Florida Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Published on: November 7, 2008

Craigslist Cracks Down On Prostitution Ads

Yesterday, the classifieds site agreed to crack down on ads posted by prostitutes, responding to government complaints that the site has become a free clearinghouse for illegal sexual services.

In an agreement with attorneys general from 40 states, Craigslist said it will require posters of erotic-services ads to give a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card. The site will then be able to provide that information in response to law-enforcement subpoenas, creating a “roadmap” that can be used to track prostitutes and sex traffickers.

Click here for the full story from the Wall Street Journal

Published on: November 4, 2008

Deffective Miranda Warnings Could Overturn Convictions in Florida

by Leland Garvin

The Florida Supreme Court, in a 6-1 ruling, held that statements given by suspects after police administer a flawed Miranda warning may not be used as evidence against them.

In The State of Florida v. Kevin Dewayne Powell, The court found that the Tampa Police Department Miranda warnings were misleading as they suggested that a suspect in a criminal case only has the right to consult with an attorney before questioning. According to the opinion, “Both Miranda and the Florida Constitution require that a suspect be clearly informed of the right to have a lawyer present during questioning.”

This ruling is good for anyone who is the suspect of a police investigation, especially in Tampa. The opinion is also good for Florida criminal defense attorneys, who will be able to argue for the suppression of evidence in their client’s pending cases. Click here for the entire opinion http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2008/sc07-2295.pdf

Published on: October 27, 2008

Fort Lauderdale police investigating claims of using arrest quotas

by Leland Garvin

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is investigating an officer’s complaint accusing supervisors of instituting quotas for arrests and tickets, a department spokesman confirmed today.

Police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said the department’s internal affairs investigators were looking into the charges.

The Miami Herald reported in Monday’s editions that a veteran patrolman, Michael Hennessy, complained that supervisors were requiring officers to meet minimum quotas for arrests and citations, using time off, overtime and off-duty work details as rewards and denying those privileges to officers who failed to meet the quotas.

Published on: October 24, 2008

Deadly Marijuana ?

by Leland Garvin

According to the Miami-Dade Police department, there is no harmless marijuana.

Investigators said Thursday that Yoel Padron Garcia, a guard at a hydroponics lab in Naranja, confessed to shooting at undercover narcotics detectives, wounding one. Garcia was arrested in Dania Beach, 40 miles to the north.

Miami-Dade police announced Garcia’s arrest Thursday, hours after Miami-Dade Detective Edwin Diaz was released from Jackson Memorial Hospital. They took the opportunity to stress a rise in violence associated with grow houses.

Published on: October 16, 2008

DUI Breathalyzer Technician Manipulated Test Results

by Leland Garvin

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Breathalyzer Technician/inspector is fired after manipulating test results.

The technician had a pattern of turning the machine off and back on when it looked the machine was about to fail the inspection.

In July the FDLE wrote a letter to all of the police departments in these three counties alerting them of this technician’s pattern of law enforcement misconduct. The Department wrote this letter due to the fact that this may qualify as Brady evidence; which the law requires the Prosecution to disclose to the defense as it may tend to show that the defendant did not commit the crime.

Published on: October 6, 2008

$1,000 fine for speeding 50 mph over limit takes effect in Florida

by Leland Garvin

Brazen motorcyclists and drivers now will be clobbered with a fine in the four figures — $1,000 and up — if they get busted for excessive speeding on Florida roads.

And for the bikers, there are additional new rules, including a ban on “popping wheelies,” or lifting the front wheel off the pavement.

Under a Florida law that took effect this month, drivers face a $1,000 fine for going 50 mph over the speed limit.

Published on: September 26, 2008

Lee County Wanted Persons Photos

by Leland Garvin

The Fort Myers News Press has published this photo album of Lee County’s wanted Fugitives.

Check it out here: http://www.news-press.net/crime/

Published on: August 28, 2008

FHP, law enforcement agencies increasing visibility Labor Day weekend

by Leland Garvin

NAPLES — The Florida Highway Patrol announced today that it is stepping up its enforcement operations and teaming up with other law enforcement agencies across the state to prepare for the Labor Day holiday weekend.

The FHP will increase visibility and enforcement efforts beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Aug. 29 through midnight Sept. 1, according to a press release. The agency will target three specific causes of highway fatalities: speeding, impaired driving and failure to use occupant restraints.
Auxiliary and reserve troopers will be volunteering their time to assist regular troopers during the heightened holiday enforcement weekend. Full Story: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/aug/28/fhp-law-enforcement-agencies-increasing-visibility/

Published on: August 26, 2008

Text-messaging plot to rob Lauderdale McDonald’s foiled

by Leland Garvin

Four teens have been charged with planning to rob a McDonald’s restaurant, including an employee who police say was text-messaging instructions on how to open the cash registers.The late Sunday night plot at 950 West Commercial Boulevard was foiled by a police officer who saw a suspicious vehicle in a nearby parking lot, police spokeswoman Detective Katherine Collins said.The officer approached the car and found three males with robbery tools and a cell phone that one of them tried to throw into the bushes, Collins said.On the phone was a text message sent from a McDonald’s employee describing how to open the registers and where the money was kept, police said.

The employee, a 17-year-old from Lauderdale Lakes, was charged with attempted armed robbery. Full Story: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-826lauderdalerobbery,0,835191.story?track=rss

Published on: August 26, 2008

Public defender, state attorney hurting from state budget cuts

by Leland Garvin

The state attorney’s office is also looking at about six days of furloughs for its employees if they’re not granted an exemption from budget cuts.”I am concerned about a morale issue, because I look at our folks and I can’t even hold out any hope,” State Attorney Willie Meggs said.Meggs said his employees haven’t had a raise since 2006. He also said their caseloads are increasing, because attorneys are leaving and not being replaced.

Public Defender Nancy Daniels says attorneys in her office might have to turn down cases if they can’t get any relief from budget cuts.”It’s unethical for a defense lawyer to represent so any people that they can’t do an adequate job for clients,” she said.The Office of the Public Defender currently has 60 attorneys, not including the six positions that have been eliminated since last summer. Full Story: http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080821/BREAKINGNEWS/80821005/-1/BREAKINGNEWS

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