If you are arrested in United States, almost all local police departments and sheriff departments send the name to immigration authorities, known as ICE. If the immigration authorities believe that person does not have legal status to remain in the United States, they issue a detainer. Once your legal issues…
Two unrelated cases will be before the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of cellphone searches incident to an arrest. In one case the cellphone search was upheld, in the other it was ruled as unconstitutional. The issue is important when 91% of U.S. residents carry cellphones with them. Searches…
Who is Steven Wise and why did the New York Times Magazine have him on its cover on last week? Steven Wise is an attorney who for thirty years has been a leading advocate of animal rights, but not in the way most of us understand. Animal rights have been…
The office of the US Attorney announced that several thousands of men and women in federal prison for conviction of federal drug laws will be eligible for early release. The review process means sentences that were given out in the past will be reduced, significantly reduced. That means, and this…
Tired of waiting for MasterCard to deposit your money into your bank account? How about sending money to your child at school, or buying something online? BITCOIN is the solution: instant, at the speed of a computer stroke, transactions…and it gets better… Like Gold, which goes up and down, BITCOINs…
Florida’s STAND YOUR GROUND STATUTE is about self-defense, one’s right to use force when in reasonable fear of an unlawful touching. The statute grants immunity from arrest and prosecution if use of force (as permitted in Florida’s Self Defense Statute (F.S. 776.012, F.S 776.013) is asserted and proven by a…
Federal Sentencing has been praised and pilloried since 1984 when the Sentencing Commission, a creature of the Congress, was created. Over the years it has been seen as race neutral, gender neutral, and fair. Heralded as removing judges from the influences of money and lawyers, it has both succeeded and…
A concerted drive by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a task force comprised of State and Federal agencies, police and sheriff agencies in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach County has resulted in over a dozen major cases in Florida and U.S. District Court in the Middle and Southern District(s) of…
Florida provides a limited opportunity to seal and or expunge criminal records. The good news is not as good as one would hope and the bad news is a deal breaker. Here’s what is going on… First: sealing and expunging doesn’t erase your arrest or the result. It doesn’t eliminate…
Don’t confuse clearing one’s conscience with yourself and your maker with talking to the police. I wrote the book on it: CAN THE POLICE LIE TO ME? Yes….the US Supreme Court calls it “aggressive interrogation” but to normal folk it means lying. The police can promise you anything short of…