Criminal Law
State v. Lopez: Florida’s New “On-going Emergency” Rule
When the Florida Supreme Court recently decided State v. Lopez, 974 So. 2d 340 (Fla. 2008), the court carved out...
Unhandcuffing Justice: Proposals to Return Rationality to Criminal Sentencing
Americans love to be number one. Unfortunately, we are now tops in two negative areas: debt and prisons. The federal...
Why Punitive Damages and Criminal Sentences Are Reviewed Differently and What it Means to Your Appeal
It is always a curious thing when the courts approach two apparently similar questions in dissimilar ways. Recognizing such discrepancies...
Advice to the Criminal Bar: Preparing Effectively for Allegations of Ineffectiveness
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 affords a person who has been tried and found guilty or who pleaded guilty...
After Chicone: Blasting the Bedrock of the Criminal Law
In Chicone v. State, 684 So. 2d 736 (Fla. 1996), the Florida Supreme Court recited a bedrock principle of criminal...
Withhold of Adjudication: What Everyone Needs to Know
For the benefit of those of you who haven’t thought about criminal law since law school, Florida judges have a...
The State of Our Trash in Florida: The Use of Evidence Found in Residential Garbage to Establish Probable Cause to Search a Citizen’s Home
As most of us know, once we carry or drag our garbage to the street for disposal, it is fair...
Avoiding Fundamentally Erroneous Jury Instructions: Pointers for Counsel in Criminal Trials and Appeals
Whether reviewing instructions before they go to the jury or perusing them on appeal, revisit the doctrine of fundamental error....
Appellate Standards of Review in Criminal Matters, Part 2
The appellate standard of review defines the manner and scope of an appellate court’s review of a lower tribunal’s actions...
“What Do You Mean You’re Not Ready?” The Impact of State v. Naveira on a Defendant’s Right to a Speedy Trial
The Florida Supreme Court recently held in State v. Naveira, 29 Fla. L. Weekly S169 (April 22, 2004), that the...
