Recent Blog Posts
Judge Sentences Defendant to 70 Months in Prison for Small Scale Online Drug Trafficking Operation
How much time, if any, you will have to spend in prison for a drug conviction depends on many factors. Plea deals can make a big difference. Prior convictions are also an important factor. Old drug convictions can come back to haunt you if you get new drug possession charges. For this reason, many… Read More »
Fort Pierce Man Arrested for Distributing Drug Mixture Including Fentanyl
Fentanyl causes more overdose deaths than any other opioid, largely because people do not realize that they are taking it. It is much stronger than heroin, but much less expensive. Because of its potency and low cost, drug dealers often mix it with other drugs, such that people who intend to take a less… Read More »
Despite Criticism by Voting Rights Groups, Court Rules That Floridians Must Pay All Fines Imposed by Criminal Courts Before Reinstating Their Voting Rights
When a judge hands down a prison sentence at your sentencing hearing, a cascade of fears floods your mind. Isolation from family and friends. Getting in fights every day until the bullies stop picking on you. The awful food. You don’t think about it as soon as you find out your sentence, but the… Read More »
Reality TV Star’s Drug Possession Case Shows How Addiction Can Cause a Domino Effect of Legal Problems
You have probably heard the horrifying stories of people being handed life sentences for nonviolent crimes, such as Leandro Andrade, the California man who got two 25-to-life sentences for stealing VHS tapes from K-Mart and Rose Ann Davidson, the Texas woman handed a life sentence after six DUIs, none of which caused an accident. … Read More »
Drug Paraphernalia Laws in Florida: Can You Go to Jail Just Because You Own Spoons?
Let us take a moment to marvel at the word “paraphernalia.” This darling of spelling bee hopefuls has a delightfully ambiguous meaning. Its dictionary meaning is something along the lines of “items and equipment needed for a particular activity.” No matter what hobby you have taken up during the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it is… Read More »
Competitive Beardsman Gets 20 Years for Drug Trafficking
The World Beard and Moustache Championship attracts participants from many countries and from all walks of life. Some of the participants, such as Jack Passion, the first American to win the championship, identify as professional beardsmen, whose main focus in life is to grow and display their facial hair. While competitive facial hair is… Read More »
Man Acquitted of Trafficking Flakka After His Lawyers Establish Reasonable Doubt That He Knew What Was in the Packages
What happens if you get criminal charges because the police find drugs in your possession, and it is the first you ever found out about having any drugs? You can win your case if you can argue that the drugs don’t belong to you. You could also argue that they are not drugs, but… Read More »
Dunedin Woman Could Face Life in Prison for Selling Drugs That Led to Fatal Overdose
It is easy to think about drug crimes and violent crimes as being completely separate. Pretrial diversion programs and alternative sentencing options are available to many people charged with drug-related offenses simply because the defendants, even if they committed the actions of which they were accused, were not directly endangering the lives or physical… Read More »
Florida Teacher Faces Felony Drug Possession Charges After Burger King Drug Binge on Lunch Break
When determining the severity of the drug possession charges a person faces, the quantity of the drugs matters, but so does the context in which the defendant possessed or consumed the drugs. One can sometimes make the argument that my taking or possessing drugs, one is only hurting oneself, but if other people, especially… Read More »
Meet the Floridians Serving Life Sentences After Pleading Guilty to Nonviolent Drug Charges
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prevents cruel and unusual punishment. If you plead guilty, you will get a lighter sentence than you would if you had been found guilty at trial. Life sentences without parole are only for the most violent of violent crimes, like murder. All of these statements are true,… Read More »
