Pinellas County Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

First of all, let me preface this entry with the fact that I am not offering free legal services.  It's merely my opinion that everyone should be able to get legal help if they need it.

Secondly, you shouldn't need legal advice to solve your problems.  Your life should not be so complicated that in order to fix your problems you need a lawyer.  Lawyers have 19 or more years of education.  They also have OUTRAGEOUS student loans, which is why they charge so much.

So now what? The lawyers you've called require a huge retainer, and potentially more money once that retainer is gone.  You don't have the money, but you still have the problem.  What do you do?

1.       Read everything you can about the issue.  Go online, search Google , Wikipedia, Craigslist and search for your issue and see what pops up.  Look at the articles, blogs, message boards, lawyer ads.

2.       Search the online state statutes.  Every state has them, in Florida the site is http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/  - If you don't understand them, read it again.  The laws of states usually are understandable if you read them a few times.  Most lawyers have to read the statutes more than once to understand them.

3.       Go to the law library in the courthouse.  The librarian is always helpful. Additionally, there are usually lawyers in the library doing research. You may get lucky, and they may help you - FOR FREE.  I always help people who ask me questions in the library.

4.       Go to the regular library.  Check those books for Dummies, like "Divorce for Dummies, Real Estate for Dummies, etc."  They are a great starting place.   

5.   Call the Florida Bar- They have a lawyer referral service and can direct you to legal aid organizations in your area.

6.   BE NICE.  You may be frustrated, confused, angry, but that's not the fault of the court clerk or the librarian or the lawyer who is offering free advice. 

Florida law enforcement agencies use a breath testing device called the Intoxilyzer 8000 to measure an arrested person's blood alcohol concentration and secure evidence to convict citizens of DUI.  Does this small machine accurately measure how drunk you are?  Why is it supposed to be more accurate than the machine previously used, the Intoxilyzer 5000?  Was that machine accurate if it was replaced?

The science behind breath testing offers insight into the shortcomings of the breath testing machine.  Issues such as the following: 

 
Did my partition ratio differ from the 2100:1 standard used in the Intoxilyzer 8000's software?

Was there another chemical in my breath which the machine misread as alcohol? (the Intoxilyzer does not measure the ethyl alcohol but molecules in the methyl group)

Was my body temperature elevated? (a 1% elevation could cause a 8% increase in the breath result).

The following video clip is interesting.  Defense attorneys have known of this defect in the Intoxilyzer machine for years (positive alcohol reading after eating bread), and manufacturers of the device certainly have a scientific reply for why this result doesn't prove that the machine is inaccurate.  However, the fact that bread is causing the instrument to show an alcohol reading makes you wonder how accurately the software inside this machine is reading alcohol results that lead to convictions.

I recently handled a Florida case where a 16 year old kid committed some vehicle burglaries.  This is a relatively common crime where kids go into unlocked cars and steal change and whatever else they think might be worth something. But a few days later, I got an outraged call from his mother because his full name - first, last, and middle, AND his home address and date of birth were in the newspaper.  When I Googled it, sure enough, his name, address and all identifying information were in several newspapers. 

My understanding of the law was that juvenile names, especially alleged defendants in crimes, were confidential.  Apparently, not anymore.  As of July 2008, any child charged (not convicted) of a felony offense is not exempt from public record.   In fact, I went to the Hernando County Florida Sheriff's Office website and found a PRESS RELEASE with this kid's name in it.  Apparently, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office finds it good press to solve silly crimes. (They recently arrested a 14 year old boy for having CONSENSUAL sex with a 12 year old girl)

So I looked up the NEW LAW and found, indeed, it was legal to publish the names of juvenile defendants (Florida Statute 985.04).  However, the Clerk's Office, nor the State Attorney's Office will provide you with any information on juvenile cases. 

In a previous blog entry I wrote about the fact that juvenile arrests are not confidential.  Recently, in Pasco County, Florida, two teenagers were arrested for attempted murder, sexual assault and burglary.   The victim is 89 years old.  A horrendous crime by all accounts.  But to prove my point, watch this video from Fox News which shows the 14 and 15 year old suspects in court.

 
It is interesting to watch the suspects reactions on the news clip.  Clearly, they don't have a clue as to how much trouble they are potentially in, or what is going on.  It would be interesting to know whether or not they have ever been in a courtroom, have a prior record, or understand their rights.  Most adults don't understand the legal process, much less children. 

What will happen to these teenage boys if they are convicted?

First, they were charged as adults, not as juveniles, so they can be sentenced as adults to regular state prison in the Florida Department of Corrections. 

Second, the crimes they are charged with carry life prison terms.  So potentially they could be sentenced to a life sentence in adult prison.  But they also might be sentenced back to juvenile court to receive their sentence there and go into a commitment program with the Florida Department Juvenile Justice.  Or, they might receive a lesser adult sentence.  Or they may never be convicted at all if the cops didn't do their job correctly.  Stay tuned. 
 

How does restitution work?  First of all, restitution is payment for whatever crime you may have committed.  For example, if you stole a car, in Florida, and wrecked it, you'll have to pay for the fair market value of the car.  That DOES NOT mean you have to pay for the car when it was new.  And it doesn't mean you have to pay more than whatever insurance covered.  If you stole and wrecked a 1990 Ford Escort, you'd have to pay whatever insurance didn't pay for the car, which usually means the $500 deductible the person had on their insurance. 

However, if the person didn't have insurance, you'll be responsible for the  amount the car was worth.  If you have a lawyer worth anything, they'll look at the Kelly Blue Book Kelly Blue Book and see how much the car was worth. 

That doesn't mean the victim won't come into court and say the car was worth $10,000 because they had new rims and a stereo - they will.  In my experience, victims always claim whatever was stolen is worth more than it actually is.  But remember, the legal standard is fair market value, and they can't double dip.  Meaning if insurance already paid them, you only have to pay the deductible.  And if you can't pay, the State of Florida has a  Victim's Crime Compensation Fund where victim's can apply for help. 

Did you know you can get DUI when driving a golf cart, riding lawnmower, go cart, bicycle, or scooter?

Check our this video my father sent to me- I think it may be staged but I can assure you, I've seen the State Attorney in various counties prosecute DUI's on things like this.

Lawnmower_DUI_Taser_Arrest.wmv