Many drug cases in Florida are the result of police suspecting that a suspect has drugs and requesting that the defendant consent to a search of his/her vehicle, home, person or other belongings. People always have the right to refuse a police officer’s request to search, but people often allow…
As criminal defense lawyers in the Jacksonville, Florida area, we still spend too much time and effort dealing with criminal cases and probation violations involving marijuana. It is a tremendous waste of taxpayer money and government resources, notwithstanding how completely ineffective the war on drugs continues to be. Some law…
When a person is arrested for a crime in Florida, he/she is taken to the local jail. If he/she cannot make bond, he/she will remain there until the criminal case is resolved. Inmates in the local jail generally have phone privileges, but they are informed that each call is recorded.…
It is pretty clear in Florida that a police officer cannot search a suspect for drugs or other evidence of illegal activity without a proper legal basis such as consent, probable cause or a valid arrest. A police officer might be able to do a quick pat down of a…
As many people are aware, marijuana is slowly becoming more acceptable, and legal, around the country. Ironically, and contradictorily, states that consider themselves “conservative”, as in for smaller government, seem to be the most reluctant to get the government out of people’s right to possess and use this plant. But,…
In Florida, drug possession cases can be proven in two different ways. A person can be found guilty of a drug charge based on actual possession. Actual possession of a drug is what it sounds like. A person is holding the drugs or has them in his/her pocket or some…
In Florida, a person who is on probation for a crime does lose some of his/her constitutional rights. For instance, any other person has the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures in his/her home. This means that a police officer or other agent of the state cannot…
In Florida, the police are limited in what and when they can search items that belong to you. Obvious examples include your house, your vehicle and your person. The police are not permitted to search any of those things unless they have a search warrant, they have consent from someone…
In a word, no. The University of Michigan conducts an annual survey regarding drug use among teenagers. The special interests against marijuana legalization, i.e. pharmaceutical companies that want people using their processed drugs rather than the naturally growing marijuana plant, along with the politicians to whom those special interests pay…
There is a search and seizure rule in Florida that many people are not aware of that can be quite onerous, depending on how it is applied. It is called the inevitable discovery rule. To understand the rule, it is important to first understand your rights. The Constitution guarantees a…