A federal judge recently declined to sentence a defendant with ecstasy charges within the federal sentencing guidelines because he felt the federal sentencing guidelines punish ecstasy crimes too harshly and are not scientifically justified. In federal court, when a defendant pleads guilty or is convicted at trial, the judge will…
In the past, we have discussed the unequal treatment given to defendants who have been arrested for drug crimes where the primary difference was whether the illegal drug was crack cocaine or powder cocaine. Under the old federal criminal laws, people arrested and charged with crack cocaine crimes faced much…
Twenty-one people were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana in Brunswick, Georgia federal court, according to an article on News4Jax.com. A few of them were also indicted on related weapons charges. The indictments were the result of a lengthy investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Georgia…
As criminal defense lawyers in the Jacksonville, Florida area who handle all criminal cases in state and federal courts, we have seen how people convicted of crack cocaine crimes can receive much higher sentences than those convicted of powder cocaine crimes where the amount of powder cocaine was similar to…
The federal government recently obtained an indictment against a St. Augustine woman claiming she was running a Ponzi scheme through her investment company in St. Augustine, Florida, according to an article on News4Jax.com. The woman was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit wire…
The term “overcriminalization” refers to the government creating laws that make certain conduct a crime when that conduct is more appropriately addressed with less serious sanctions such as a fine, or perhaps not at all. A recent article on the Miami Herald’s website discusses this overcriminalization issue and provides a…
A federal grand jury recently indicted a group of people based on prosecutors’ allegations that they participated in a scheme to defraud mortgage brokers out of $1.8 million in thirteen different real estate transactions. The charges allegedly involve Access E-Mortgage, Inc., a company out of St. Augustine, Florida. Based on…
Eight employees of the U.S. Postal Service were arrested by federal agents for opening and stealing mail, according to a recent Jacksonville news article. The postal employees were accused of opening the mail and stealing the contesnts such as gift cards, debit cards and other items of value. Because the…
Many of the crimes we see that involve computer or networking technology and criminal activity of a sexual nature deal with people in possession of child pornography on their computers. Law enforcement officials are able to track these photos and videos and find them on just about any computer. People…
In federal criminal cases charging a defendant with fraud relating to the operation of a business, a common defense is asserted that the defendant relied upon the advice of a professional or other advisor, such as an accountant, and had the right to assume his/her conduct was legal. In a…