial.

Florida laws have become much tougher on all illegal conduct involving weapons, particularly firearms. It is illegal for a person in Florida to possess any weapon, including a gun, taser, knife or other weapon on school grounds unless it is specifically authorized by the school. There are some exceptions to this rule. A person 18 years of age or older can have a gun or other weapon at school for a lawful purpose in his/her vehicle if the gun or other weapon is in his/her vehicle inside a secure case or otherwise not easily accessible for immediate use.

A violation of this law in Florida is a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. And prosecutors and judges do take gun crimes seriously, particularly when schools are involved. Therefore, if you are ever in a position to take a gun or other weapon to school, make sure it is either for a school sponsored event and cleared by the school or locked away in a secure case in the vehicle. If the gun or weapon is possessed without authorization by the school or somewhere where it is not secured away, a felony arrest for unlawful possession of a weapon may result.

Most crimes have been on the decline across the country over the last few years. However, domestic violence, or domestic battery, cases have increased by 10% in Jacksonville, Florida according to a recent Jacksonville news article. There is no question that domestic battery is a serious crime. However, domestic battery is also probably the best example of a crime where people often get arrested without justification.

For example, we recently handled a case for a client in Jacksonville where the young woman and her boyfriend got into a heated argument. He grabbed her by the shoulders during the argument. She grabbed his arm at some point. Neither was injured in the slightest. He was scared that she might call the police so he called the police first. Because he called the police first, the young lady was arrested for domestic battery. This was clearly a race to call 911 with the loser getting arrested for a very serious charge. This is not an uncommon situation. In many situations, whoever calls the police and gives his or her story to police can get the other person arrested. The police are often at a disadvantage. They were not present for the incident and often do not have (or do not look for) independent witnesses to question to find out what actually happened. They make an arrest based on incomplete and very biased testimony from someone who is looking to get back at his/her husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc. In many situations, like the example above, no one should be arrested. However, it often seems like the police feel like they need an arrest to justify the trip out to the scene. Fortunately, in the case of our client, we made it clear that our client was arrested in error, and the domestic battery charge was dropped.

As mentioned, domestic battery is a serious crime, and should be treated as such when violence occurs. However, many of these domestic battery arrests are the result of a flawed investigative process and need to be defended vigorously. If you have been arrested for a domestic battery or other domestic violence charge in the Jacksonville, Florida area, feel free to contact us for a free consultation to learn your rights.

In a recent drug trafficking case near Jacksonville, Florida, a police officer stopped the defendant as he was driving by himself in a rental car. The police officer ultimately searched the rental car and found a trafficking amount of cocaine in a closed compartment in the vehicle. The rental car had been rented by the defendant's wife in her name.

The defendant was charged with trafficking in cocaine and went to trial. In order for the state to prove a trafficking in cocaine case of this nature, the state would have to prove that the defendant was in constructive possession of the cocaine in the closed compartment of the rental car rented by his wife. This means the state would have to show that the defendant knew the cocaine was in the vehicle, and that he had some control over the cocaine. The defendant argued that he was just borrowing the car from his wife and had no idea the cocaine was in the vehicle. At the trial, the police officer was allowed to testify that, based upon his training and experience, the fact that a third party, the defendant's wife, rented the vehicle was evidence that the defendant knew the cocaine was in the vehicle. This testimony was enough for the appellate court to reverse the defendant's conviction for cocaine trafficking.

The state is generally not allowed to introduce evidence to the jury about what other criminal offenders typically do in an effort to prove the defendant in a specific criminal case did the same thing. The idea is that each defendant in a criminal case is supposed to be judged based on the specific facts of his/her case, not what other people might have done in the past. This would seem to be particularly true in this case where it is a stretch to say that a person driving a rental car rented by his wife is some indication that he is a cocaine trafficker.

Police in Clay County, Florida (which is adjacent to Jacksonville, Florida) are making an increasing number of arrests for operating marijuana grow houses, according to an article on Firstcoastnews.com. A Clay County Sheriff's Office representative said they made 15 arrests for marijuana grow houses in 2009 and 12 already this year. Police say that these houses look just like any other house from the outside. However, inside, there is often an elaborate system that creates an environment where marijuana can grow indoors.

So if marijuana grow houses look normal from the outside, how do police find out where they are? The number one way police find out about who is growing, manufacturing or selling drugs is from other people. When police make arrests, the person arrested may talk about others in the drug business to try and gain favor in their cases. However, marijuana grow houses have certain characteristics that can alert police. There may be a generator outside that is used to power the lighting equipment. There may be security cameras used to see who is approaching the house. The windows may be taped shut so no one can see through any cracks in the blinds or between the blinds and the windows. The electric bill may be inordinately high because of the lighting equipment inside. Marijuana grow houses may look like normal houses in the neighborhood, but the police have developed ways to locate them and have been making more arrests as a result in the Jacksonville, Florida area.

There are several crimes in Florida where, if you are convicted, the judge is required to place you on sex offender probation. For other crimes, the judge normally has discretion whether to put a defendant on probation and if he/she does, the judge has discretion as to which terms of probation to impose.

That is not the case with certain sex crimes and sex offender probation in Florida. If a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to one of the relevant sex crimes or is found guilty after a trial, the judge must sentence the defendant to sex offender probation. As part of that probation, the judge must impose certain terms such as a curfew, a requirement that the defendant not live within 1,000 feet of where children congregate, to have no contact with children except under certain circumstances, to enter into and complete a sex offender treatment program, to submit DNA, to comply with certain internet restrictions, to take annual polygraph tests and other requirements. Since sex offender probation is so restrictive, and the penalties for a violation of sex offender probation are so serious, a defendant should make sure he/she understands exactly what he/she is doing before resolving the sex case with a plea or trial.

As criminal defense lawyers in Jacksonville, Florida, we handle all varieties of criminal cases. Every now and then, the police will set up a sting or establish a particular focus on a particular crime. This often results in the arrest of people who actually commit that crime as well as people who did nothing wrong but get caught up in the enthusiasm of the Jacksonville police. One common example is the Jacksonville police's focus on pulling people over for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (i.e. DUI) around holiday weekends like July 4th, New Year's and Labor Day.

Lately, we have heard from clients about the police going after contractors for allegedly offering to do work they are not licensed to perform. And what we have seen is these cases appear to be very problematic. Many of these individuals who are arrested have occupational licenses that allow them to do a variety of maintenance and repair work on a person's home. In order to do certain jobs, like plumbing and electrical, they need a more specialized license. In these cases, the police have someone posing as a homeowner who lures the contractors over by asking them over the phone to do work they are legally licensed to do, such as installing cabinets. When the contractor gets to the home, the police agent then does not want to discuss the cabinets but tries to get the person to agree to do other work, or atl east offer a price for the other work, such as the electrical or plumbing work. Even where the contractor refuses to do the work but throws out an estimate as to what it might cost, the police rush in and make the arrest.

Contractors in Jacksonville, particularly those who advertise on Craigslist, need to be careful what they say to prospective customers during that initial meeting regarding the work to be performed. If the police have set up a sting to arrest contractors, even licensed contractors as the police are apparently not making the distinction, anything a contractor says, even a general reference to a price, will likely result in an arrest. Of course, these charges can be defended in court, but the charge of offering to perform contracting services without a license is a serious charge with potentially very serious penalties, particularly for honest contractors who cannot afford to have such an arrest and/or conviction on his/her record.

If you have driven around Jacksonville and other areas in the Southeast, you may have noticed signs for pain clinics, which are clinics people who have chronic pain can go to to get evaluated and receive prescriptions for pain medicine. However, federal law enforcement agents and local police are raiding these pain clinics and arresting the people who work there, including the doctors and those who have an ownership interest in the pain clinics. The police are alleging that the pain clinics are providing a large number of prescription pills such as Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and Oxycontin to people either without performing the appropriate medical exam or at excessive numbers not indicated by their medical conditions, and the people who receive the pills are turning around and selling them on the street for a significant profit.

In the most recent raid of the Northeast Florida Pain and Urgent Care Center on Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville, the doctor was arrested for allegedly trafficking in Oxycodone for providing large amounts of Oxycodone without meeting the appropriate medical standards. According to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officials, this is the third pain clinic shut down in Jacksonville in the last month.

At the law firm of Shorstein & Lasnetski, LLC, we have significant experience representing doctors in front of administrative review boards and otherwise. We also have extensive experience defending doctors and other pain clinic employees in these pain clinic drug cases that are appearing more and more as federal agents and local police officers are focusing in on them. If you have a question about an affiliation with a pain clinic or a related investigation, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.

Police in Florida and Georgia are on the lookout for homes in which marijuana is being grown. Marijuana grow houses, as they are often called, often use elaborate equipment to create an environment where marijuana can be successfully grown in the privacy of one's home. The downside to that for people growing marijuana is that the police have learned certain tactics that help them locate these grow houses. They may look at electric bills, and when they find an electric bill that is much higher for one house than similar houses in the neighborhood, this raises suspicion that marijuana is being grown inside because the lights that are used to grow the marijuana use a lot of electricity. Police also look for houses with security cameras outside as people growing marijuana or storing drugs in their home often have security cameras outside to alert them when people are approaching.

Sometimes, the police come across a marijuana grow house by accident. In St. Marys, Georgia, which is about an hour north of Jacksonville, Florida, police were investigating a house fire on 4th Street that was caused by a generator used to power the lights that helped grow the marijuana. When the police went to investigate the fire, they found the marijuana plants inside a room in the home. Normally, the police are not allowed to enter a home without a search warrant signed by a judge. However, in certain emergency circumstances and/or circumstances where the police or fire department are conducting a valid investigation, i.e. a house fire investigation, the police can enter the home to follow up on the emergency or investigate the fire. If they come across the marijuana plants or other evidence of illegal activity, they are permitted to investigate the new evidence. In this case, not only did they find the marijuana grow house when they investigated the fire, but they also found documents in that house which informed them of the location of another grow house. These documents may have given the police probable cause to obtain a search warrant for the second house, depending on what was in those documents.

This case will likely result in some interesting search and seizure issues that can be challenged by the criminal defense lawyers for the people charged with growing the marijuana. However, people need to understand that some of the items that accompany these marijuana grow houses, such as generators, lighting equipment and large electric bills, can alert police to the existence and location of a marijuana grow house.