Criminal Defense

Last month, we wrote a post regarding a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling which expanded privacy protections to criminal suspects with respect to their cell phones. The ruling, as we pointed out, requires police to obtain a search warrant before searching the contents...

Search and seizure issues are important to explore in criminal defense cases. Police do not have the ability to do anything they please when dealing with criminal suspects, and failure to respect the privacy rights of suspects can impact the viability of a criminal...

Julie Schenecker, a woman from New Tampa, faces the trial that will determine the rest of her life today. Schenecker had been found lying on the patio of her New Tampa home in 2011, with blood on her hands and bathrobe. Her two children were also found that day: her...

A teenager is facing a disorderly conduct conviction after he recorded his classmates bullying him and played the recording for school administrators. Rather than acting on the information in the recording in which his classmates threatened him and insulted him,...

A lawyer is facing professional sanctions after his services to a client accused of murder who was facing the death sentence were so inadequate the defendant was entitled to a new trial. The lawyer had represented only three prior murder defendants and had never tried...

Law enforcement officers from around the country have reported an increased frequency of violent incidents involving individuals who are mentally ill. This puts police in a difficult situation, acting using only their training as police and without the proper...

Cody Dials is charged with first-degree murder in the death of David Rhea, 39, a commercial fisherman who lived in Pinellas Park. Recently, a gun that may have been used in the killing was discovered. The finding of this gun is bittersweet: it gave the prosecution a...

A Florida man is suing a local police department for emotional distress and legal costs after he spent 15 hours in jail following his arrest for videotaping police officers on the job. The man was using his cell phone to record an altercation happening on the street...

The different defenses that are available for a criminal defendant vary with each case and the facts surrounding that case. One defense that is available for some defendants is that the defendant is not competent to stand trial. However, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled...

The arrest of the owner of a National Football League (NFL) team for driving under the influence of alcohol could lead to sanctions from the league, according to recent reports. It would be the first time a team owner has been sanctioned for a drug or alcohol related...