Criminal Defense News

Pit Maneuver “Chase terminated . . . call the Coroner.” After an alleged rampage in our Tampa Palms neighborhood, great pursuit driving by a Tampa Police Officer, pulled a Pit maneuver, the car skidded into a ditch, and the gunfire starts in this aerial video from the helicopter. Chase terminated, call the ambulance, and call…

Crime Maps “check your neighborhood and see if it is safe to go outside.” Keeping score is now possible for Police. Statistics are kept for Traffic Cameras, Government Grant Applications, and to Justify or disprove profiling allegations. Our research has noted that the public information available from the crime mapping systems below is just the…

Confused about refusing a Breath test? Refuse Breath Test Drivers can seek to have an alleged refusal to take a breath test thrown out of court using the “confusion doctrine,” when the implied consent warnings are given following the administration of the Miranda warnings. If successful, the refusal of a breath test was not willful…

Sometimes a driver may change their decision to take a breath test or chemical test to determine the content of their breath or blood. This refusal decision is important both in the administrative suspension of a Florida Driver’s license at the Bureau of administrative Reviews and in the criminal case prosecuted by the local State Attorney’s office…

Do Florida Police Need a Search Warrant to Download the Data From a Motor Vehicle’s Black Box? A court in Palm Beach Florida has just ruled that the police need a search warrant in a DUI case when they seek to recover the data from a car’s Black Box. This device is known as a…

“we are not inclined to believe that the Fifth Amendment should provide greater protection to individuals who passcode protect their iPhones “ A court in Florida just ruled that a defendant could be forced to provide the password to his iPhone. A distinction is important – they got a search warrant. Without a warrant, the…

Bank of America in Florida can by hit hard for customer injured during a false robbery alarm. A team of police officers armed with heavy weapons responded to a false alarm and cops responding hit one of their customers. In this case a guy was at a bank and there was a false alarm for…

Is a Defendant Allowed Access to an Attorney When Questioned by the Police? Not in Pasco County, Florida – Until this week, a Pasco Criminal Defense Attorney could be denied access to aclient who was under interrogation by detectives. A running joke in this small Florida county was that, “The Supreme Court closes at 5…

Can a Speeding Vehicle That Crashes and Results in the Death of a Passenger Result in Vehicular Homicide Charges in Florida? Vehicular Homicide charges can be filed after a death in a crash. However, speed alone will not be enough to be convicted. The law differentiates between negligent driving conduct, which exposes a wrongdoer to…

When has a Seizure of a Suspect or Defendant Occurred? A seizure occurs when a reasonable person in the defendant’s position would not feel free to terminate the encounter. Recently I reviewed a case where the cop told a suspect that if he moved, he would be shot. He was not handcuffed or arrested at…