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The owner of an internet site which sold prescription pills online based in Miami was convicted in Miami of selling adulterated prescription meds. The South Florida criminal charges were filed by the Attorney General of Florida against Abel Rodriguez. Criminal defense attorneys in Fort Lauderdale and Miami have seen both an increase in the number of so-called “Pill Mills” and an increase in criminal charges of trafficking. This recent conviction by the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor is one of many now threading through the criminal courts of Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Several counts of conspiracy were also included in this prosecution and these alleged co-conspirators were included in the prosecution. The controlled substances involved were hydrocodone, alprazolam and phentermine: all controlled substances under Florida criminal statutes and all requiring a physician’s prescription.
South Florida criminal lawyers in Fort Lauderdale and Miami count the number of such cases in the hundreds in South Florida Criminal courts, both Federal and State. Increasingly lawful providers are feeling the heavy handed sweep of the Attorney General’s Office in arresting and seeking convictions of doctors working in clinics and private offices throughout South Florida.
Prosecutors also use trafficking statutes when arresting those who obtain prescriptions for pain killers in South Florida and Palm Beach. Those arrested are often in possession of prescriptions from physicians and can only defend themselves by presenting their prescriptions to prosecutors after they are arrested and charged.

If you have been arrested in South Florida or arrested in Fort Lauderdale for charges arising from the possession of controlled substances, contact South Florida criminal defense attorney Ralph Behr. Mr. Behr has been in practice since 1976, practices in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Palm Beach County State and federal courts.

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One of the most commonly charged criminal offenses in South Florida is Trafficking in Cocaine. Of the most serious crimes charged in Fort Lauderdale criminal courts, Trafficking has become much more common. South Florida criminal lawyers practicing in Fort Lauderdale carry a heavier caseload of these cases in recent times. The charge has become more common due to the increase number of criminal arrests in Fort Lauderdale of people who enter Florida to obtain controlled substances such as pain relief medications from the increasing number of “Pain Clinics” in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County.

The charge of trafficking in cocaine requires the prosecutor prove the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of and possession of the drugs, further that he had a “trafficking amount” of the controlled substance, and that there was a transaction or a sale. Possession of cocaine is charged when the amount of cocaine is a “personal use” amount: which is determined by the weight of the cocaine. Crack cocaine, although not pure cocaine is weighed and treated like cocaine for the purpose of determining the weight of the cocaine when the charge of trafficking in cocaine is filed.

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A Florida Supreme Court opinion clarified Florida criminal law as it concerns ineffective assistance of counsel in death penalty cases. The case of RANDOLF v. McNeil was ruled upon December 2009 by the Florida Supreme Court wherein the court rejected Randolph’s claims. In Florida the criminal laws concerning a criminal attorney’s level of competency standard holds that unless there is a reasonable probability that the result of the trial would have been different, the lack of investigation or other shortcomings of the criminal trial attorney would not justify a new trial. Florida follows a generally accepted analysis when a conviction is appealed and the basis of the demand for a new trial is ineffective assistance of counsel. Florida criminal defense attorneys who represent defendants in homicide cases in which the death penalty is sought must have a special license from the Florida Supreme Court that he/she is “Death Qualified”. In South Florida, specifically in Broward County there are 18 attorneys who have Board Certification in Criminal Trial Law. Attorney Ralph Behr is one of the Fort Lauderdale Criminal defense attorneys who are both Board Certified and Death Certified in death penalty cases.

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A 12 year old child will be on a 2 year probation in conviction of the death of his 5 week old cousin. A judge in Georgia gave out the sentence in astonishment of the parents and family. Prosecutors claimed that the boy was left in a car unattented last July 4th. The boy was left with the child as the mother went away for a brief moment. Upon returning to the vehicle, the infant was found to be unresponsive. Medical examination documented head fractures and bruising on the baby likely to be caused by being slammed into a hard surface at least a few times. The boy was found to be unaware of the severity of the matter and was given a charge on two lesser counts of battery.

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Professional golfer Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash and altercation with his wife and their Cadillac Escalade a few days ago. Woods sustained a bloody lip and it is alleged that his wife had a golf club and attacked him and the vehicle. Domestic violence charges have not sprung up yet, if at all, from this incident. The reason for this is up to you to decide. No other charges have been filed yet and Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the matter.

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Carlos Dunlap, a football player for the Florida Gators college team, was arrested for driving under the influence in Gainesville this past weekend. He was pulled over at 3:25 am by an Alachua County Sheriff’s officer and tested positive for impairment while operation a motor vehicle. In the world of college football and especially for the Florida Gators, this is a big loss because the coach for the Gator’s football team will not be starting the defensive end due to this criminal infraction. The Gators are scheduled to play in the SEC Championship game this coming Saturday. DUI and other criminal offenses are not acceptable or given “free passes” to by the police in Gainesville, even to their star football players.

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Palm Beach County will no longer allow new pain clinic centers to be opened in an effort to crack down on illegal operations and put in place more stringent codes and laws. Illegal prescription drug abuse are being peddled by convicted drug dealers and even serial killers, some who have been opening these clinics for the public. Authorities have said that fatal drug overdoses are on the rise in relation to the spread of pain clinics opening up in the area. New laws coming in to legislation by December 2010 will allow the state to set standards on prescriptions from these facilities and the creation of a statewide database of prescriptions made and filled.

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Oscar Hernandez, 19, Miguel Santiz, 25, and Victor Sanchez, 20, were all arrested in the two-day abduction of a couple and their son in Winter Garden. A victim, Marcela Borges, 27, was forced at gunpoint to withdraw $24,000 from a bank and then she was shot when trying to escape. Lt. Keith Ralston of the police department in the area stated, “It appears to us that it is not a random act.” The four armed intruders got into the house of the victims, kept them blindfolded and transported them north to where they were to be kept captive overnight.

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Getting a criminal record expunged is a common thing to do today. Students are taking advantage of this process in order to make clear records for any future employment and career opportunities they may be pursuing. One student, Debbie Robinson, 20, will be applying for a expunging of her record before she starts applying to become a nurse. She used some weed and got caught a high school football game a few years ago. There are some catches though to do this. In order to have records sealed or expunged, no adjudications of guilt or prior expunges must have occurred in the State of Florida. It costs another $75, a fingerprint form and a certified copy of some forms then one can become eligible to have their records sealed or expunged.

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Palm Beach County, FL has topped the charts as being the 4th highest for foreclosure rates in the country. Along with this figure, the county has claimed a massive spike in domestic violence and child abuse incidents. The last few years have seen a spike of cases where children were killed by being shaken. This is up from prior years. Spousal-related homicides have also skyrocketed over the last few couple of years. Suzanne Turner, the CEO of YMCA Harmony House in Delray Beach, says that she has increased the amount of services she provides for women who need housing. Her organization is running at full capacity. Upper income class people down to middle income class are coming for assistance to these shelters due to parents being out of work and an increase in incidents of domestic violence.

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