Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

November 14, 2019

When the State Can (and Can’t) Access Your Medical Records as Part of a Florida Criminal Investigation

If you’ve been arrested and charged with a crime in Florida, you should know what’re facing. You’ll most likely be facing knowledgeable and capable prosecutors who are well-versed in using the legal system to get the information they want in order to make their case. They know how to phrase the requests they file with the court and make arguments in ways that generally persuade judges.

In order to defend yourself fully, then, you need legal representation that also knows how make (or oppose) requests effectively and make (or oppose) arguments persuasively. You need to be sure you have an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney on your side.

Consider the case of L.L. Actually, it was, at first, the non-case of L.L. In 2018, the state asked a judge to issue a subpoena for L.L.’s medical records. At that time, L.L. was not facing any criminal charges. The state argued that it needed the records as it had reasonable suspicion that the records held “information relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.”

October 29, 2019

My Community Control Officer Knocked at My Door in Florida and I Slept Through It. What Happens Now?

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

It can be easy to confuse probation and community control in Florida, but they are actually quite different. A person under community control can only leave his/her residence to go to work, to attend class (if he/she is a student), to perform public service, to attend medical treatment appointments or other activities (such as church attendance or completion of errands that the officer approves in advance.) In other words, one can think of community control somewhat like “house arrest.”

Probation and community control do have some things in common, however. One that the two are similar is that a violation can have extremely severe negative impacts, including having to go back to jail/prison for a period of many years. If you find yourself having been accused of a probation violation or a community control violation, make sure you act promptly to retain an experienced Pinellas County criminal defense attorney.

C.B. was an example of someone facing that type of major setback. He was out of prison on community control. However, the state charged with violating his community control by “failing to remain confined to his approved residence except as approved by his community control officer.”

October 15, 2019

When It’s Just Not Your Day: Seminole County Suspect Apprehended by a Herd of Cows

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

All of us make mistakes at various points in our lives. For some people, those mistakes may come with criminal legal consequences. If you find yourself in such a circumstance, one of the key things you can do to help yourself is resist the urge to take action that will actually only make your situation worse. In almost all situations, attempting to run from the police is one of those urges that, if acted upon, will only make your legal circumstances worse. Instead of running, take quick and decisive action by retaining the services of an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney to take on your case within the legal system.An example of how running from law enforcement can go badly took place recently in Seminole County. A ClickOrlando report indicated that three people were traveling in a white vehicle that allegedly had a stolen license plate on it. Local law enforcement officers began pursuing the vehicle. There was a problem for the occupants, though; the vehicle contained cocaine and several pieces of drug paraphernalia. The driver tried to outrun the police but eventually crashed.

The driver, J.Y., and one passenger, J.K., decided to make a run for it on foot, racing into a field. A police K9 caught J.Y. J.K., however, had a different pursuit to handle. A herd of cows detected the woman and began chasing J.K. Eventually, the cows cornered the woman in one corner of the fenced field, where law enforcement officers were waiting to apprehend her.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the “police didn’t say whether they would consider creating a bovine chase unit.”

October 9, 2019

Mental Competency in Florida: What it Takes in Order for an Accused Person to be Forced to Stand Trial

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

By now, most people are familiar with the “Florida man” meme and Florida man’s exploits, which are often criminal in nature. Sometimes, these events are actually more tragic than funny, arising as the results of severe (and often untreated) addiction and/or mental illness.

If a person commits a criminal act while suffering from a mental issue, he may not be competent to stand trial or may be not guilty of any crime due to his mental state. If you need to present arguments and evidence about your mental state in your criminal matter, be sure you have an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney by your side handling your case.

This backdrop brings us to news reports about J.D. from Bay County. In May 2014, J.D. believed that his neighbor stole his dog. Reportedly, J.D. confronted the woman with a shotgun. First, he threatened to blow the woman’s kneecaps off. Then he threatened to kill her. A male member of the household came outside, and J.D. shot him. That man subdued J.D. with a hammer and police came and arrested J.D.

August 9, 2019

The Importance of a Strong Defense to Avoid Having Your Probation Revoked in Florida

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

Sometimes, even a seemingly minor crime can (depending on your circumstances) create big problems for you. That’s especially true if you’re on probation, where even a misdemeanor conviction may trigger a revocation of probation. The revocation of your probation could mean spending years in jail that you otherwise would have avoided.

That’s why, when there’s a potential probation revocation on the line, don’t take risks. Instead, fight the charge aggressively and contact an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney about your case.

For an example of how all this can work, there’s the case of A.N., which began after police in Hillsborough County were called to a motel on the basis of a “domestic violence incident.” The police officers who responded spoke with the alleged victim, and then spoke to A.N. (the alleged perpetrator) through an open window. They told the man they intended to arrest him for domestic battery.

July 23, 2019

How Your Lack of ‘Exclusive’ Possession of a Room or Building Can Help Your Defense in a Florida Theft Crime Case

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

There’s something in the law called a “statutory inference” and, although you’ve probably not heard of it, it can be very important in your criminal trial. These inferences come from statutory laws and say that juries can infer certain things even without actual proof. Given what a big help that can be to a prosecutor’s case, one of the things you may need to do as part of your defense is to convince the judge that the facts of your case do permit the use of any statutory inferences. Doing this successfully often requires an in-depth knowledge of the statutes, case law and court rules. In other words, having a knowledgeable Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney can go a long way toward success in your case.

To understand a little more about how these inferences can work, the case of A.L. serves as a good example. The origins of A.L.’s case dated to early June 2017, when several items were stolen from several cars in Brandon. Eventually deputies came to search a bedroom in a home in pursuit of the stolen items. The bedroom was shared by A.L. and his brother. The brothers’ uncle gave permission to search the bedroom. In the room, the deputies found many of the items that residents had reported stolen.

Based on that evidence, the prosecution charged A.L. with several crimes, including five burglary counts, one count of grand theft, three counts of petit theft, and one count of criminal mischief. At the end of his trial, A.L. made several requests of the court. One was to deny the state’s ability use a statutory inference under subsection 2 of Fl. Stat. 812.022.

June 19, 2019

How to Present Your Defense In Florida When You Have Evidence that Someone Else Committed the Crime

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

On your favorite TV courtroom drama show, the defense may often focus its arguments around the idea that the accused must be found “not guilty” because the evidence points to a specific other person as the real guilty party. In real life, your best defense in a criminal trial doesn’t always look like that, but sometimes that is exactly how to advance your strongest defense.

When that’s the case, you need to be sure you have skilled Pinellas County criminal defense lawyer on your side, because there is a specific way to get that evidence before the jury. Do it right and you may have very strong chance of an acquittal; do it wrong and the jury may not ever get to hear that powerful evidence at all.

R.N. was a man in need of that kind of defense in his case. R.N. was on trial for a home burglary and for battering the woman inside the home. The attacker broke into a Dunedin home in the middle of the night and jumped on the resident as she lay in bed. The woman eventually fought off her attacker.

May 14, 2019

When Your Conduct Doesn’t Meet All the Elements of the Florida Crime that the State Charged in Your Case…

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

There are several things that must happen in order for you, as a criminal defendant, to receive justice. If you did nothing wrong, then you should receive an acquittal and be allowed to go on about your life. Even if you were not completely blameless, justice requires that a criminal charge you face be reflective of what you did, and nothing more. If a crime has within its definition elements that simply weren’t met in your case, then you should still be entitled to an acquittal. In order to give yourself the best chance of getting true justice from the legal system, be sure you have the power and skill of an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer on your side.

So, what do we mean when we talk about the “elements of a crime”? Here are a couple of examples, one hypothetical and one from an actual recent case.

Hypothetically, let’s say that John Doe was spotted urinating in public. There’s no evidence that he was touching or displaying himself in a sexual manner; just that he was relieving himself in the open and that his genitals were exposed. In that scenario, an attempt by the state to charge John with exposure of sexual organs could very possibly lead to a successful motion to dismiss or motion for an acquittal by the defense. Why? Because Florida law, including Supreme Court decisions, is relatively clear that simple public nudity, without something additional (such as sexual touching or some sort of vulgar/sexual display) generally does not meet the elements of that crime. If you look at the standard jury instructions judges use in court in Florida, those instructions say that this crime requires (1) nudity and/or exposure of sexual organs, (2) in public or viewable from a public place or the property of another person and (3) that the display was (or was intended to be) “vulgar, indecent, lewd, or lascivious” in nature. In John’s case, unless the state presented more evidence, it generally would fall short of meeting that final element, so it would not be entitled to a conviction. In fact, in 1994, the Second District Court of Appeal ruled for a man charged with this crime when all he had done was urinate in public.

May 8, 2019

6 Most Common Types of Personal Injury

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

(Note: This is a guest submission. Author information is found at the end of his article.)

The law of negligence generally determines a personal injury. It allows an individual to be compensated for all the losses originated from accidents, incidents or cases caused by the negligence of someone else.

One example of personal injury is when someone was hurt due to a defective product. This instance, however, does not immediately establish the negligence of the manufacturer. Cases about product defect are governed by the so-called legal concept named strict liability.

April 10, 2019

Getting Key Evidence Suppressed in Your Florida Criminal Case Due to an Illegal Search by the Police

by Blake & Dorsten, P.A.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is one of the most important constitutional protections afforded to citizens. That constitutional amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement. For example, the police cannot simply pat you down and go rummaging through your pockets for no reason. In fact, there are only a few reasons where they can engage in this kind of search. When they do so without a valid basis, that search is illegal, and the items found in the search should not be allowed as evidence at your trial. Making sure that you are getting the full protection of your constitutional rights requires many things, and one the biggest ones is a skilled Tampa Bay criminal defense attorney.

As an example of how an illegal search can occur, consider the recent case of T.N. two St. Petersburg police officers spotted T.N. sitting at a picnic table in a park that had closed 90 minutes earlier. Based on the park’s closed status, the officers approached T.N. He told them he was just leaving and headed toward his bicycle. The officers commanded T.N. to stop and, eventually grabbed the man’s bicycle so he couldn’t leave. They arrested him for violating a St. Petersburg city ordinance that bans people from being in city parks after hours.

Pursuant to that arrest, the officers searched T.N., at which point they found a concealed firearm and illegal drugs. At trial, the state charged the man with carrying a concealed firearm and two drug possession counts.