Criminal Law

Published on: February 2, 2009

Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Forced To Represent Client?

In any criminal case a defendant is entitled to an attorney even if they cannot afford one; the same defendant is also entitled to an attorney who is free from a potential conflict of interest.

This normally does not create a problem unless there are multiple co-defendants, who cannot afford a private attorney.

Clearly the public defender would be appointed to represent the first defendant, but what about the others? If the public defender’s office represented more than one defendant there could be a conflict of interest. after all, how could the same office be expected to do what is best for each defendant individually. In any criminal case the defense lawyer must look out for his or her client individually; even if that comes at the expense of others charged. The defense attorney must always be able to use the argument: “the other guy did it” or ” the other guy made my client do it”.

Published on: January 14, 2009

Florida Judge Throws Out Over 100 DUI Breath Test Results

by Leland Garvin

A Manatee County Judge ruled that the Breath Test results in over 100 DUI cases are inadmissible at trial.

For the past 3 years, Florida Defense Attorneys have been arguing that breath alcohol results obtained from the “Intoxilyzer 5000” should be suppressed based on the fact that the manufacturer has refused to release the machines source code.

Defense Lawyers have argued that their clients have a right to have DUI experts analyze whether the machines are functioning properly.

Published on: December 15, 2008

Miami-Dade Criminal Defense Attorneys Stuned after Successful Insanity Defense

by Leland Garvin

After 5 hours of deliberations a Miami-Dade jury came back with a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity verdict. Defendant Lavenston Horne Horne was charged with shooting and killing both of his parents as his father was fixing dinner on July 8th, 1996. Lavenston also shot his sister multiple times when she walked into the room. Lavenston’s sister, Inga, survived and testified that a few weeks before the murders, her brother came to her and told her that he was hearing voices that were telling him to do bad things.

After Lavenston fired on both of his parents he is reported to have stood over his mother and shouted “Who’s the king now?”

After Lavenston was arrested, he told the officers that his father “went crazy” and shot his mother and sister, and then turned the gun on himself.

Published on: November 13, 2008

South Florida, a Top Destination for Prescription Drug Tourism?

by Leland Garvin

They’re not coming for the beaches any more, they’re coming for the Pain Management Clinics. Within the past few years it seems like these clinics have been popping up everywhere, and they’re clearly making money. If you can’t tell from the lines wrapped around the back of the clinic on a Monday morning or the ads that appear on page after page in the New Times, this is a profitable business. The worst of these drugs is Oxycodone (aka. oxy’s, oxycontin); according to DEA statistics Broward County is the number Oxycodone distribution site in the Country, dispensing 3.3 million pills in the first 6 months of this year.

Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Lisa McElhaney states that BSO has been “talking to hundreds of thousands of individuals trafficking into the State of Florida specifically to obtain pharmaceutical drugs.”

So why do all these people travel here to South Florida? Authorities say it’s because we make it easy for them to get pills. Additionally, they say it’s perfectly legal and the State Legislature is doing nothing to regulate this epidemic. Recently channel 7’s Carmel Cafiero investigated this growing trend with a story that appeared in her segment Carmel on the Case.

Published on: November 7, 2008

Craigslist Cracks Down On Prostitution Ads

by Leland Garvin

Yesterday, the classifieds site agreed to crack down on ads posted by prostitutes, responding to government complaints that the site has become a free clearinghouse for illegal sexual services.

In an agreement with attorneys general from 40 states, Craigslist said it will require posters of erotic-services ads to give a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card. The site will then be able to provide that information in response to law-enforcement subpoenas, creating a “roadmap” that can be used to track prostitutes and sex traffickers.

Click here for the full story from the Wall Street Journal

Published on: November 4, 2008

Deffective Miranda Warnings Could Overturn Convictions in Florida

by Leland Garvin

The Florida Supreme Court, in a 6-1 ruling, held that statements given by suspects after police administer a flawed Miranda warning may not be used as evidence against them.

In The State of Florida v. Kevin Dewayne Powell, The court found that the Tampa Police Department Miranda warnings were misleading as they suggested that a suspect in a criminal case only has the right to consult with an attorney before questioning. According to the opinion, “Both Miranda and the Florida Constitution require that a suspect be clearly informed of the right to have a lawyer present during questioning.”

This ruling is good for anyone who is the suspect of a police investigation, especially in Tampa. The opinion is also good for Florida criminal defense attorneys, who will be able to argue for the suppression of evidence in their client’s pending cases. Click here for the entire opinion http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2008/sc07-2295.pdf

Published on: October 27, 2008

Fort Lauderdale police investigating claims of using arrest quotas

by Leland Garvin

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is investigating an officer’s complaint accusing supervisors of instituting quotas for arrests and tickets, a department spokesman confirmed today.

Police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said the department’s internal affairs investigators were looking into the charges.

The Miami Herald reported in Monday’s editions that a veteran patrolman, Michael Hennessy, complained that supervisors were requiring officers to meet minimum quotas for arrests and citations, using time off, overtime and off-duty work details as rewards and denying those privileges to officers who failed to meet the quotas.

Published on: October 24, 2008

Deadly Marijuana ?

by Leland Garvin

According to the Miami-Dade Police department, there is no harmless marijuana.

Investigators said Thursday that Yoel Padron Garcia, a guard at a hydroponics lab in Naranja, confessed to shooting at undercover narcotics detectives, wounding one. Garcia was arrested in Dania Beach, 40 miles to the north.

Miami-Dade police announced Garcia’s arrest Thursday, hours after Miami-Dade Detective Edwin Diaz was released from Jackson Memorial Hospital. They took the opportunity to stress a rise in violence associated with grow houses.

Published on: October 16, 2008

DUI Breathalyzer Technician Manipulated Test Results

by Leland Garvin

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Breathalyzer Technician/inspector is fired after manipulating test results.

The technician had a pattern of turning the machine off and back on when it looked the machine was about to fail the inspection.

In July the FDLE wrote a letter to all of the police departments in these three counties alerting them of this technician’s pattern of law enforcement misconduct. The Department wrote this letter due to the fact that this may qualify as Brady evidence; which the law requires the Prosecution to disclose to the defense as it may tend to show that the defendant did not commit the crime.

Published on: October 6, 2008

$1,000 fine for speeding 50 mph over limit takes effect in Florida

by Leland Garvin

Brazen motorcyclists and drivers now will be clobbered with a fine in the four figures — $1,000 and up — if they get busted for excessive speeding on Florida roads.

And for the bikers, there are additional new rules, including a ban on “popping wheelies,” or lifting the front wheel off the pavement.

Under a Florida law that took effect this month, drivers face a $1,000 fine for going 50 mph over the speed limit.