Monthly Archives: September 2021
Most Common Search Warrant Exceptions
A bedrock principle of American law is that police officers must have a search warrant, or probable cause, before they seize contraband of any kind. Usually, peace officers only obtain search warrants in large, multi-agency investigations, like probes of drug trafficking rings. In everyday cases, most prosecutors use the probable cause loophole. The Supreme… Read More »
Civil Vs. Criminal Actions: Some Key Differences
Until about 1850, America was not a very large or sophisticated country. Most courts heard both civil and criminal matters, and frequently, these matters overlapped. For example, disaffected wives often brought criminal cases against wayward husbands, accusing them of adultery, drunkenness, and other shenanigans. Some of that overlap remains, especially regarding car crashes and… Read More »
If I Blew Into A Breathalyzer Or Provided A Blood Sample, Am I Automatically Guilty Of DUI?
Defendants are never “automatically” guilty of anything in American courts. However, they can be almost automatically guilty, if that makes any sense. Florida, like all other states, has a per se DUI law. In ye olden days, an adverse chemical test result was only a presumption of intoxication. Now, it’s absolute proof of intoxication,… Read More »
Top Five Juvenile Offenses
Many parents have been lulled into a false sense of security by the overall decline in juvenile arrests since the 1990s. When it comes to the most common juvenile crimes, authorities are still very aggressive. Some parents are blindsided when their children are arrested. They know a juvenile conviction is a serious matter, but… Read More »
