Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

If you are married, you have the privilege to refuse to disclose any communications between you and your spouse that were intended to be made in confidence. The communications had to be relayed while you were married. This privilege can be claimed by both spouses.

There are exceptions to every rule. There is no privilege:

1. In any proceeding brought by one spouse against the other.

2. In a criminal matter in which one spouse is charged with a crime committed against the other spouse or the child of either spouse.

3. In a criminal matter where the communication is evidence presented by a the defendant-spouse.

The Lawyer-Client Privilege is long recognized in criminal courts in Florida. The client has the privilege to refuse to disclose confidential communications when the communications were made when rendering legal services to that client. The privilege can be claimed by the client, the client's guardian, the personal representative of a dead client, and the lawyer on behalf of the client.

There is no Lawyer-Client Privilege if:

1. The services of the attorney were obtained to aid anyone to commit a crime.

2. The communication is relevant to an issue brought out by people who have made a claim through a dead client.

3. A communication is relevant as to whether or not the lawyer breached a duty to the client.

4. A communication is relevant to the competence of a client to execute a document in which the lawyer was a witness.

If you are a witness in a criminal trial in Florida, you typically testify as to what you observed (facts). (the light was green, the suspect wore a red shirt and bluejeans)

Generally, opinion testimony is limited to people qualified as "experts" in a particular field. For example, a doctor can testify as an expert and give his or her opinion on medical matters. The expert must have scientific, technical, or another specialized knowledge that will help the jury to understand evidence or to determine a fact in issue.

If a lay person can only give their opinion if the opinion doesn't require special knowledge, skill, experience, or training. Their opinion must also not mislead the jury. They can testify as to someone's physical appearance, such as the person looked "angry" or "fearful".

If you do not have a concealed weapons permit and carry a concealed gun on or around you, you can be arrested for a felony charge in Jacksonville. However, there is an exception to this law if you have the gun "securely encased" or otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use.

The key is to determine what securely encased means. Generally, you can have the gun in your glove compartment, snapped in a holster, in a hard or zippered gun case or in any container that has a lid that has to be opened.

Even though there are exceptions, the law is whatever the arresting officer thinks it is. Even though you may have the gun securely encased, you still can be arrested on gun charges in Jacksonville. A Jacksonville Gun Crime Lawyer can look into the gun charge to see if the officer made a valid arrest.

If someone is arrested for trespassing or burglary in Jacksonville, they are likely to be arrested for possessing burglary tools as well. Possessing "burglary tools" is a third degree felony punishable for up o 5 years in prison.

In order to be convicted of this charge, you have to possess any tool or machine with the intent to commit a burglary. It is not enough to prove that you intended to commit the burglary while the tools were in your possession. The prosecutor must prove that you intended to use THOSE tools to commit the burglary. You would have to commit some overt act toward the commission of the crime. Technically, any tool can be considered a burglary tool if you look at the totality of the circumstances involved.

Taser International, the company that manufactures the "Taser", has now introduced a new product to law enforcement. It is a device that records, both by video and audio, an officer's entire shift. The camera is worn like a Bluetooth on your ear.

In theory, the police would pick up the recorder at the beginning of their shift and at the end, download the entire day onto a database. Taser claims that the video cannot be deleted, but can be viewed and "managed" by the officer.

Some police officers in Jacksonville have cameras on the dash of their police cars. It is not known how particular officers get picked to have the cameras, but the majority of the officers with cameras are DUI officers. If you are arrested for DUI in Jacksonville by a DUI officer, it is likely that you are captured on video. Even if the officer has a camera, it sometimes "malfunctions". In my experience as a DUI Lawyer in Jacksonville, when there is no video in a DUI case, the officer will not even attempt to have the "problem" fixed. They claim that the camera just malfunctions sometimes.

A school principal was arrested for domestic battery in Nassau County. James Rodeffer is a principal at Yulee Middle School. The criminal charges have now been dropped in Nassau County.

Rodeffer's wife told police that he grabbed her arm and slapped her face. After investigating the allegations further, the prosecutor in the case decided to drop the charge.

Many people don't know how easy it is to be arrested for domestic battery. All you have to do is touch someone you live with against their will. If you are facing domestic battery charges, you are also facing up to a year in jail and probation. If you enter a plea to domestic battery, you may be prevented from buying a gun or entering certain secure work areas. In almost every domestic battery probation in Jacksonville, you will also have to attend the Batterers Intervention Program, which is an intensive 26 week class. Make sure to have a Jacksonville Domestic Battery Attorney review your case before you enter a plea.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution prevents the government from compelling someone to be a witness against themselves in a criminal case. In a case out of Arizona, "Miranda" warnings were established to protect people from coercive pressures of police custodial interrogation. The safeguards provided by these warnings apply only if you are in custody and being interrogated. The police have to advise you that you have the right to have a criminal defense lawyer present before you are questioned.

In DUI cases in Jacksonville, when the police ask you to perform field sobriety exercises, the police read you your rights, which include the right to have a lawyer present before going any further. Even though JSO tells you this, they will not allow you to call a lawyer at that point in the DUI. A Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer could analyze when and where the questions were asked to determine if your rights were violated.

If you are arrested for Grand Theft in Jacksonville, the prosecutor must not only prove you stole something, but the item must be valued at $300.00 or over. In order to convict you of Grand Theft, a third degree felony, the prosecutor has to prove the value.

"Value" is considered fair market value at the time of the theft. It can be established by cost minus depreciation. Some factors to consider are:

1. The original cost of the item

2. The way the item has been used.

3. The condition of the item when stolen

4. The depreciation of the item

A competent Criminal Lawyer in Jacksonville would review the issue of value in every theft case.

To convict someone of premeditated first degree murder in Florida, the prosecutor must prove several elements. The elements are:

1. The victim is dead.

2. The death was caused by the criminal act of the suspect.

3. The killing was premeditated.

Premeditated killing is when you kill someone after making the conscious decision to do so. You must have the intent to kill at the time of the killing. The time between your decision and the killing has to be long enough for you to reflect.

Whether or not the murder was premeditated is up to a criminal jury.

It is very common for JSO to use confidential informants (referred to as CI's) in drug cases in Jacksonville. The police will convince someone to "work" for them. The person usually has pending criminal charges and wants to reduce their time. Police have the CI set up a drug deal and then then use their testimony to arrest someone on drug charges in Jacksonville.

After a drug arrest based on a CI's cooperation, the prosecutor can keep their identity secret from the Jacksonville Drug Lawyer. The privilege to keep the CI's identity confidential is a limited one.

The Jacksonville Attorney has to show that the informant's identity is relevant to a specific defense he or she wants to assert or show that the testimony of the informant is essential to the fair determination of the guilt or innocence of the client.

In order to search your home in most cases, the police must have a signed warrant. One exception to the warrant requirement is exigent circumstances. If the police entered your home under this circumstance without a warrant, a Jacksonville Criminal Attorney can move to suppress anything found in the home if the reasons for the search were not exigent.

The prosecutor must show a "grave emergency" that makes the search necessary for the safety of the community and police. The warrantless entry must be considered imperative, showing a compelling need to enter with no time to get a warrant. Safety must be threatened and time is of the essence.

As Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyers, we have seen thousands of arrest and booking reports in drug possession cases. Many times, people are arrested in a car after JSO pulls the car over for a traffic infraction. After making contact with the driver, police often say they smell marijuana in the car and that justifies their search of the car. If the drugs are not found on any of the passengers or driver, but are found in the car, "constructive" possession of drugs comes into play.

In order to establish constructive possession in Jacksonville, the prosecutor has to prove that you knew of the presence of the drugs and had the ability to exercise control over the drugs. If the drugs are found in the console or glove compartment, the prosecutor has to show independent proof of your knowledge of the drugs and your ability to control the drugs.

When you are arrested in Jacksonville, or anywhere in Florida, you are entitled to a "speedy trial" If you are arrested for a felony, you are entitled to be brought to trial within 175 days of initial arrest absent a more specific demand. If you are arrested for a misdemeanor, you have a right to have a trial within 90 days of arrest.

The speedy trial period starts when you are taken into custody by JSO, not when the actual charges are filed by the prosecutor. To determine if you were actually "arrested" there are certain elements to be considered. They are:

1. The intention by police to make an arrest.

2. The actual or constructive detention of the person to be arrested by police.

3. The communication by the arresting officer to the suspect.

4. What the suspect believes is happening in the situation.

As Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys, we are often asked, when can a police officer search someone's body, also known as a "pat down". If the police officer has reasonable suspicion that you are committing, just committed, or going to commit a crime in Jacksonville, he can most likely detain you. Once you are detained, not free to leave, the officer can search you for officer safety.

If the police officer pats you down and feels what resembles contraband, such as a gun or a bag of drugs, the officer can then reach in your pocket and pull the item out. If the officer does not immediately recognize the item in your pocket, he cannot extract the item to "discover" what it is. In Florida, this is called the "plain feel" doctrine and it addresses the ability of the police to take non-threatening items detected during a search.

If you have been arrested on criminal charges in Jacksonville and the charges are filed, you have a right to go to trial. In trial, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the crime. Before the trial starts, a fair and impartial jury must be selected jury must be selected.

During jury selection, a Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer and the prosecutor will question the pool of potential jurors. The potential juror must be able to lay aside any bias or prejudice and decide on a verdict only on the evidence presented and the law given. A juror should be excused if there is any reasonable doubt about his or her ability to give an impartial verdict.

The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution provides "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures." The Fourth Amendment applies only when you, as the person searched, have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area searched.

To show that you have a legitimate expectation of privacy, there are some factors to consider:

1. Whether you, by your conduct, have exhibited an actual expectation of privacy.

2. Whether your subjective expectation of privacy is one that society deems reasonable as well.

Your home is certainly a place where you have an expectation of privacy. Places like hotel rooms and bathroom stalls are also secure. It becomes more complicated when you talk about hospital rooms and offices.

If you are arrested on criminal charges in Jacksonville and the arrest stems from a search by the police, contact a Jacksonville Criminal Law Firm to review the case.

When you enter a plea to a criminal charge in Jacksonville, the judge can either adjudicate you guilty or withhold adjudication. When the court withholds adjudication, you are not convicted of the criminal charge you were arrested for. Under Florida law, you are technically only supposed to get one withhold in your life on a felony.

In order to get a second withhold on a felony, the prosecutor in your case must request it in writing or the judge has to make written findings as to why the withhold is appropriate in your case. The judge will look at the circumstances surrounding your Jacksonville criminal arrest and deem it appropriate or not.

A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office detective has been suspended for numerous violations. Officer Marva Watkins was suspended for 20 days for putting the wrong bullets in her fun and for shooting at a suspect in a parking lot. Watkins originally fingered the wrong man as a suspect for and while bringing that man out of a nightclub, she saw the man she was looking for. The man ran away and Watkins shot at him.

After investigating the incident, JSO found that Watkins did not have authority to use deadly force, she should not have shot a gun while running, and other various violations of policy. In addition to the suspension, Watkins went through training she previously went through in the police academy.

John Moyer, a man from Pennsylvania, was arrested and convicted on Battery charges that stemmed from him touching Minnie Mouse in Orlando, Florida. Police say Moyer grabbed her breasts and backside. He was sentenced to probation for 6 months to do community service, get a mental evaluation, write an apology letter, and pay a fine.

If you are arrested for battery in Jacksonville, Florida, the maximum sentence you could receive is 1 year in jail. The prosecutor must prove that you intentionally touched someone against their will or intentionally touch someone. It is important to seek the advise of a good Jacksonville Battery Lawyer before entering a plea to any violent charge in Jacksonville.

A former Colorado prison guard must pay a former inmate $1.3 million as part of the inmate's civil lawsuit. The guard raped the inmate, but prosecutors allowed him to plea to a misdemeanor charge of illegal sexual contact. The guard served only 2 months in jail for the sex offense. The guard had a sexual relationship with the inmate, but this conduct is highly inappropriate as well as highly illegal. Not only did he have sex with the inmate, but when she refused to have sex with him, he anally raped her.

Even thought the case was finished in criminal court, an alleged victim can still sue civilly. That means if you are arrested on a sex crime in Jacksonville and a Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorney gets the charges dropped, the alleged victim can still win in civil court. The burden of proof in a criminal case is much higher than in a civil case. In a criminal case in Jacksonville, the state attorney must prove you are guilty beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. In a civil case, the other side must only prove more likely than not the event happened.

In Jacksonville, if you are arrested, a police officer can search your person and the area immediately around you. An officer can do this to:

Protect him or her from attack.

Prevent the suspect from escaping.

If the police surrounded a house and ordered you out, once you are detained, they may do a "protective sweep". This sweep is supposed to protect the police and can be conducted only when the officer has a reasonable belief, based on specific facts, that the area to be swept has someone posing a danger to others at the scene. The police can't take any longer than is necessary to dispel the suspicion of danger because it is a warrantless search. The only purpose of the sweep is to find other people involved. Often, the police will claim to do a sweep, but are looking for evidence of the crime.

If you have been arrested and evidence was found as a result of an alleged "protective sweep", a criminal lawyer in Jacksonville will look into the facts and circumstances to make sure proper procedure was followed.

In Jacksonville, especially recently, there is a lot of scrutiny placed on police action when officers initiate contact with citizens and the interaction goes bad. Recently, a man was shot and killed by JSO officers in Springfield. The whole situation started when two officers approached 2 citizens who were walking in the road. One man became upset he was being questioned and things escalated from there. The man eventually ran away and was shot in the back multiple times. In response to the shooting, a police chief told the media, "There were two perfectly good sidewalks" for them to walk on. He implied that if the man had been walking on the sidewalk, he would not have been killed.

This leads me to one of the most frequent reasons police stop and detain citizens. There is a law in Florida that prohibits loitering and prowling. In order to arrest and prosecute someone for this crime in Jacksonville, the elements that must be met are:

1. A person is loitering and prowling in a place, at a time, or in a manner not usual for law-abiding people.

2. The loitering and prowling was under circumstances that warranted a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of people or property in the area.

Police will arrest someone for this crime in Jacksonville simply because they are standing in a high-crime area. That behavior is not enough to sustain a conviction for this crime.

A police officer in Florida can detain you to ask you name and purpose for being in a particular place if the officer has reasonable suspicion to suspect criminal activity is going on. This is called an Investigatory Stop and the police officer must articulate the facts used to support his suspicion.

Factors the officer can consider are:

What time it is.

What day of the week it is.

Where the person is located.

The physical dress and appearance of the suspect.

The suspect's behavior.

The operation of any car involved.

If you are arrested in Jacksonville based on a JSO officer's detaining you, a Jacksonville Criminal Attorney could look at the facts and circumstances surrounding your detainment and possibly file a Motion to Suppress anything illegal found because the officer acted improperly.

In Jacksonville and all of Florida, in order to get a search warrant, the police need to sign a sworn affidavit. The affidavit has to establish a substantial basis establishing probable cause that illegal activities are taking place in a location. There has to be a fair probability illegal substances, such as drugs, or evidence of a crime will be found in the place to be searched.

For example, when drugs are found in a house as a result of a search warrant in Jacksonville, people in the house are arrested on drug charges. A Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer can file a Motion to Quash the Search Warrant if he or she believes that the warrant was not supported by facts establishing probable cause to believe drugs would be found in the house.

When people are pulled over for a traffic infraction in Jacksonville, police sometimes ask for the driver's consent to search the vehicle. Often, the police write in their report that the driver consented to the search. In order for the search to be legal, the consent must be voluntary. The court must examine the "totality of the circumstances" when determining if a person's consent to search was voluntary or coerced.

The prosecutor has the burden of showing that the consent was voluntary by a "preponderance of the evidence". That means more likely than not, the consent was voluntary. That is a lower standard than the "reasonable doubt" standard used in criminal cases to determine guilt or innocence.

Some factors the court uses in determining whether consent was voluntary are:

1. Whether the person under arrest OR detained in Jacksonville.

2. The age of the person under arrest in Jacksonville.

3. The education level of the person under arrest.

4. The intelligence or medical condition of the suspect.

5. Whether or not the police threatened the person or coerced them.

Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm gets many calls about the sealing and expunging of records in Florida. There are certain crimes in Florida that cannot be sealed or expunged. They are:

Aggravated Assault
Aggravated Battery
Arson
Illegal use of Explosives
Child Abuse of any kind
Abuse of the Elderly
Kidnapping
Murder
Manslaughter
Rape
Robbery
Carjacking
Sex Crimes on a child under 16
Burglary
Stalking
Domestic Battery
Assault
Any Attempt at the above crimes

Continue reading " What crime cannot be sealed or expunged in Jacksonville, Florida? " »

There are different levels of commitment when a juvenile is arrested in Jacksonville. The levels have different supervision and security standards.

1. Minimum Risk Non-Residential - Programs at this level work with the child and the child remains in the community. The child has to participate 5 days a week in the treatment program. The child has full access to the community. Children who are adjudicated a delinquent with sex crimes, crimes involving guns, first degree felonies, or life felonies are not allowed to be committed to this level.

2. Low Risk Residential - The child has unsupervised access to the community, but it is a residential program, campus-style. The program provides education and treatment. The children who get sentenced to this level have to pose a low risk to themselves and the public. Again, if your child committed a sex offense, gun crime, or life or first degree felonies, they are not eligible for this level.

3. Moderate Risk Residential - This program is residential and the child is allowed supervised access to the community. The building is secure with locking doors. Education is provided as well as treatment. There is supervision 24 hours a day in this level. Handcuffs can be used if deemed necessary.

4. High-Risk Residential - If a child is committed to this level, he or she will have no access to the community. In the final days of the commitment, if the child has completed the program, they may have visiting rights to their home, job interview, or for school enrollment.

5. Maximum Risk Residential - This program is the equivalent of a juvenile prison. This is a long-term residential program and the child has no access to the community.

If your child has been arrested in Jacksonville, call our Jacksonville Juvenile Attorneys at (904) 634-0900.

Detention Hearing - a hearing in front of a Circuit Court judge and the Court determines if the child should be placed in police custody.

Habitual Truant - a child who has 15 unexcused absences from school within 3 months without the knowledge or consent of the parent.

Intake - the initial screening of a juvenile's situation and the goal is diversion or the least restrictive services.

Juvenile Probation Officer - an authorized agent of the Department of Juvenile Justice who performs intake, case management, and supervision functions.

Delinquency Prevention Programs - city programs designed to reduce juvenile arrests in Jacksonville and gang activity.

Detention Care - the care of a child in secure, non-secure, or home detention while his or her case is pending.

Secure Detention - custody of a child. The child is restrained to the detention center or facility while the criminal case is pending.

Non-Secure Detention - custody of a child while the child is in a residential program in the community or not physically restrained, but under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Home Detention - custody of the child where the child is released to the parent or guardian.

There are certain terms that apply to juvenile crime in Jacksonville, Florida. Some legal definitions are here:

Child, Juvenile, Youth - any unmarried person under 18 who has not been emancipated.

Comprehensive Assessment - the collection of information used to evaluate a juvenile offender's physical, educational, psychological, vocational, familial, and social conditions.

Day Treatment - a nonresidential community program used to provide an intervention to children who are on probation in Jacksonville or on conditional release. The program can provide education services and acts as a case management system.

Delinquency Program - any intake, probation, or similar program that takes custody and care of children who are accused of being delinquent or who have already been adjudicated delinquent.

If your child has been arrested in Jacksonville and is in the juvenile justice program, call our Jacksonville Juvenile Law Firm at (904) 634-0900.