After a person is convicted of a crime in Florida, whether as a result of a guilty or no contest plea or a jury trial, it is up to the judge to determine the defendant’s sentence. Of course, if the criminal defense lawyer and the prosecutor work out a deal…
Most people have heard through school, interaction with the judicial system, television shows or otherwise that there is a constitutional right to jury trial for people charged with a crime. This is usually true, but it is not true in every case. There is an exception for certain minor crimes…
As most people are aware in Florida and elsewhere, when the police arrest a suspect or take a suspect into custody, the police are required to read the suspect the Miranda warnings before attempting to take a statement from the suspect. The Miranda warnings discuss a variety of rights, but…
In Florida, the state has a certain period of time from the date a crime has occurred to prosecute the defendant. Like other states, Florida has statutes of limitation which set out a number of years within which the state must prosecute a person for committing certain crimes. The period…
Does a police officer in Florida have the right to arrest a person who commits a crime outside of his/her jurisdiction? It depends. The general rule is that police officers have no authority to arrest people for crimes outside of their jurisdiction. However, there are exceptions. Some neighboring cities and…
A client recently came to the law firm of Lasnetski Gihon Law as a result of a DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs) arrest in July of 2016. The arrest was actually based on an alleged DUI offense in Jacksonville, Florida from 2013. Most DUI arrests are…
When the police in Florida believe a suspect committed a crime, they will often take steps to get that suspect to make admissions that can be used against the suspect in court. When the police take someone into custody and seek to get a statement from the suspect, the police…
Most people understand that everyone has a Constitutional right to remain silent. This is a right afforded to people in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Florida Constitution. As many people are aware, this means that the police cannot force you to give a statement or say…
Most people in Florida are aware of the fact that when the police take someone into custody, that person has a right to remain silent and not talk to the police and have a right to an attorney before or during any discussion with police. The police are required to…
As technology advances with computers and cell phones and newer forms of communication, old laws and cases do not always properly address how our privacy rights might be affected, and how the government can look at or seize our data in criminal cases. We have written previous articles about when…