Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Eyewitness Testimony Isn’t as Incriminating as You Think
The old saying goes that you should believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. Therefore, hearsay evidence is not admissible in court. If your neighbor says that another neighbor claims to have seen you hours before your arrest and that you appeared to be under the influence of drugs,… Read More »
Martin County Sheriff’s Deputies Seize 10,000 Fentanyl Pills in Drug Bust
The scary thing about fentanyl is that even a tiny amount can kill, and even scarier than that is that many victims of fentanyl overdose were not even aware that the drugs they were consuming contained fentanyl. Instead, the victims though that the white powder they purchased on the street was cocaine or methamphetamine,… Read More »
Can You Use an Alibi Defense in a Drug Case?
Somewhere in the living room of a rented single-family home in Florida, a McMansion turned drug den, a group of people are sitting on couches around a coffee table, passing around a joint even though each of them is already high on a unique combination of substances. Some of the participants are lifelong friends,… Read More »
Drug Court Is Not a “Get Out of Jail Free” Card
Drug courts are a welcome contribution to criminal justice reform, and they are present in all of Florida’s most populous metropolitan areas. If you get arrested for drug possession and the judge approves you for participation in drug court, you can emerge from the experience without a criminal conviction on your record if you… Read More »
Police Find MDMA “Drug Factory” in Brevard County House
This past summer, police in Rockledge conducted a drug bust at a residential address. They found some heroin and Percocet pills, although the Click Orlando website did not specify how much, as well as three handguns that had previously been reported stolen in Brevard County. What they had really been looking for, though, was… Read More »
Should You Use the Entrapment Defense in a Drug Case?
“I didn’t do it” is not the only possible defense to criminal charges, especially not where illegal drugs are involved. If police find drugs in your car, it is hard to argue that you do not have drugs in your car, although it may be possible to argue that you did not know that… Read More »
Do Affirmative Defenses Work in Drug Cases?
It is sometimes possible to be acquitted of a crime if you admit that you committed the act, but you claim that you had a reason for doing it that absolves you of criminal liability. This type of defense strategy is called an affirmative defense. It means that you are not saying, “I didn’t… Read More »
Quaaludes
A plot point in The Wolf of Wall Street centers around the rarity of Quaaludes, a prized but highly illegal drug with the power to make you feel both chill and invincible at the same time. After taking Quaaludes, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character spends what seems like a lovely night out and arrives home safely,… Read More »
Should You Testify at Trial in Your Drug Case?
Defendants in criminal cases have the right to face their accusers in court. This means that you have the right to a fair trial, and you have the right to testify on the witness stand at your trial. Not all defendants do this, though. Fewer than ten percent of defendants who enter a plea… Read More »
Federal Target Letters and Florida Drug Cases
Criminal cases involving simple possession of illegal drugs or controlled substances usually go through the state courts. If you do not have any prior criminal convictions, you might even be eligible for a pretrial diversion drug court program, where, if you complete the court-ordered substance abuse treatment and other requirements of the program successfully,… Read More »
