Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Hate Crime Defendant Gets Probation
A 55-year-old man, who faced decades in prison, pleaded guilty to hate crime-enhanced assault stemming from an incident at a 2019 MLK Jr. Day protest. As a condition of his deferred disposition probation, the man cannot possess firearms for a decade, must perform 300 hours of community service, take anger management classes, and attend… Read More »
Informal Expungement in Hillsborough County
The consequences of a criminal conviction keep coming long after the judge’s gavel falls. On average, a felony conviction costs about $6,400 per year in lost wages and other costs, even years after the defendant’s sentence ends. These high costs quickly add up and become debilitating. Other lifelong costs of a criminal conviction, like… Read More »
Jail Release Options In Hillsborough County
As coronavirus lockdowns ended in late 2020, local jail populations skyrocketed. Unsentenced inmates accounted for over 80 percent of this growth. A key presumption in the law holds that the punishment should fit the crime. In other words, if defendants haven’t committed a crime, or at least they haven’t been convicted of a crime,… Read More »
Search Warrant Requirements in Florida
The search warrant requirement comes from the writs of assistance which the British used in Colonial times. These writs, which were often transferable, were blank search warrants that allowed any military or law enforcement official to search any property at any time. To end this abusive practice, the Founding Fathers added the Fourth Amendment… Read More »
When Can Officers Pull Me Over on Suspicion of DUI?
Usually, police officers can detain motorists or other persons if they have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. For many years, since the Supreme Court established this rule in 1968, reasonable suspicion was an evidence-based hunch. The Court has watered down this rule in recent years. For example, in 2014, the Supremes ruled that police… Read More »
Lawmakers Approved Revamped Capital Punishment Law
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign a bill that would impose the death penalty on some child sex offenses, even if jurors don’t unanimously agree on this punishment. Instead, an 8-4 vote would be sufficient. “My view is, you have some of these people that will be serial rapists of six, seven-year-old… Read More »
The Five Most Common Kinds Of White Collar Crime
Unless they have overwhelming evidence, prosecutors often don’t press charges in violent crime cases. The opposite is true in white collar criminal cases. Prosecutors almost always press charges in these cases, especially if the defendant doesn’t quickly and voluntarily pay restitution. As a result, prosecutors often file cases with weak evidence. These cases are… Read More »
Pretrial DUI Drivers’ License Suspension In Hillsborough County
Florida, like every other U.S. state, has an implied consent law. A refusal to submit to a lawful request for a chemical sample could lead to drivers’ license suspension, even if the driver isn’t convicted of DUI. The suspension periods are usually six months for a first refusal and twelve months for a subsequent… Read More »
Should I Accept A Plea Deal?
For much of American history, trials resolved most criminal cases. Plea bargains became the norm after the Civil War, as the country continued growing and courts became overworked. Still, as recently as the 1990s, trials resolved a significant number of criminal cases. Today, that proportion has dwindled to less than 2 percent. Pretrial dismissals… Read More »
The Brave New World Of Marijuana Possession Cases In Florida
Over the last several years, a marijuana legalization wave has crashed ashore in the United States. But this wave hasn’t directly affected most Florida residents. A few localities, including Tampa, Key West, Orlando, Miami-Dade County, and Sarasota, have decriminalized marijuana possession. But a statewide prohibition remains in effect, with the exception of some medicinal… Read More »