CLEARWATER CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: YOUR BEST LEGAL HELP ADVICE & COUNSEL

BE CAREFUL PREPARING THAT TAX RETURN SAYS SUPREME COURT OR ELSE...

2012-02-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

The Supreme Court just issued an opinion making the filing of false tax returns an aggravated felony for not only the filer but the folks "aiding and assisting in the preparation of the false tax return." Professionals in Tampa Bay & Clearwater, Florida involved in tax preparation, the burnishing - or more apt burning - of tax filing documents such as accountants, tax preparers and firefighters should be aware of the change only weeks before tax filing season. Now they'll have to redo all those forms before the day of reckoning and that may include a Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney.

Here's the opinion in a nutshell: Willfully making and subscribing a false tax return in violation of 26 U. S. C. §7206(1), and aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return inviolation of 26 U. S. C. §7206(2), can be aggravated felonies under 8U.S.C. §1101(a)(43)(M)(i), which classifies as an aggravated felony an offense that "involves fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victim orvictims exceeds $10,000," see Kawasima v. Holder, (here is the Defense Brief Filed with the Supreme Court, actual oral arguments in the case), and because the Defendant was an immigrant he will be deported for this. If you're a professional whose business is under criminal tax investigation with the threat of search warrants, arrest warrants and possible grand jury indictment call a Federal Criminal Defense Attorney immediately who is well versed in white collar crime defense and will seek the best possible outcome in the Federal system in the Middle District of Florida.

But if the Government wants to use a prior conviction, then look to the case of Nijhawan v.Holder, 129 S.Ct. 2294 (2009) which may establish that the fact there's lost tax revenues to the government which exceeds $10,000 has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in any prosecution under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 where that prior conviction for filing a false tax return is to be used to enhance the defendant's sentence.

Before the internet taxes were filed in mysterious ways such as writing on the wall...This man anticipates a full refund from the Government.

Rembrandt's Belshazzar's Feast, 1635

FLORIDA POLICE USING TASERS HAVE KILLED 65 PEOPLE SINCE 2001: HALT TASER USE FOR NONVIOLENT CRIME IN TAMPA BAY, PINELLAS & CLEARWATER

2012-02-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

Taser use by Florida law enforcement officers have led to the deaths of 65 Floridians since 2001 and with as many as 500 deaths in the United States by police using tasers inappropriately according to Amnesty International which shocks (sorry, couldn't resist) even your favorite Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney, Amnesty in it's report, also noted:

“Of the hundreds who have died following police use of Tasers in the USA, dozens and possibly scores of deaths can be traced to unnecessary force being used,” said Susan Lee of Amnesty International, "This is unacceptable, and stricter guidelines for their use are now imperative.”
Strict national guidelines on police use of Tasers and similar stun weapons – also known as Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs) – would effectively replace thousands of individual policies now followed by state and local agencies. Police forces across the USA currently permit a wide use of the weapons, often in situations that do not warrant such a high level of force.

The stunning lack of protection for Floridians includes a recent Tampa Bay taser case in Pinellas Park Florida where a Florida Highway Patrol Officer left a twenty year old lady in a vegetative brain-dead state for the rest of her life after her arrest for a nonviolent crime from which she tried to escape after being handcuffed while the officer was doing paper work for her arrest. In her case a video shows that when the taser was fired her collapsed immediately, her head striking the pavement. Using a taser on someone who is handcuffed is usually not permitted and she will never recover according to a well done series of articles in The Tampa Bay Times.

Many Officers seem to falsely believe that Taser use is relatively benign not unlike pepper spray; however, the huge number of deaths and serious injuries being caused by Law Enforcement in Tampa Bay Florida and throughout the United States show that a tasers is a deadly weapons when handled inappropriately. New taser use Guidelines should be implemented to prohibit the use of tasers except in extraordinary circumstances. Clearly, Police should never be permitted to use a taser nor risk deadly force in cases where the alleged criminal misconduct is nonviolent as the risk of injury is too great. Should you or a loved one have need to speak with a Pinellas Criminal Law Attorney about your case we'll look for the best solution to your problem.

The Florida Statute below delineates when an officer in Florida may use force. The statute does reflect in Section 776.05(3)(b) that nonviolent felonies should be treated with less force during an arrest than violent felonies as the public has less security interests in force being used to subdue any nonviolent felon for charged or uncharged misconduct. This reasoning should also apply when a nonviolent suspect attempts an escape but doesn't because of Section 776.05(2) - this portion of the statute should be changed by the Florida legislature to protect Floridians from Police use of force. Also, in light of taser dangers of deadly force with 500 deaths nationally and 65 deaths in Florida since 2001 the statute must be reinterpreted by law enforcement agencies in light of the risk of deadly force.
776.05 Law enforcement officers; use of force in making an arrest. A law enforcement officer, or any person whom the officer has summoned or directed to assist him or her, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. The officer is justified in the use of any force:

(1) Which he or she reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or herself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest;
(2) When necessarily committed in retaking felons who have escaped; or

(3) When necessarily committed in arresting felons fleeing from justice. However, this subsection shall not constitute a defense in any civil action for damages brought for the wrongful use of deadly force unless the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by such flight and, when feasible, some warning had been given, and: (a) The officer reasonably believes that the fleeing felon poses a threat of death or serious physical harm to the officer or others; or (b) The officer reasonably believes that the fleeing felon has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm to another person.

The Eiffel Tower receives a Taser.

WHEN CAN MENTAL COMPETENCY BE USED AS A DEFENSE IN CLEARWATER & TAMPA BAY FLORIDA

2012-02-16T19:17:00.001-08:00

According to a new report as many as 60,000 Defendants are given court ordered mental competency psychological tests each year and of that number as many as 12,000 Defendants are found to be incompetent to stand trial, which makes your favorite Clearwater Criminal Attorney glad that he wasn't subjected to the competency tests ...

The following questions are routinely asked to determine mental competency
1. Colloquy—Rational and Factual Understanding of Proceedings

To determine whether the defendant’s mental condition is such that he or she lacks a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings against him or her, it is a best practice for the court to ask the defendant open-ended questions such as:

Do you know where you are? Can you tell me?

Did your attorney explain to you what will happen with your case today?

Did he or she tell you how criminal cases proceed?

Did you know why you are here? Can you tell me?

Do you know what my job is as a judge? Can you tell me?

Do you know what the prosecutor's job is? Can you tell me?

Do you know what your attorney's job is? Can you tell me?

Do you know what the jury's job is? Can you tell me?

Can you tell me the difference between pleading guilty or not guilty?

Does Modern Art really make any sense to you -- if so, are you a Freudian?

2. Colloquy—Present Ability to Consult with Lawyer and Assist in Defense

Do you think your attorney is on your side or on the prosecution's side? Why?

I'd like you to remember these three objects: (e.g., square, apple, triangle, ball, pencil, etc.).

What would you do if your attorney said you should plead guilty but you didn't want to?

What would you do if you wanted to plead guilty but your attorney said you shouldn't?

Can you repeat the names of the three objects I asked you to remember?

Do you know whether the prosecution could make you testify at trial? What do you think?

Do you know why the prosecutor wears red pajamas while arguing about Freud?

Mental Competency Evaluations are often difficult for judges, lawyers and family members of the defendant and the victim to appreciate. Here are some mental competency guidelines for use in evaluations. In Florida the following law applies where mental competence is at issue for the case to proceed in criminal cases....if you should have a competency issue call a Pinellas Criminal Law Attorney:

916.12 Mental competence

(1) A defendant is incompetent to proceed within the meaning of this chapter if the defendant does not have sufficient present ability to consult with her or his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding or if the defendant has no rational, as well as factual, understanding of the proceedings against her or him.

(2) Mental health experts appointed pursuant to s. 916.115 shall first determine whether the defendant has a mental illness and, if so, consider the factors related to the issue of whether the defendant meets the criteria for competence to proceed as described in subsection (1). A defendant must be evaluated by no fewer than two experts before the court commits the defendant or takes other action authorized by this chapter or the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, except if one expert finds that the defendant is incompetent to proceed and the parties stipulate to that finding, the court may commit the defendant or take other action authorized by this chapter or the rules without further evaluation or hearing, or the court may appoint no more than two additional experts to evaluate the defendant. Notwithstanding any stipulation by the state and the defendant, the court may require a hearing with testimony from the expert or experts before ordering the commitment of a defendant.

(3) In considering the issue of competence to proceed, an examining expert shall first consider and specifically include in his or her report the defendant’s capacity to:

(a) Appreciate the charges or allegations against the defendant.

(b) Appreciate the range and nature of possible penalties, if applicable, that may be imposed in the proceedings against the defendant.

(d) Disclose to counsel facts pertinent to the proceedings at issue.

(e) Manifest appropriate courtroom behavior.

(f) Testify relevantly.

In addition, an examining expert shall consider and include in his or her report any other factor deemed relevant by the expert.

(4) If an expert finds that the defendant is incompetent to proceed, the expert shall report on any recommended treatment for the defendant to attain competence to proceed. In considering the issues relating to treatment, the examining expert shall specifically report on:

(a) The mental illness causing the incompetence;

(b) The treatment or treatments appropriate for the mental illness of the defendant and an explanation of each of the possible treatment alternatives in order of choices;

(c) The availability of acceptable treatment and, if treatment is available in the community, the expert shall so state in the report; and

(d) The likelihood of the defendant’s attaining competence under the treatment recommended, an assessment of the probable duration of the treatment required to restore competence, and the probability that the defendant will attain competence to proceed in the foreseeable future.

(5) A defendant who, because of psychotropic medication, is able to understand the nature of proceedings and assist in the defendant’s own defense shall not automatically be deemed incompetent to proceed simply because the defendant’s satisfactory mental functioning is dependent upon such medication. As used in this subsection, “psychotropic medication” means any drug or compound used to treat mental or emotional disorders affecting the mind, behavior, intellectual functions, perception, moods, or emotions and includes antipsychotic, antidepressant, antimanic, and antianxiety drugs.

Should this painting be tried by a jury of its peers?

COURTS CAN'T MAKE YOU GO TO TRIAL TWICE ON THE SAME FACTS IN TAMPA CLEARWATER & ST. PETERSBURG

2012-02-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

How many times can our Government take someone to criminal court over the same set of facts? The answer should be once and only once. Otherwise a not guilty verdict at trial would have no meaning nor would it be an effective bar to Government persecution rather than prosecution.

The 11th Circuit just found that the Government can't try a Defendant twice on the same facts when it reversed the Middle District of Florida, which includes Tampa, Clearwater & St. Petersburg, in a case based on the collateral estoppel. Collateral estoppel is based on a common law doctrine that the Government should not be able to try the same issue more than once if the issue tried is an element of the crime which must be proven and the issue was already decided against the government and in a way is related to the notion of double jeopardy in Florida. This common law doctrine originally arose in civil cases but has been accepted as a defense in criminal cases as well since 1916 in the case of U.S. v. Oppenheimer and is now an important element of criminal defense law for every Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney.

The new Federal Court opinion from just five days ago in U.S v. EMILIANO VALDIVIEZ-GARZA noted that “when an issue of ultimate fact has once been determined by a valid and final judgment, that issue cannot again be litigated between the same parties in any future lawsuit.” After reviewing the transcript of the previous trial, the Eleventh Circuit concluded that, based on all of the evidence presented at trial and considering that the evidence of the remaining three elements was undisputed, “the jury's verdict of acquittal [in the 2009 trial] was based upon reasonable doubt about a single element of the crime.” An element of a crime is a fact or series of facts which must be proven in order to convict someone. The Court held that because the Government is collaterally estopped from arguing the element previously determined by a jury, it cannot prove an essential element of its current case and the indictment must be dismissed. If the Government wants to convict you upon facts from which you've already been found not guilty you should get help from a crime defense attorney.

If our courtrooms looked this good we'd want a second trial, maybe even a third...

FALSE RESULTS IN BREATH TEST FOR DUI SHOULD NEVER BE USED TO ARREST & CONVICT IN CLEARWATER & TAMPA BAY FLORIDA

2012-02-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

A recent investigation by the Herald Tribune shows that Florida's breath testing device of choice, the Intoxilyzer 8000, is flawed and the newspaper argues that the State of Florida should no longer use the machine, your Clearwater DUI Defense Attorney wholeheartedly agrees for the following reasons:

The Herald Tribune notes that, "For years, drivers across Florida have been arrested and convicted of DUI charges based on flawed alcohol breath test machines that reported impossible results." and that "... 40% of the Intoxilyzer 8000s tested by the state this year were found to be incorrectly measuring breath volumes. Volumes of 10 to 15 liters of breath were recorded," despite the troubling fact that normal human lung capacity is at most about five liters. (see article on the flawed breath test machines).

After the company refused to disclose the source code which contains the data on how the machine functions, despite Court orders to do so, the State Attorney's Office in the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida should be commended for making the right decision: to no longer use the results of the Intoxilyzer 8000 in the prosecution of pending DUI cases, even as FDLE (FDLE Intoxilyzer 8000 Records) scrambled to correct problems that have been known to exist at least since 2006 - problems which law enforcement incorrectly claimed did not exist. The Pinellas County State Attorney's Office in Clearwater as well as the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office in Tampa should be courageous and also refuse to allow results from a machine that gives inaccurate, misleading results, especially since other credible evidence such as bad driving, video, field sobriety tests, and the officer's personal opinion as to the state of the driver's sobriety are admissible in evidence in a DUI trial. If you have questions concerning a pending DUI check out the material provided at Clearwater DUI Defense Answers or for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles DUI Suspension Laws.

316.193 Driving under the influence; penalties.— for complete statute

(1) A person is guilty of the offense of driving under the influence and is subject to punishment as provided in subsection (2) if the person is driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state and:

(a) The person is under the influence of alcoholic beverages, any chemical substance set forth in s. 877.111, or any substance controlled under chapter 893, when affected to the extent that the person’s normal faculties are impaired;

(b) The person has a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or more grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood; or

One too many is plenty too much...

Vincent Van Gogh Still Life with Absinthe 1887

CAN DRUG DOGS GAIN PROBABLE CAUSE BY SNIFFING YOUR FRONT DOOR IN CLEARWATER FLORIDA?

2012-02-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a drug dog sniffing detection case involving one of our favorite brave and faithful Florida canine friends, named Franky, whose unfortunate occupation is sniffing the front door of Florida homes for drugs so that search warrants can be obtained. The case is from an appeal of the Florida Supreme Court in Florida v. Jardines in which the Florida Court stated that, "This Court has explained that a dog sniff is not a search because the sole knowledge that the dog obtains by sniffing is the presence of contraband, which a person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in possessing in the first place.”
It's my strong belief that Florida Supreme Court is misguided, because a home - not being a public place but in some respects the only private place left for us - should be treated differently than say, an airport - where the immediate safety of all passengers may require greater scrutiny and the use of drug dogs to find drugs or explosives without a warrant.
The case will resolve the constitutional issue of whether police must have probable cause, that is a strong belief that evidence of a crime exists and that the evidence will be found at the scene, before law enforcement officers can use a drug dog to sniff at the front door of a suspect home which the officers believe is a marijuana grow house (a home that has been converted into a virtual garden for marijuana plants).
Two important probable cause issues will be determined which your favorite Clearwater Drug Defense Attorney believes you'll find of interest:

(1) Whether a dog sniffing at the front door of a suspected marijuana grow house by a trained narcotics detection dog is a Fourth Amendment search requiring probable cause.
(2) And Whether the officers’ conduct during the investigation of the marijuana grow house, including remaining outside the house while waiting for the search warrant is in and of itself, a Fourth Amendment search.

This blog earlier discussed probable cause issues with vehicles involving another Drug Dog named Aldo whose sniffing was found by the Florida Supreme Court to not be up to snuff. Should you need expert legal defense have a Clearwater Defense Attorney take a look at your case.

A Narcotics Detective enjoys teaching Police Dogs how to smell marijuana...

Andsell Richard, The Lucky Dogs, 1881

PINELLAS DEPUTY SUSPENDED FOR DESTROYING EVIDENCE -- A FELONY IN FLORIDA

2012-01-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

This much is certain - evidence was destroyed in a marijuana grow house case. The Defense believes the evidence would have established that undercover officers broke the law by committing at least a trespass and possibly a burglary to the dwelling of the Defendant before a search warrant was obtained. The case was already controversial in that Deputies obtained warrants by following vehicles parked at a hydrponics store which is likely unconstitutional based on a new Supreme Court decision. Having tried a federal grow house case in which there was insufficient evidence from the Government to convict my client, I believe that the recourses being used as well as the underhanded activities of law enforcement in these cases is unconscionable...

The evidence destroyed was surveillance video on the hard drive of a video recorder installed at the Defendant's home. After an internal affairs complaint was filed by the defense attorney, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office found that Sgt. Taylor, a supervisor of the narcotics division, ordered the hard drive of the video recorder to be erased. His reason - he claims the video showed the bare faces of undercover Detectives and this could place them in future jeopardy.
The punishment for the Deputy? Suspension for five days and reassignment to patrol...This blog has noted that there are a large number of morally challenged officers who are not being fired. But my question is - why is he not in jail?

Law enforcement is not the final arbiter of what evidence is of value and what isn't - the Courts are. It's only the rule of law as established by the Courts which guards our rights as Americans keeping us from being a police state...No destruction of evidence should occur before the Defense, the Judge and a Jury has had an opportunity to view it. A judge would have ordered the faces of any Detectives to be redacted to preserve their future safety.

Why is tampering with evidence a felony punishable by up to five years in prison in Florida? Because the purpose of criminal justice is to find the truth. How can we find the truth if the Police tamper with evidence before the Court and a Criminal Defense Lawyer have an opportunity to view the evidence?

To protect the integrity of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office the following should be done immediately:
1. A grand jury must be convened to determine if laws were broken, and if so by whom including the possible felony of destroying exculpatory evidence with recommendations for proper protection of all evidence.
2. The FDLE and the FBI should investigate to determine if laws were broken and if so how far up the chain of command this went. Those supervisors with knowledge, those who acquiesced in crime, those who failed to stand up and do the right thing should be fired and prosecuted.
3. The State Attorney's Office should be given the impartial investigation results and make a public decision on whether direct filing of felonies is warranted with factual explanations.
4. At the same time Federal Prosecutors should investigate to determine if any Federal laws were broken and if the systemic corruption within PCSO and the State Attorney's Office can be rooted out.

Florida Statutes > Chapter 918 > § 918.13 - Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence

^{Current as of: 2011}

   (1) No person, knowing that a criminal trial or proceeding or an investigation by a duly constituted prosecuting authority, law enforcement agency, grand jury or legislative committee of this state is pending or is about to be instituted, shall:
   (a) Alter, destroy, conceal, or remove any record, document, or thing with the purpose to impair its verity or availability in such proceeding or investigation; or
   (b) Make, present, or use any record, document, or thing, knowing it to be false.
   (2) Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree

The above Florida Statute applies in this case. There is no exception for law enforcement officers and it is specific that one can not "...alter, destroy, conceal or remove..." evidence in any case "pending or is about to be instituted." If you believe a law enforcement officer has acted improperly in your case contact a Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney for immediate help.

Could this be an inconspicuous undercover Clearwater Detective -- about to do a burglary?

Boris Kustodiev, Self Portrait, 1905

OLDEST FEDERAL JUDGE DIES AT AGE 104 - ALL FUTURE TRIALS TO BE HELD BY SEANCE

2012-01-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

This blog in passing recently noted that the oldest sitting Federal Judge is Judge Wesley Brown of Kansas whose one caveat is "no lengthy trials" which makes sense at age 104 and if your favorite Pinellas crime lawyer was that old he'd be avoiding lengthy trials too...Your Clearwater Criminal Defense Blog must now report that Judge Wesley Brown died in his sleep several days ago.

At first it appeared that death might keep the longest serving federal judge in American history from continuing his work; however, according to his new law clerk - the deceased poet James Merrill - all future federal trials will be conducted by seance thru the services of the medium, Madame Sosostris, who despite having a bad cold is known as "the wisest woman in Europe with a wicked pack of cards."

Lawyers are further instructed to bring the Federal Rules of Evidence, Federal Rules of Procedure and Ouija Boards to all future hearings, status checks and trials. Please note that the Ouija boards are not to be used to make cell phone calls nor to make contact over the internet with other deceased Jurists or legal scholars during trials & hearings.
Further, the Federal Court's jurisdiction has now been expanded to include all above, beyond and within the celestial heavens. If you need a Celestial Clearwater Defense Attorney feel free to have your clairvoyant contact me anytime.

Ouija Board

U.S. SUPREME COURT MAPS OUR FUTURE -- OFFICERS MUST STOP USING GPS TO SPY & TRACK FLORIDIANS

2012-01-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

This blog recently noted that the U.S. Supreme Court would be making an important privacy rights decision on law enforcement's tracking of individual American's movements thru GPS; defining American privacy rights into the digital age.

The decision was handed down yesterday morning - the unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court will help each of us maintain privacy and freedom of action in this wondrous, yet humbling digital age of almost unlimited camera surveillance, GPS spying, and Cell phone tracking by requiring that all law enforcement officers including those in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg & Pinellas first obtain a search warrant before placing a GPS device on a vehicle or on a person (say, for example inside your coat, purse or backpack).

The result of this ruling heartens your Clearwater Defense Lawyer, by keeping American's fourth amendment rights viable in an ever more fretful digital future. This case should also give grounds for the appeal of convictions in Pinellas criminal law cases described in an earlier Clearwater Criminal Attorney Blog where the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office in a clear abuse of proper law enforcement procedure made secret videos of shoppers at a plant store taking down personal information only because people shopped there, though search warrants were later obtained the information was factually incorrect rendering those warrants facially invalid.

The oral arguments for the new Supreme Court case can be found here. The Brief for the U.S., NYT analysis...

Brief synopsis of United States v. Antoine Jones, No. 10–1259:

Without obtaining a proper search warrant the Government installed a Global-Positioning-System (GPS) tracking device on a vehicle. Government law enforcement agents then tracked the vehicle’s movements for 28 days subsequently securing an indictment of Jones and others on drug trafficking conspiracy charges.
The lower court reversed, concluding that admission of the evidence obtained by warrantless use of the GPS device violated the Fourth Amendment.
The Supreme Court Held: The Government’s attachment of the GPS device to the vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movements, constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Pp. 3–12.
(a) The Fourth Amendment protects the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Here, the Government’s physical intrusion on an “effect” for the purpose of obtaining information constitutes a “search.” This type of encroachment on an area enumerated in the Amendment would have been considered a search within the meaning of the Amendment at the time it was adopted. Pp. 3–4.
(b) This conclusion is consistent with this Court’s Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, which until the latter half of the 20th century was tied to common-law trespass. Later cases, which have deviated from that exclusively property-based approach, have applied the analysis of Justice Harlan’s concurrence in Katz v. United States, 389 U. S. 347, which said that the Fourth Amendment protects a person’s “reasonable expectation of privacy,” id., at 360. Here, the Court need not address the Government’s contention that Jones had no “reasonable expectation of privacy,” because Jones’s Fourth Amendment rights do not rise or fall with the Katz formulation. At bottom, the Court must “assur[e] preservation of that degree of privacy against government that existed when the Fourth Amendment was adopted.” Kyllo v. United States, 533 U. S. 27, 34. Katz did not repudiate the understanding that the Fourth Amendment embodies a particular concern for government trespass upon the areas it enumerates. The Katz reasonable-expectation-of-privacy test has been added to, but not substituted for, the common-law trespassory test. See ... post-Katz cases rejecting Fourth Amendment challenges to “beepers,” electronic tracking devices representing another form of electronic monitoring—do not foreclose the conclusion that a search occurred here. New York v. Class, 475 U. S. 106...
(c) The Government’s alternative argument—that if the attachment and use of the device was a search, it was a reasonable one—is forfeited because it was not raised below.

All in all a good day's work for those folks on the Supreme Court - if you believe the police improperly obtained a valid search warrant in your case contact a Clearwater Crime Lawyer.

A map of the Known World soon after the discovery of America - We'll keep searching for America until we find her ...

Pietro Coppo map (1520)

FEDERAL COURT OVERTURNS DOCTOR BOB'S CONVICTIONS: PINELLAS COURTS MUST ALLOW EXPERTS TO BE CROSSEXAMINED

2012-01-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

Three days ago the Federal Appeals Court with jurisdiction over Florida overturned a Doctor's conviction in US v. Ignasiak because the government at Trial failed to produce witnesses for autopsy reports and handwritten testimony. The Doctor, known to his friends and family as 'Dr. Bob' in over twenty years of practice wrote hundreds of prescriptions for vicodin, oxycondin and other drugs and according to the government at trial contributed to the deaths of at least five of his patients, while causing many others to become addicted to powerful painkilling drugs.

But your Clearwater Criminal Attorney believes every American deserves a fair trial even Florida Pain Doctors who must manage chronic pain of their patients while avoiding the potential penalty of a life time in prison.

From the opinion: During Ignasiak’s trial, the government introduced the autopsy reports of five of Ignasiak’s former patients in which the cause of death was determined to be, at least in part, intoxication from controlled substances... defense counsel objected based upon the Confrontation Clause...

Astonishingly, at trial the government failed to bring in the actual doctors who wrote the autopsy reports. Recently this blog noted the trend toward greater scrutiny of the Confrontation Clause which requires the government at trial to produce the actual witnesses who conduct laboratory and forensic evidence rather than merely producing the reports generated by the witnesses. If you're a Doctor falsely accused of medical fraud, pain mismanagement or dispensing controlled substances call a Clearwater Drug Attorney for an immediate consultation.

The purpose of a trial should always be to find the truth. The truth can be found by a jury only if the Defense is allowed to question the expert authors of reports which are based on opinions and conclusions. This decision furthers the argument that it's unconscionable that the government was allowed to introduce expert opinions at a criminal trial without being required to subject those opinions to cross-examination. All the Courts in Florida - State and Federal, including those in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Pinellas are bound by this decision.

Synopsis of the Case (Full U.S. v. Ignasiak Opinion): The Defendant was a doctor licensed in the State of Florida who appeals his convictions for dispensing controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 21 U.S.C. 801 and for health care fraud. The Defendant contends that the district court at trial abused its discretion by allowing the introduction of autopsy reports and handwritten medical reports without requiring testimony by their authors.

The Federal Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit reversed defendant's convictions because the admission of the autopsy reports and testimony about those reports, without live in-court testimony from the medical examiners who actually performed the autopsies, violated the Confrontation Clause under the facts of the case and that because the government's case was not overwhelming the violation of the Defendant's right to cross-examine witnesses was not harmless error in this case.

Is Justice just a game? The purpose of a Criminal Trial is to find the truth - maybe it's hiding behind black's King...Checkmate!

Daumier, The Chess Players, 1863.

AN ILLEGAL ARREST IN FLORIDA CAN BE LAWFULLY RESISTED - - WITHOUT FORCE OR VIOLENCE

2012-01-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

A recent legal opinion in the 3rd DCA (Florida Appeals Court) overturned a conviction for Resisting Arrest Without Violence where it was found that the arresting officer was not engaged in the lawful execution of his legal duty when he told a juvenile to step out of the street for the juvenile's safety.
When the juvenile refused to step out of the street the officer arrested him despite the officer having.... "no legal duty to insist on compliance and to enforce that insistence with arrest where the record shows that there were no circumstances warranting this," which very likely is what your favorite Clearwater Defense Attorney might have said had he not been blissfully reading a mystery novel by flickering firelight at the time of this mishap or possibly simply dreaming of reading...Though this case is not binding in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Pinellas its reaffirmation of the English Common Law is well reasoned likely having a consistent result here.

At trial the officer testified as follows:

Q. Okay....Why did you initially tell him [the defendant] to get off the road?”

A. [Officer Kurless (think of his voice as coming from an impaired, nearly inebriated Sean Connery)]: Well for his safety, because cars be [sic] coming down the road and he could get hit, so we just told him to kind of step off to the side of the road.”

It's ridiculous that to protect the child from harm the officer arrested him -- placing him with criminals, destroying his reputation and ensuring that when the child grows up, for the rest of his life on any job application he'll have to explain what happened so many years ago, because of a foolish overzealous officer who thru some horific leap of the space time continuum somehow envisions himself to be James Bond (see the above trial transcript excerpt).
That juvenile needed a Pinellas Juvenile Defense Lawyer an attorney who can help any juvenile who has been charged with a crime in Pinellas County especially when it's the officer who needs to be spanked. An arrest is among the worst things the government can do to one of its citizens, no arrest should ever be made unless there is good cause and certainly not to a juvenile...as a juvenile arrest has grave consequences.

The Court found that legal duty for an officer can arise in the following situations:
The case law provides that “legal duties” include (1) serving process; (2) legally detaining a person; or (3) asking for assistance in an emergency situation, or 4) impeding officers’ undercover activities by acting as a “lookout” during the commission of a criminal act...Although this is not an exhaustive list, it is clear that there is a difference between an officer who is engaging in the lawful execution of a legal duty, and a police officer who is merely on the job...
And the Court's final ruling (over a furious dissenting opinion written to purge all Juvenile Jaywalkers from our streets) states emphatically that the English Common Law is still valid in Florida even if it's not in England:

“If an arrest is not lawful, then a defendant cannot be guilty of resisting it -- the common law rule still remains that a person may lawfully resist an illegal arrest without using any force or violence.”

Clearwater Police are on the prowl...Be careful citizens.

POLICE OFFICERS CAUGHT DOING CRIMES ARE NOT BEING ARRESTED CHARGED NOR PROSECUTED IN TAMPA CLEARWATER & ST. PETERSBURG PINELLAS FLORIDA

2012-01-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

You'd think Florida Law Enforcement Officers would be held to a higher standard. You'd hope Officers caught doing crimes would not only be prosecuted to the full extent of the law but be drummed out of service. If that's what you believe - you're wrong, as the this recent and ongoing series of articles, How Florida's Problem Officers Remain on the Job from the Herald Tribune make clear: officers are getting away with every crime under the sun, crimes for which every other citizen is brought before judges and juries and if convicted punished with jail time.

Among the Herald-Tribune's findings:

One in 20 active law enforcement officers in Florida has committed a moral character violation serious enough to jeopardize his or her career. Nearly 600 have two or more such acts of misconduct on their record and 30 current officers and prison guards continue to wear a badge despite four or more offenses.

Officers in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Sarasota have been accused of violence acts such as aggravated battery, grand theft, possession of drugs and sexual battery enough to keep your favorite Clearwater Defense Attorney busy for years. Five years ago in an earlier blog post I wrote about the systemic corruption in a bargaining sex for drug reduction scandal at the Clearwater State Attorney's Office, now it appears corruption still exists in many Florida law enforcement agencies as can be seen in case studies of officer corruption.
For the law to be an effective deterrent to crime every citizen especially those sworn under oath to protect us, to defend us and to uphold our law must be subject to the law.

These corrupt officers should immediately be fired. A grand jury should be convened to indict those responsible at the highest levels of each law enforcement agency and each state attorney's office who coddled these criminals.
If you believe that you are the victim of a crime at the hands of a Florida law enforcement officer you'll want to contact a Pinellas Crime Lawyer immediately to determine what action to take including reporting the crime to federal watchdogs such as the FBI Tampa Anti-corruption Squad which can conduct complex undercover operations investigating any corruption in law enforcement agencies in Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Pinellas.

At least Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife was honest, incorruptible, loyal and kept his one bullet ready to defend - Barney we need you...

Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife

Favorite Quotations from Officer Barney Fife:
"Floyd, if you would keep your mind outta Washington and stick to your barbering, I might get a better haircut. Now, what did you do with my sideburns?", paying Floyd, "Here, go buy a barber book!"
"If a chicken hawk is hanging around, a wise rooster doesn't bury his head...he keeps his eye on the chicken" (advice for Andy on keeping Andy's girlfriend safe from another man)
"I'm sorry about this, but us lawmen can't take chances!" --Barney (as he frisks an Older Woman at a roadblock, searching for an escaped convict) --"But Barney! I'm your mother!"

WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILDREN WHEN PARENTS ARE SENT TO JAIL IN TAMPA CLEARWATER & PINELLAS

2012-01-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

When parents are incarcerated what happens to their children - will their children be sent to foster care in Tampa Bay or will their children be sent to live with relatives who may not want them? Well known and alarming foster care failures in Tampa, Clearwater & Pinellas Florida have endangered the very lives of the children foster care was meant to protect.
In any case involving prison for parents the Judge should be made fully aware by the Criminal Defense Attorney of what the State of Florida intends to do with the children before sentencing. If the plan is to have the children sent to live with relatives its important to find out if the relatives have the means, passion and integrity to care for the children and depending on the ages of the children to determine if this is in their best interests.
With some finesse the Pinellas Defense Lawyer should become an advocate for the children urging the Court to weigh the damage incarcerating the parents will do to the children against the nature of the crime, the severity of the crime and the prior record of the parents. Clearly, the safety of the children should be the Court's chief concern followed by the need to punish the parents under Florida law, in which case parenting issues during incarceration becomes critical as does this Florida Manual for Incarcerated Parents which contains important legal forms such as a power of attorney.
An excellent article, When a parent is incarcerated: a primer for social workers, helps to explain the many complex problems that can arise when parents are incarcerated, particularly if their children must go into foster care. It should also be helpful for attorneys to use in sentencing mitigation and helping clients cope with the anxiety of being away from their children.

Van Gogh, Portrait of Camille Roulin, 1888

Portrait of Camille Roulin, 1888,

"OCCUPY COURTS" MOVEMENT PLANS COURT PROSTESTS: WILL THEY EFFECTIVELY SHUT DOWN THE COURTS IN TAMPA ST. PETERSBURG & CLEARWATER?

2012-01-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

Another grass roots movement called Move to Amend may soon make siege to local Courts in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Pinellas. The new movement is similar and possibly a branch of Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Tampa, with the intent to impact the federal courts with an attempt to "occupy the courts" in major cities. Your Clearwater Crime Attorney tends toward the view that Juries and Judges should be the ones protesting, since they're the ones stuck with having to listen to lawyers like me all day long.

On Friday, January 20, 2012 the movement plans to Occupy The Federal Courts of Tampa Bay.

In an email Donna Elm of the Middle District Court of Florida said she'd spoken to Federal Chief Judge Conway who said that the Courts bravely "intend to conduct business as usual," and to expect delays. Also, the folks at the Federal Courts noted that everyone including attorneys and defendants should bring identification as there'll be extra security and possibly long lines; and for everyone with Court business to arrive earlier than usual and to keep in mind that:
"Part of our job is believing in American freedoms, and that includes all of them, such as the right to peaceful assembly and protest, as well as the right to open access to tribunals. Please be tolerant, patient, and polite to our visitors." Sounds similar to the way your favorite Clearwater Criminal Lawyer approaches Christmas dinner with family...

So far it is believed that only courthouses in the Federal District Courts in Orlando and Tampa are targeted by the movement at this time. Nonetheless, it is possible that some folks may show up at other courthouses in the Tampa Bay area including the Criminal Justice Center in Clearwater, Pinellas County Florida.

WHO TO KNOW TO BECOME A FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE IN TAMPA ST. PETERSBURG CLEARWATER IN THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

2012-01-05T10:52:00.000-08:00

The Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission is accepting applications for a United States District Judge position in the Middle District of Florida an area including Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, where your favorite Criminal Attorney presides over his golden retriever, Sancho and an occasional glass or more of red wine. Here is an interesting list of the folks who interviewed for the last Federal District Court vacancy. Will they still be interested?

The purpose of the Nominating Commission is to present the President with the best possible applicants, to take some of the politics out of the process, to make the process fair and transparent and to find a Judge whom the federal practice lawyers on the Commission trust to be - well, to be what exactly - fair and impartial or malleable? Unfortunately those members of the Commission who are attorneys are not barred from Federal practice making a farce of the entire process. Why have attorneys who practice in Federal Court on the Commission? Why have attorneys on the Commission? Isn't that an automatic conflict of interest? Here is a list of the members of the the Middle District of Florida Nominating Commission.

The vacancy was created when Judge Gregory A. Presnell’s gained senior status. Though Federal District Judges are appointed for life, they can opt to take on a less stressful schedule by taking senior status.
The oldest sitting Federal Judge is Judge Wesley Brown of Kansas whose one caveat is "no lengthy trials" which makes sense at age 103 and if your favorite Pinellas crime lawyer was that old he'd be avoiding lengthy trials too...
Anyway, applications for the judicial appointment can be obtained from the Florida Bar Online or at any Costco with a $50 membership fee. Completed applications must be received by the Commission's Statewide Chair and each Commission member in the manner specified by the Rules of Procedure by 5 p.m., Wednesday, January 18, 2012.

Potential Judges -- get to work on that application & brush up on those interviewing skills.

Vincent van Gogh, Man Writing Facing Left, 1881

NEW DRUG TEN TIMES STRONGER THAN HYDROCONE (aka VICODIN) WILL SOON INVADE & DESTROY LIVES IN CLEARWATER FLORIDA

2012-01-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

Four international pharmaceutical companies are developing drugs that will for the first time make the most addictive ingredient in the drug hydrocodone available in a pure form, making the risk of addiction to Tampa & Pinellas Floridians that much greater, according to a recent article in the British press, which also states that the companies plan to make a pain killer called Zohydro which will be ten times stronger than vicodin. Will there now be ten times more arrests in Clearwater, St. Petersburg & Tampa that a Pinellas Drug Attorney will need to clean up in the arbitrary hope that law enforcement doesn't destroy more lives than the drugs?
Here's an excerpt from the British News Article:

Between 2003 and 2007 in the state of Florida alone, hydrocodone caused 910 deaths and contributed to 1,803 others.......Andrew Kolodny, president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing told CBS: 'You've got a person on your product for life, and a doctor's got a patient who's never going to miss an appointment, because if they did and they didn't get their prescription, they would feel very sick...it's a terrific business model..."
Pinellas County has an effective drug court discussed in earlier blog entries with other solutions or decriminalization. The Courts are already overwhelmed with Defendants who are addicted because of misuse and abuse of the drugs being shoveled in their direction by the pharmeceutical companies.

Haven't the drugs already available to Floridians destroyed enough lives? The companies insist that the patients can be monitored more closely in the future to avoid drug addiction. How? Look at the recent efforts by Floridian law enforcement to clamp down on prescription fraud and Pinellas Pain Doctors who give inappropriate prescriptions even at current lower levels of drug effectiveness.
Ever harsher drug laws are not the answer. Nor is it the answer for companies to knowingly make these drugs ever more addictive and available. The only priority of the pharmaceutical companies is to make more money.

A painting of a number of pleasantly satisfied Pharmaceutical Reps at a Tampa Bay Conference.

Rembrandt The Anatomy Lesson, 1662

NEW PINELLAS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT FOR ARRESTS, JAIL, COUNSELING & RESTRAINING ORDERS IN CLEARWATER FLORIDA

2011-12-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Local activists against domestic violence and sexual violence will help plan a new special Domestic Violence Pinellas County Court in Clearwater, Florida next year which will not only take in criminal cases but also be able to track and assign immediate injunctions for protection and restraining orders to protect victims.

Money is also being allocated to 'train' Pinellas Judges to give sentences of jail or probation which includes completing successfully Pinellas Batterer Intervention Programs which entail six month group counseling sessions led by certified facilitators - who one assumes must go to work not only with a thick skin but perhaps shrouded within a suit of armor.

The mere allegation of abuse should not be sufficient to bring criminal charges tho unfortunately this is not always true, if you've been falsely accused, arrested, charged or investigated it's necessary to contact a Pinellas domestic violence attorney to defend your rights and to conduct a complete investigation of the facts for your criminal defense.
The trend seems to be that every type of crime will one day have its own specialized Court with its own specialist Judge dealing only with the issues resulting from that type of crime. The Pinellas Drug Court has been a success as noted previously in this criminal defense blog and here, but drugs are a victimless crime.
It's important to keep in mind that every crime even a repugnant or heinous crime such as the arrest for domestic violence must be proven in Florida by a reasonable doubt if the facts are in dispute.

741.28 Domestic violence; definitions.—As used in ss. 741.28-741.31:

(1) “Department” means the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

(2) “Domestic violence” means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.

(3) “Family or household member” means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.

Be careful with that Pitchfork, Fella - or you'll be sent to the Pinellas Domestic Violence Court.

American Gothic by Grant Wood, 1930.

CLEARWATER CRIMINAL COURTS IN PINELLAS FLORIDA WILL SOON ALLOW MORE WITNESSES TO BE QUESTIONED AT TRIAL

2011-12-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

One of the fundamental pillars of justice in America is that the defense is entitled to evaluate all testimony at trial thru the process of cross-examination. The constitution guarantees that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him." This is known as the Confrontation Clause (which tho we are near Christmas has little to do with the Clause known as Santa).

For many years the Supreme Court allowed prosecutors to present evidence in an indirect manner which avoided the necessity of having witnesses confronted at trial, filtering even to our Criminal Justice Center in Clearwater Pinellas County, Forida where lab reports were found to be sufficient without testimony. However, the Supreme Court has begun to shift in favor of Defendant's rights to cross-examine witnesses especially where expert witness testimony is proffered thru reports rather than with the actual witness at trial. Interestingly for your favorite Pinellas Crime Lawyer & Supreme Court Spectator, it seems to be driven by the conservative wing of the Court.

Part of the underlying reasoning for this shift as earlier entries in this blog have shown is the failure of Government forensic laboratories to give unbiased results.

The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment is a focal point of recent litigation. See Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004); Melendez–Diaz v. Massachusetts, 129 S.Ct. 2527, 174 L.Ed.2d 314 (2009); Bullcoming v. New Mexico, 131 S.Ct. 2705, 180 L.Ed.2d 610 (2011). Listen to arguments of the case, see also for more Supreme Court audio arguments.
The Court’s opinion in Williams v. Illinois, argued December 6, should be announced soon: Is it a violation of the Confrontation Clause to allow an expert witness to testify about the results of DNA testing conducted by another analyst who has not appeared as a witness at the trial.
The First Circuit recently vacated a conviction over lack of confrontation (Ramos-Gonzlez)... In this cocaine case the government adds substitute chemist Morales to the witness list shortly before trial. Morales is called by the government testifying to the work of the previous chemist as the prosecutor failed to have Morales do his own testing... The Court stated that, “Morales's testimony was neither cumulative of nor sufficiently corroborated by alternative evidence, and it comprised the only compelling basis for the jury to conclude a critical element of the government's case—that the substance seized from the truck was cocaine. We cannot conclude that the presence of cocaine would have been proved without the testimony of Morales, and therefore the admission of his testimony was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.”

WHO KNEW? BEING POOR IS NO LONGER A CRIME IN FLORIDA SAYS OUR SUPREME COURT!!

2011-12-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

The Florida Supreme Court recently held in Del Valle v. State that before a Judge can revoke probation and incarcerate a Defendant for failure to pay, the Judge must first make inquiry into the Defendant's actual ability to pay. Even your favorite Clearwater Defense Attorney is heartened that being poor is no longer a crime in Florida.

The Judge must determine in a hearing: Did the Defendant have the ability to pay or did the Defendant willfully refuse to pay. Under Florida law, the trial court must make its finding regarding whether the probationer willfully violated probation by the greater weight of the evidence. The Judge must do this in a hearing where the Defendant can provide evidence because an automatic revocation of probation without evidence presented as to ability to pay to support the trial court's finding of willfulness violated due process. Although it is constitutional to place the burden on the Defendant to prove his inability to pay, the aspect of section 948.06(5), Florida Statutes, that required a Defendant to prove his inability to pay by the heightened standard of clear and convincing evidence was unconstitutional.
Probation reduced by Pinellas Crime Attorney
Bar Journal Article on clear and convincing evidence
Excellent Discusion of State v. Del Valle as affecting State v. Adkins
Public Information - Oral Argument
It's far better to be poor in Clearwater, Florida than rich in England... at least in Tampa Bay there's much more sunshine.
Old Beggar, 1916, by Louis Dewis, painted just outside his clothing store in Bordeaux, France.

ARE FLORIDA DRUG LAWS UNCONSTITUTIONAL? HEAR THE ACTUAL ARGUMENTS MADE BEFORE THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT

2011-12-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

So far not one of the Judges in Florida's 6th Circuit (encompassing Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco Counties as well as Tampa, Clearwater & St. Petersburg) has thrown out any drug cases based on Federal District Judge Scriven's recent well reasoned Federal decision in the Shelton case which declared Florida's Drug Laws unconstitutional.

However, Circuit Courts in Miami have dismissed some cases and not others. More recently the Circuit Court for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit in Manatee County dismissed 46 cases based on Scriven's decision that Fla. Stat. section 893.13 was unconstitutional. The State of course immediately appealed. On September 28th, the Second District Court of Appeal entered an order certifying that the issue requires immediate resolution by the Florida Supreme Court.

On October 12th, the Florida Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction in the case in State v. Adkins, No. SC11-1878. The Florida Supreme Court ordered the parties to file their initial briefs and answer briefs quickly with oral argument was held at the Florida Supreme Court on the sixth of December.

Clearly, the Florida Supreme Court expects to resolve the split within the Florida Districts quickly, but will it be fast enough to help your favorite Crime Attorney's clients. See Case Briefs for the Florida Supreme Court.

Listen to the actual oral arguments made to the Supreme Court of Florida and decide for yourself what the Court should do...

Don Quixote & the Dead Mule

SOMEWHERE ORWELL IS SMILING: SECRET VIDEOS MADE BY THE PINELLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE WERE USED IN SEARCH WARRANTS BASED ON WHERE PEOPLE SHOP IN LARGO FLORIDA

2011-12-11T08:47:00.001-08:00

Imagine a dark Orwellian world where everything you do is on video and everything you do is closely examined in the hope it can be used as evidence against you in the future.

Well, if you live in Pinellas County, Florida you don't have to imagine that world anymore, as your Pinellas County Sheriff's Office secretly put hundreds of customers under video surveillance for over a year at a plant store called Simply Hydroponics. Law enforcement then used identifiers of the customers, such as the tags on their vehicles to track them, spy on them and to obtain search warrants which contained at best highly unlikely information.

This should make every American angry and even makes your favorite Clearwater Defense Lawyer despair for the future of our country.
In one case law enforcement officers placed a plant store customer's home under surveillance then swore under oath in a search warrant that they could smell the marijuana plants and heard the distinct noise of foliage being broken from within what they designated as a suspected marijuana grow house. Our intrepid detectives found a single marijuana plant upon forcing their way into the home.
If there's one thing all of us as Americans should be against it's unbridled government surveillance and the destruction of our privacy rights. Yet we should also agree that the inherent corruption which resulted in officer's telling lies under oath must also be rooted out.
The surveillance, the lies, the misinformation and the failure of law enforcement to abide by basic American standards of Justice should result in the immediate investigations of every law enforcement officer and every prosecutor involved as prosecutors routinely draft, prepare and take the search warrants to Judges for signatures.
A Grand Jury should immediately be convened by the Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate he highest positions at the Sheriff's Office and at the State Attorney's Office, to find who was responsible for placing the video equipment near the store, to find what other stores or public areas are secretly under surveillance and to bring to justice all of those who did this or allowed this to be done under their watch.

Here are a few excerpts about smell as possible probable cause from the St. Petersburg Times Article: Young plants don't emit an odor, but if a person were growing "hundreds" of mature plants in a structure that wasn't properly sealed, it's "possible" an officer very close to the home would notice the smell...James Woodford of Chattanooga, Tenn., an expert on the topic of marijuana odor, said a large operation vented directly outdoors could generate an occasional "whiff" of marijuana detectable up to 25 to 30 feet away [i.e., less than half the distance between the sidewalk and Underwood's "alleged grow room"]....Law enforcement officers commonly use the smell of marijuana to establish probable cause.
Drug Crimes Trial Lawyer & Criminal Defense Attorney in Clearwater, FL
Times Editorial: America shouldn't be a surveillance society
Video Surveillance – Are Hidden Cameras Legal?
933.07 Issuance of search warrants.—
(1) The judge, upon examination of the application and proofs submitted, if satisfied that probable cause exists for the issuing of the search warrant, shall thereupon issue a search warrant signed by him or her with his or her name of office, to any sheriff and the sheriff’s deputies or any police officer or other person authorized by law to execute process, commanding the officer or person forthwith to search the property described in the warrant or the person named, for the property specified, and to bring the property and any person arrested in connection therewith before the judge or some other court having jurisdiction of the offense.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, based on grounds specified in s. 933.02(4)(d), may obtain a search warrant authorized by this chapter for an area in size up to and including the full extent of the county in which the search warrant is issued. The judge issuing such search warrant shall conduct a court proceeding prior to the issuance of such search warrant upon reasonable notice and shall receive, hear, and determine any objections by property owners to the issuance of such search warrant. Such search warrant may be served by employees or authorized contractors of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Such search warrant may be made returnable at any time up to 6 months from the date of issuance.

933.04 Affidavits.—The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable seizures and searches shall not be violated and no search warrant shall be issued except upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation particularly describing the place to be searched and the person and thing to be seized.

The Florida Statutes - The Florida Senate

From Orwell's novel 1984, The three slogans of the Party on the Ministry of Truth Building.

PINELLAS COUNTY HIT & RUN COLD CASE SOLVED WHEN DEFENDANT CALLS POLICE TO ARREST HER BOYFRIEND

2011-11-30T06:53:00.001-08:00

Nearly a year ago a woman sped off after striking and killing a pedestrian in Pinellas Park, resulting in a classic unsolved hit and run case. The cold case could have remained unsolved if the woman herself hadn't called the police to her home.

Foolishly, she called police to her house because she said she was afraid of her live in boyfriend, recently released from jail on worthless check charges. Maybe she was right to be apprehensive of him because he told the police she was the perpetrator of the hit and run also known as leaving the scene of an accident with injury, that she'd told him everything and when police confronted her they say she confessed.

Even though police believe the pedestrian violated the driver's right of way that night, the driver had a legal duty under Florida Statutes to stop and identify herself and to render aid.

The St. Petersburg Times noted that a Pinellas Park police inspection of the accident vehicle revealed that it was still heavily damaged after almost a year from the fatal crash.

"We found pieces of the turn signal and the passenger side mirror at the scene (of Fisher's death)," said Pinellas Park police Sgt. Brian Unmisig, "and they matched the parts that the vehicle was missing." She was booked into the Pinellas jail, where she was being held Tuesday in lieu of $52,250 bail

Palm Harbor woman's call to deputies leads to her arrest in fatal Pinellas Park hit-and-run

Criminal Defense Attorney and Trial Lawyer for Drug Crimes & DUI in Clearwater, FL

The purpose of this law is not to establish who was at fault in the accident nor to apportion blame. The idea is that anytime there is a crash involving injuries the driver must stop, identify herself and render aid if necessary. Clearly, if the driver at the scene was impaired then a DUI Manslaughter investigation will take place, if at fault without impairment a Vehicular Homicide investigation will begin, or if the accident was the result of premeditation possible Murder or Homicide charges. (see statute below)
316.027 Crash involving death or personal injuries.—

(1)(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash occurring on public or private property that results in injury of any person must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash, or as close thereto as possible, and must remain at the scene of the crash until he or she has fulfilled the requirements of s. 316.062. Any person who willfully violates this paragraph commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in statutes.

(b) The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash occurring on public or private property that results in the death of any person must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash, or as close thereto as possible, and must remain at the scene of the crash until he or she has fulfilled the requirements of the law.

The Clearwater Police ask your help in solving this very Cold Case.

Things have changed since this Model T was the fastest - and only - car on the road in 1910.

FLORIDA STAND YOUR GROUND LAW IS YOUR PERFECT DEFENSE TO MURDER

2011-11-27T14:16:00.001-08:00

Stand your ground is the law in Florida. Recently in Tampa a man stabbed another man in the head with an ice pick after a traffic dispute leaving the stabbed man in critical condition. His defense was that he was standing his ground.

In Clearwater the police determined there would be no arrest of a man who shot his neighbor after a shouting match over putting out garbage.

In Hillsborough a jogger shot and killed an unarmed man eight times, yet the jogger was not prosecuted after establishing that he'd been struck in the face first and believed the other man to be armed. But eight shots, you'd think he might have stopped at seven...

The Florida law gives people the right to use deadly force against intruders entering their homes or vehicles, no longer needing to prove fear for their safety, only that the person who is stabbed, shot with a firearm or even killed intruded unlawfully and forcefully. Thus making a defense to charges of aggravated battery or murder.

Previous Florida law and common law required that a person attacked in a public place must retreat if possible. Now someone attacked in public, "has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force." The law also forbids the arrest, detention or prosecution of the people covered by the law, and it prohibits civil suits against them.

The central innovation in the Florida law is in expanding the right to shoot intruders who pose no threat to the occupant's safety. According to the International Herald Tribune, one professor of law noted, "In effect," Professor Sebok said, "the law allows citizens to kill other citizens in defense of property." At least the Florida Supreme Court has ruled in its standard jury instructions that the Defendant must actually believe that the threat and danger is real.
Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine

Criminal Defense Attorney and Trial Lawyer for Drug Crimes & DUI in Clearwater, FL

New U.S. self-defense laws loosen trigger fingers - Americas - International Herald Tribune

The 'stand your ground' law's sad Florida legacy - St. Petersburg Times

'Stand your ground' law may factor in Tampa road rage incident - St. Petersburg Times

No. SC06-1237. - SMILEY v. STATE - FL Supreme Court

http://statecasefiles.justia.com/documents/florida/supreme-court/sc06-1237.pdf

JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE

View Entire Chapter

776.013 Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.—

(1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:

(a) The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and

(b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.

(2) The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does not apply if:

(a) The person against whom the defensive force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no contact against that person; or

(b) The person or persons sought to be removed is a child or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the defensive force is used; or

(c) The person who uses defensive force is engaged in an unlawful activity or is using the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle to further an unlawful activity; or

(d) The person against whom the defensive force is used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person entering or attempting to enter was a law enforcement officer.

(3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

(4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.

Members of the Florida Supreme Court rest after a hard day's work in the Fields of Justice.

Alfred de Dreux: Pug Dog in an Armchair, 1857

DESPITE TAMPA JAZZ SINGER'S FAMILY PLEAS FOR MERCY JUDGE GIVES THE MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF 15 YEARS IN DUI MANSLAUGHTER CASE

2011-11-22T13:41:00.001-08:00

The victim's family forgives if not forgets. Despite their pleas for mercy - even for no jail time for the Defendant in a DUI Manslaughter case - a local Jazz Singer's family members found that only the Judge has the power to sentence a convicted man.
The Jazz Singer, a preacher's daughter, was known for her beautiful voice, her kind forgiving heart and a keen sense of jazz tempo while performing in Tampa Bay, Clearwater and Pinellas County, Florida.

"You're very forgiving," the Judge said softly to the religious family, then voice hardening the Judge looked toward the Defendant saying, "But the court has decisions to make....You're going to take responsibility."
The Judge sentenced the Defendant to the maximum amount of time, 15 years in prison for the conviction. The Defendant had a prior record, anger issues, a drug habit and on the night of the incident mixed prescription pain killers, Xanax, Vicodin with vodka before causing a terrible crash sending the Jazz Singer's car airborne according to an article in the St. Petersburg Times.

Driver who killed jazz singer Tina Harrison in 2009 DUI crash gets 15 years in prison - St. Petersburg Times

Florida DUI and administrative suspension laws

http://www.madd.org/laws/law-overview/Vehicular_Homicide_Overview.pdf

Billie Holiday, a great American jazz singer, songwriter and actress. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She died in 1959.

CAN DRUG DOGS SNIFF FOR WARANTLESS SEARCHES OUTSIDE VEHICLES IN FLORIDA?

2011-11-20T14:40:00.001-08:00

Our Florida Supreme Court was asked to decide this important canine Question of Law which has kept even your favorite crime attorney in Clearwater in suspense: When does a drug-detection dog's alert to the outside of a vehicle provide a police officer with probable cause to search the inside of that vehicle without a search warrant?

I tend toward the view that when brave Aldo (the famous dog you'll read about in the case below) smells so much marijuana that he slumps down while eating lots of treats from the munchies that sufficient probable cause has been established for an immediate arrest of anyone in the vicinity, the Florida Supreme Court agrees:

Officer William Wheetley and his drug-detection dog, Aldo, were on patrol. Officer Wheetley conducted a traffic stop of Harris's truck for an expired tag. Upon approaching the truck, Officer Wheetley noticed that Harris was shaking, breathing rapidly, and could not sit still (editors note: Harris is the Defendant, not the dog.)
Officer Wheetley also noticed an open beer can in the cup holder. When Officer Wheetley asked for consent to search the truck, Harris refused. Officer Wheetley then deployed Aldo. Upon conducting a 'free air sniff' of the exterior of the truck, Aldo alerted to the door handle of the driver's side.

Underneath the driver's seat, Officer Wheetley discovered over 200 pseudoephedrine pills in a plastic bag wrapped in a shirt. On the passenger's side, Officer Wheetley discovered eight boxes of matches containing a total of 8,000 matches. Officer Wheetley then placed Harris under arrest. A subsequent search of a toolbox on the passenger side revealed muriatic acid. Officer Wheetley testified that these chemicals are precursors of methamphetamine. After being read his Miranda Rights, Harris stated that he had been cooking meth for about one year and most recently cooked it at his home in Blountstown two weeks prior to the stop. Harris also admitted to being addicted to meth and needing it at least every few days."

Here's what the Court ruled:

Whether or not a drug dog's alert to the outside of a vehicle provides an officer with probable cause to search the inside of the vehicle without a search warrant depends upon the dog's reliability to detect illegal substances within a vehicle. In order to establish reliability the following things must be established at trial or at a hearing before the judge:

All records and evidence necessary for the trial judge to evaluate the dog's reliability in detecting illegal substances so the trial judge can evaluate how well a dog (go Aldo go!) is trained and whether it falsely alerted during its training with a percentage of false alerts, including the dog's successes and failures (no no no, not our Aldo!).

Sadly for our Brave Aldo, but happily for the Defendant, the Court concluded that the dog's alert did not provide his handler with probable cause to search the inside of the truck without a search warrant because Aldo's reliability was not established since his trainer failed to accurately keep records of Aldo's false alerts nor was evidence presented about Aldo's ability to detect 'residual odors' (my dog, Sancho, has those too).

Drug Crimes Trial Lawyer & Criminal Defense Attorney in Clearwater, FL

Florida Supreme Court Drug Dog Alert Case

Mandatory Minimums | Common Sense for Drug Policy

Families Against Mandatory Minimums Hopes to Change Sentencing Laws in Florida - Broward/Palm Beach

After the case, Brave Aldo the Drug Busting Dog retired from his Police Duties to be adopted by a normal family in Tallahassee Florida. Here is a recent painting of Aldo with his new friend & master The Chief Judge of the Florida Supreme Court. Odd, but neighbors complain that the Dog constantly alerts...

Carl Locher with his dog Tiger by Michael Archer, 1909

USED VAN COMES 'FULLY LOADED' - BOUGHT FOR $14,000 HAS STASH OF $500,000 WORTH OF COCAINE FOUND BY MECHANIC WHEN BREAKS ARE FIXED - IN FLORIDA LACK OF KNOWLEDGE WOULD NOT STOP PROSECUTION

2011-11-18T06:41:00.001-08:00

A psychologist in California thought he had a great deal on a used van at $14,000. But 14 months later when he had his breaks fixed the mechanic found over half a million dollars of Cocaine. "My hands went numb," he said.
He's a lucky man. He's lucky that the drug cartel missing the cocaine didn't find him, then lead him toward a life ending accident.

And he's especially lucky he doesn't live in Florida. In Florida, Knowledge of the Cocaine is not required for arrest, prosecution and conviction of Trafficking in Cocaine.
In Florida the innocent psychologist could be subjected to life with a 15 year Minimum Mandatory prison sentence, despite a Federal Judge making a finding that the law violates the United States Constitution. Drug Law Unconstitutional

EXCERPT FROM THE MERCURY NEWS:

"This insulation isn't supposed to be here," the mechanic said, digging behind the panel. But it soon became clear that the tablet-sized objects wrapped in purple and clear cellophane weren't installed by the manufacturer.

"I'm, like, dumbfounded," said Preston, who works at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. "Honest to God, my hands went numb."

Police quickly arrived and found 14 packages of cocaine hidden in the doors. After impounding the van for closer examination, they found five more above the back wheels, Preston said.

"They told me, 'You're so lucky, you'd be in jail for the rest of your life if you got searched in a traffic stop and they found this.' "

But they also told him something chilling: Take the van back in to the repair shop to check for tracking devices because somebody is probably looking for it. Then get rid of it.

When Preston tried to return the coke-mobile to Thrifty Car Sales this summer for one without drugs, he said a manager was anything but solicitous. She told him he could trade in the van, but only for the current Blue Book value -- about $4,000 less by his estimation than he originally paid. He had put about 6,000 miles on the van.
Chrysler van comes fully loaded -- cocaine included - San Jose Mercury News
Criminal Defense Attorney and Trial Lawyer for Drug Crimes & DUI in Clearwater, FL
Florida - Drug Laws Ruled Unconstitutional - NYTimes.com
State drug trafficking laws ruled unconstitutional | ruled, state, city - The News Herald

Tampa Bay Police ask your help in finding the original owners of this Vehicle:

Italy: Sicilian working cart,1890.

COCAINE USE IS DOWN IN MIAMI, TAMPA BAY & PINELLAS COUNTY FLORIDA WHILE SUBSCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE & ARRESTS SURGE

2011-11-14T06:53:00.001-08:00

The grim war on drugs continues in Florida. Rather than attempting to get treatment for drug abusers the State of Florida and the Federal Government continue to destroy lives with harsh penalties and harsh sentencing. While the people's true drug of choice - alcohol - kills more people than other intoxicants whether legal or not, undermining the very premise of the War on Drugs, that the Government is attempting to save lives.

The Miami Herald details the fall in Cocaine as the drug of choice in Miami, Tampa Bay and Pinellas, Florida, because of its high price per dose compared to relatively cheaper prescription drugs which are easier to obtain.
Given that the purity of cocaine has been reduced by drug smugglers and dealers, users pay more and get less of the drug, while the drug users are increasingly turning to cheaper prescription drugs such as oxycodone that are easier to get, experts say.

Cocaine is “not disappearing, but it’s definitely declining,” said James N. Hall, director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Substance Abuse. “People are getting half of what they used to get — and this is occurring in the middle of the economic downturn. Cocaine, the most expensive drug on a per-dose basis, is costing more,” Hall said.

Below find a link to James Hall's alcohol study, which establishes that alcohol is much more destructive even than cocaine and methamphetamine, as cocaine is ranked fifth in causes of drug deaths, behind crystal methamphetamine and alcohol.

Criminal Defense Attorney and Trial Lawyer for Drug Crimes & DUI in Clearwater, FLhttp://cdn.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/UWBCCommission
Cocaine Use Wanes In Miami : Personal Liberty Digest
The CICAD Observer No. 21 - OAS

Cocaine Wanes in Popularity in South Florida | The Partnership at Drugfree.org

A Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer enjoys a small libation while awaiting a Jury Verdict.

Picasso Portrait of Angel Fernandez de Soto, 1903

BRITISH TEENAGER GRIMLY FACES LIFE IN FLORIDA PRISON - AMERICA'S WAR ON DRUGS DESTROYS ANOTHER LIFE

2011-11-13T09:23:00.001-08:00

Florida's harsh Drug Laws and outrageous penalties are making headlines in Britain. The latest case involves a girl who just turned 18 a few days after her arrest for bringing in cocaine as a clueless mule. Mercy? Justice? Leniency?
Of course not, this is Florida, where even your favorite Clearwater Drug Attorney never fails to be amazed and astonished that Prosecutors - not impartial Judges - ultimately determine the length of drug sentencing by how the Prosecution initially files the charge.
Do the Prosecutors believe that the Juvenile did this on her own? Clearly she was a witless drug mule. Incredibly, the girl would face less time if accused of a murder in the cracked sentencing structure of the State of Florida.
Our Beautiful Sunshine State has politicized prosecutors who determined that Justice could best be served by treating the girl as an adult although she was just a mule and although she was a minor at the time of the crime. She faces up to life in prison with a 15 year Mandatory Minimum Sentence in Florida.

Here's are excerpts from the recent article from England's Daily Telegraph:

Niles, a student, told police she did not know what drug she was carrying but suspected she was involved in some illegal activity, according to an arrest report. The cocaine was hidden in cake mix boxes found in her luggage.

Miami-Dade detective Nubia Azrak wrote that Niles "suspected that the activity she was involved in was suspicious but she did not question it".Police said the teen, who is from London, was picked for screening by customs agents. A police source said: "She is a classic drug mule who thought she could easily bring the drugs through an airport undetected."

Prosecutors said Niles was a "poster child" for how easily drug smugglers can corrupt young people.

In a follow up the Telegraph later reported: Her mother Sonia said:"She was stitched up. She a teenager who fell into a trap." Miami Judge Jose Fernandez set Niles' bail at $505,000 and her trial for February 6, 2012
British teenager caught smuggling 30lbs of cocaine into America - Telegraph
Attorney for Juvenile Pinellas County Florida
The American War on Drugs - The Becker-Posner Blog
Global war on drugs has failed,' key panel says - US news - Crime & courts - msnbc.com
Judge Napolitano - The War on Drugs has been a Disaster
British teen ‘poster child’ for American drugs war faces life in jail | Parent Pages
London teenager accused of cocaine smuggling
London teenager accused of cocaine smuggling in US - Americas - World - The Independent
Pictures from Alcohol Prohibition | StoptheDrugWar.org

A recent photograph shows the Mayor of Miami with Law Enforcement destroying illicit drugs.

Prohibition in the United States (sometimes referred to as the Noble Experiment) was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of intoxicating liquors, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the 18th amendment to the Constitution. As with the modern "War on Drugs" the law destroyed more lives than the intoxicants ever could.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING GETS LOCAL: RECENT ARRESTS & RAIDS FIND 27 VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN LARGO FLORIDA

2011-11-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

Recently, FBI agents with local assistance made arrests for charges of Human Trafficking at a Chinese Buffet in Largo, Pinellas County, Florida involving workers at the restaurant on East Bay Drive. The raid netted a large group of 27 illegal aliens who according to authorities were allegedly being used improperly with little or no wages, unfit working and living conditions that including being hauled in vans to and from work.
The restaurant reportedly offered exceptional values to customers, but I know at least one Clearwater Criminal Defense Lawyer who won't be eating there anytime soon.

Often Human Traffickers make false promises to lure illegal aliens then use fear and differences in culture and language to entrap them.

27 people found in human trafficking raids in Largo, Clearwat

Florida NOW trafficking

Criminal Defense Attorney in Clearwater, FL

Florida | Free the Slaves BLOG

Gustave Boulanger, The Slave Market, 1882

A boy slave in the slave trade market of Zanzibar punished by his ‘Arab master’ by being chained to a 32 pound log.

CONVICTION UPHELD FOR SMUGGLING GREAT CUBAN BASEBALL PLAYERS TO FLORIDA

2011-11-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

We all know about Drug Smuggling, but Smuggling Baseball players, that's a new one.
Here's a recent Federal Appeal from a conviction for Smuggling Cuban Baseball players to Florida that is hard to believe even for a Clearwater Defense Attorney who thought he'd seen everything.
Although this case seems benign with complete consent from the Cuban Baseball players, there have been other Human Trafficking cases involving human smuggling for illicit purposes such as child prostitution or slave labor where lives are routinely destroyed.
Clearwater Area Task Force Against Human Trafficking - Home
Here's the Cuban Baseball Smuggling Appeal, below find a link to the entire opinion:

United States v. Gustavo Dominguez, No. 07–13405

( October 31, 2011) Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida Affirmed in Part, Reversed in Part, and Vacated in Part Gustavo Dominguez, a professional sports agent, was convicted of smuggling five Cuban baseball players into the United States, transporting the players from Miami to Los Angeles, and harboring them there until they applied for asylum.
The theory of prosecution was that Dominguez, and several codefendants conspired to bring, unsuccessfully attempted to bring, and then successfully brought, five Cuban baseball players to the United States so that the players could pursue professional baseball careers. And the prosecution's theory was that Dominguez had a role in transporting and harboring the players after their arrival in the United States. Dominguez anticipated that, after the players arrived, he would represent them as their agent, negotiate any potential baseball contract, and collect a percentage of their earnings as a fee. The indictment alleged, and the jury found, that Dominguez smuggled the players for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain. Based on this finding, the district court imposed a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.
The Eleventh Circuit concluded that the evidence did not support Dominguez's convictions of transporting and harboring aliens, because the government did not prove that he transported the Cubans “in furtherance” of their illegal status as required by the transporting statute, or that he “knowingly concealed, harbored, or shielded from detection” as required by the harboring statute. The Court further noted that Dominguez arranged the immigration process to start shortly after the players arrived to the U.S., and himself arranged to have them taken before and report to immigration authorities.
The Court concluded, however, that the evidence supported Dominguez's convictions of conspiracy to smuggle, aiding and abetting an attempted smuggle, and aiding and abetting a smuggle. The Court held that a specific intent to violate the law is not required, only that a defendant know or recklessly disregard “the fact that an alien has not received prior official authorization to come to, enter, or reside in the United States,” and that the defendant knowingly bring or attempt to bring an alien to the United States.
Full Text of US v. Gominguez
Criminal Defense Attorney in Clearwater, FL
Florida | Free the Slaves BLOG

Smuggled Cuban Baseball Players recently found wearing Chicago White Sox uniforms.

It was almost unthinkable: players throwing the World Series? Yet, allegedly that's what happened in the fall of 1919 and America's Game was never the same. At least the Chicago White Sox didn't smuggle Cuban players into the game to the best of our knowledge.

PICKPOCKETS, LUSH WORKERS AND BEACH TOWEL BANDITS ARE ON THE RISE - HOW TO AVOID BEING A VICTIM IN TAMPA BAY FLORIDA

2011-11-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

From time immemorial Pickpockets and Thieves have thrived by diverting someone's attention by any means then going in for the kill. Pickpockets aren't only operating on St. Petersburg and Clearwater tourists they're after anyone who is vulnerable in the Tampa Bay Area. And you're vulnerable as soon as your attention is diverted, even if only for a moment while reading what your favorite Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney is typing, so hold onto your wallet.

Clearwater Police say there's been a spike on Clearwater Beach of Beach Blanket Bandits stealing cell phones, ipods, wallets and especially car keys while the victim walks the beach or swims. Possibly the downturn in the economy is creating more criminal activity than usual.
It's best to keep as many valuables safely locked in the car as possible and if walking on the beach to keep valuables with you. In Florida any amount over $300 is a Grand Theft punishable by up to 5 years in prison; while an amount under $300 is Petty Theft. Anyone breaking into a vehicle with the intention of stealing is also guilty of a Burglary (A number of Beach Thefts occurred on the west side of the Clearwater Beach island, stretching from the 300 block of S Gulfview Boulevard on the south end to Rockaway Street farther north.).
Clearwater police see spike in beach blanket thefts
Here is a short excerpt from the always optimistic New York Times about Lush Workers who cut the pockets of those who are disoriented perhaps from that one drink too many at the end of the night. Many victims don't report the crime because they're too ashamed or inebriated:

The lush worker sounds like a monster in a bedtime story, a stooped creature with a razor blade in one stealthy hand. Don’t drink, children, or the Lush Worker will get you.

But he is actually a middle-aged or older man who has been doing this for a very long time. And he is a fading breed.

Lush workers date back at least to the beginning of the last century, their ilk cited in newspaper crime stories like one in The New York Times in 1922, describing “one who picks the pockets of the intoxicated. He is the old ‘drunk roller’ under a new name.” While the term technically applies to anyone who steals from a drunken person, most police officers reserve it for a special kind of thief who uses straight-edge razors found in any hardware store... the good ones practice at home with mannequins.

Lush Workers Cut Wallets NYTimes.com

There's even a Chicago-based group of pickpockets who like something out of Oliver Twist, calling itself 'Cannon to the Wiz' have been merging low-tech pickpocketing with the modern scheme of choice, identity theft. The group has been active since at least 2007, "marrying high-tech fraud techniques with the Dickensian art of pickpocketing," Wired.com reported.

High-Tech Pickpocket Ring Broken Up by FBI

Feds Arrest Alleged Members of Nationwide High-Tech Pickpocket Ring | Fox News

White Collar Crime Criminal Defense Attorney in Clearwater, FL

Clearwater police warn beach visitors: Watch your belongings - St. Petersburg Times

The Tampa Police Department does not have a rough estimate of how many lush workers are out working lushes, but they sent me this recent painting of a lush mush tush that occurred recently at Old Hyde Park in Tampa, Florida.

Charles Delort, The Pickpocket

Is the lady part of the scam with the boy or is she merely an innocent flirt who enjoys being helped by older men on soggy afternoon walks?

Scholars, Art Experts & Lushes agree that the boy appears to be coming not from behind the couple but from the front, then smartly turns around to do the quick trick of cutting the man's money bag, which easily is within the young lady's view as she distracts the target, the innocent man, well maybe not so innocent, man. Also, their stances match, their facial expressions match and even the color of their clothes match. Recent DNA evidence from the FBI taken of pigment samples on the surface of the painting conclusively reveals that the young lady and boy are in fact brother and sister, thus proving a pickpocketing conspiracy.

WILL CONGRESS CHANGE FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES? TAMPA & PINELLAS FEDERAL DEFENDANTS CAN ONLY HOPE SENTENCING WILL SOON BE FAIRER

2011-11-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

The United States Sentencing Commission just finished an extensive study on the effects of Mandatory Minimum sentences in federal sentencing which it has just sent to the U.S. Congress.

You'll find some excellent recommendations that Congress should immediately adopt such as reducing Mandatory Minimum sentences, giving Judges more discretion in sentencing, reducing Prosecutorial power, enlarging the safety valve for more than just first time offenders, making the guidelines fairer and reducing demographic and racial disparity in sentencing - all of which would provide your Federal Criminal Trial Attorney with some reason to believe that sentencing under the Federal Guidelines really could become fair and impartial.

Below is a brief summary from Amy Baron Evans (many thanks) of Chapter 12 (the Recommendations). You can access the entire study from the link below.
Drugs· “Commission analysis indicates that the quantity of drugs involved in an offense is not as closely related to the offender’s function in the offense as perhaps Congress expected.” “[O]ffenders who performed lower-level functions such as Couriers and Mules also were convicted of drug offenses carrying a mandatory minimum penalty in a significant proportion of their cases (49.6% and 43.1%, respectively). For every function, the quantity of drugs involved in the offense on average resulted in a median base offense level that included or exceeded the five-year mandatory minimum penalty.” But, USSC suggests, safety valve and role adjustments correct for the problem on average.

· Criminal history in drug cases – the “cumulative impacts”

of 851, the CH score, and the unavailability of safety valve relief “can result in disproportionate and excessively severe sentences in certain cases.”

FAMM - The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010

Firearms

Stacking 924(c)s “results in excessively severe and unjust sentences in

some cases.” Average sent5ence was 351 months! “There are some circumstances where such a long sentence may be appropriate (e.g., in the eight cases in fiscal year 2010 in which the offender’s primary guideline was §2A1.1, which covers first degree murder), but there are other circumstances in which the offender received such a long sentence even though the offense did not involve any physical harm or threat of physical harm to a person.”

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing | Drug War Facts

ACCA: Applied inconsistently in part because whether an offense is a

“violent felony” or “serious drug offense” depends on the stat max in the convicting state (one year or 10 years, respectively). “As a result, the Armed Career Criminal Act’s mandatory minimum penalty can apply to offenders who served no or minimal terms of imprisonment for their predicate offenses, further increasing the potential for inconsistent application insofar as the penalty may be viewed as excessively severe in those cases.” Recommendations:
·         Reduce the penalties for 924(c)s, especially stacked 924(c)s
·         Make 924(c) a true “recidivist” statute by limiting toprior convictions
·         Give the court limited discretion to impose consecutivesentences for multiple 924(c)s as in 1028A

Sex offenses

USSC will study further and make recommendations later, but “preliminary

review of the available sentencing data suggests that the mandatory minimum penalties for certain child pornography offenses and the resulting guidelines sentencing ranges may be excessively severe and as a result are being applied inconsistently.” The data is non-gov sponsored variances, gov-sponsored variances, and failure to charge the mand min in 53% of cases where it’s available.

Congressional Record: Proceedings ... - Google Books

Aggravated Identity Theft

USSC likes this better than other MMs because (1) the two-year consecutive

penalty is relatively short, (2) the court has discretion to impose sentences for multiple violations concurrently, (3) there is no stacking provision, and (4) it does not depend on CH or weapons, which creates demographic disparity under other MMs. There is inter-district disparity in the use of 1028A but this may be because it’s new, and in any event, the punishment is relatively short.

Features - Identity Theft: Outline of Federal Statutes and Bibliography of Select Resources | LLRX.com

Safety valve in general

Congress should consider whether to enact safety valve for low-level,

non-violent offenders convicted of other offenses.

Report to Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System

Areas of Practice for Robert Hambrick - Attorney in Clearwater, FL

Readings - Federal Sentencing Guidelines Revisited | Snitch | FRONTLINE | PBS

Crack Cocaine Sentencing | fd.org: ODS Training Branch

Fair Sentencing Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This recent painting depicts a beaming French Poodle who sits centre stage as the wise Judge at Court. That's an adoring bailiff at the judge's left paw staring at the Judge with appropriate admiration and respect. I'm the bright black Labrador to the Judge's right with an Important Brief that I've dipped in beef broth in hopes of the Judge devouring my every word.

Trial by Jury or Laying Down the Law by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1840

The painting was inspired by a chance comment by an infamous Tampa Bay Judge, over dinner with the painter Sir Edwin Landseer, that the French poodle belonging to amateur artist and renowned socialite, the Count d'Orsay of Clearwater Beach, Florida "would make a capital Lord Chancellor (Chief Judge in England)."

FLORIDA TERRORISTS DEATH OATH CEREMONY IS ENOUGH FOR CONVICTION EVEN WHEN TERRORISTS SAY THEY WERE SECRETLY RECITING A DIFFERENT PLEDGE

2011-11-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

An amazing portion of a new 11th Circuit Federal Appeals Decision reveals Floridians participating in an Al Qaeda death oath ceremony, before conspiring to destroy the Miami FBI building and the Sears Tower in Chicago, this astonishes even your favorite Clearwater Defense Attorney. During the Federal Trial there was evidence that one Defendant in reciting the oath "actually changed the words such that he stated his allegiance to himself rather than to Al Qaeda..."

From the Appeals Opinion which affirmed the convictions:

On the basis of the oath ceremony, where the plot against the Miami FBI building was disclosed, and Augustine and Phanor’s later participation in recording images of the federal buildings, the jury was entitled to infer that Augustine and Phanor volunteered their service to Al Qaeda generally, and thereby conspired to provide material support under § 2339B.

Augustine and Phanor also point to evidence that they did not really take the oath. Augustine argues that the record indicates that in reciting the oath, he actually changed the words such that he stated his allegiance to himself, rather than to Al Qaeda. Similarly, Phanor argues that he initially refused to take the oath, and only did so after being assured by Batiste that it was “alright” for him to do so. However, we do not find the inadequacies or hesitations in the recitation of the oath to inoculate these defendants from the jury verdict. Instead, it is Augustin, Phanor, and Augustine’s participation in the ceremony itself, and their resulting awareness of the plot against the Miami FBI building—rather than the particular words uttered by any given defendant—that is sufficient evidence supplying knowledge and intent to their later participation.. (page 27 of the opinion, see below for link)

United States v. Burson Augustin, et al., No. 09–15985

(Per Curiam: Affirmed Appellants were convicted of, inter alia, conspiracy to provide material support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization (Al Qaeda), conspiracy to maliciously damage and destroy by means of an explosive a building leased to an agency of the United States (the FBI) and a building used in interstate and foreign commerce (the Sears Tower), and conspiracy to levy war against the Government of the United States and to oppose by force the authority thereof in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2384.
They appealed their convictions and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. First, the Court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in granting in part the government’s motion to strike portions of the indictment as surplusage. The Court noted that although Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 7(d) provides only that a defendant may seek to strike surplusage from an indictment, the Eleventh Circuit and the Supreme Court have both recognized that the government may move to strike surplusage from an indictment. Second, the Court found that the evidence was sufficient to support their convictions. Third, the Court held that the government’s involvement in the criminal scheme was not outrageous and did not violate the defendants’ Due Process rights. Fourth, the Court upheld several of the district court’s evidentiary rulings relating to the admissibility of lay and expert testimony. And finally, the Court upheld the district court’s dismissal of a juror for refusing to follow the court’s instructions on the law.
U.S. v. Augustin, The Full Opinion
Federal Crimes Trial Lawyer & Criminal Defense Attorney in Florida
FBI — Terrorism 2002/2005
FBI arrests 7 in alleged terror plot - US news - Security - msnbc.com

Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David 1784. No, you can't have your swords back till you promise not to fight.

DRUG TESTING & DRUG TREATMENT OR JAIL? IS THE CLEARWATER DRUG COURT A VIABLE OPTION IN PINELLAS COUNTY FLORIDA

2011-10-31T06:11:00.000-07:00

To the credit of our local Judges and attorneys, Pinellas County has instituted a reasonably enlightened treatment for some drug offenders (see below for qualifications). It would almost be enough to make even a jaded Clearwater Drug Defense Attorney smile were it not for the fact that the rules for the Drug Court Program allows prosecutors rather than Judges to determine who can be accepted into the program -- wouldn't it make more sense for an impartial Judge to decide who is worthy of the program and to expand the ability of Judges to dismiss or reduce charges where appropriate.

The cooperative effort of a team approach is a hallmark of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Adult Drug Treatment Court in Clearwater Florida, Pinellas County. It is a court-supervised, comprehensive drug treatment court for non-violent defendants, I guess that leaves me out. This is a voluntary program requiring frequent appearances before the Drug Court Judge, substance abuse treatment and frequent, random testing for substance abuse.
1. Successful completion of the Adult Drug Treatment Court plan may result in the dismissal of charges against defendants entering the program through Pre-Trial Intervention (defendants facing a first-time, non-violent, third-degree felony charge and admitted to Drug Court at the sole discretion of the State Attorney).
2. For defendants entering the Drug Court as a condition of probation (post-plea drug court), successful completion may result in adjudication being withheld and/or a reduced length of probation.
3. All participants are required to make frequent court appearance (judicial reviews). Participants will appear before the drug court judge every 30 to 45 days.
4. Drug court is a 24-month program. After completion at least one year, persons who have completed treatment, remained drug free and completed all of their requirements of Pre-Trial Intervention or probation may petition the court for a dismissal of the charges (Pre-Trial Intervention) or early termination of probation (post-plea drug court).
Pinellas County Drug Court
Most Recent Drug Court Stats from Pinellas
Florida State Courts
Drug court a success: research - National - smh.com.au

A recent painting depicts a Pinellas County Prosecutor making impartial decisions on which Defendants will be eligible for Drug Court in Clearwater, Florida.

Picasso The Absinth Drinker 1901. What? Can you repeat that?

WHAT CAN FLORIDA LEARN FROM EUROPEAN DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION

2011-10-30T13:58:00.000-07:00

In the nineteen-eighties most of the major industrialized countries of the world followed America's lead in declaring war on drugs by harshly increasing sentences for convictions and spending more money on investigations and prosecutions. The result was higher percentages of people in the democracies being sent to prison, sometimes even higher then in the totalitarian countries.
Minimum Mandatory Drug sentences are especially troubling for Clearwater Trial Attorneys such as myself who have seen the destructive force of the criminal law strike and destroy productive lives.
To the credit of our local judges and attorneys, Pinellas County has instituted an enlightened treatment for those who qualify, which will be described in more detail in a future blog. Adult Drug Court, Clearwater Drug Defense Attorneys

Yet for Florida Courts in search of justice some answers can be found from Portugal's experience. Portugal, a gateway for drug importation for all of Europe, buckled under European Union pressure to commit a huge percentage of its population to long term prison sentences, then Portugal relented. Recently, the New Yorker wrote about Portugal's solution, it success and its failure...

In 2001, Portuguese leaders, flailing about and desperate for change, took an unlikely gamble: they passed a law that made Portugal the first country to fully decriminalize personal drug use.
For people caught with no more than a ten-day supply of marijuana, heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, or crystal methamphetamine, there would be no arrests, no prosecutions, no prison sentences.
Dealers are still sent to prison, or fined, or both, but, for the past decade, Portugal has treated drug abuse solely as a public-health issue. When caught, people are summoned before an administrative body called the Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction. Each panel consists of three members—usually a lawyer or a judge, a doctor, and a psychologist or a social worker. The commissioners have three options: recommend treatment, levy a small fine, or do nothing. In most respects, the law seems to have worked: serious drug use is down significantly, particularly among young people; the burden on the criminal-justice system has eased; the number of people seeking treatment has grown; and the rates of drug-related deaths and cases of infectious diseases have fallen.
Yet there is much to debate about the Portuguese approach to drug addiction. Does it help people to quit, or does it transform them into more docile drug addicts, wards of an indulgent state, with little genuine incentive to alter their behavior? By removing the fear of prosecution, does the government actually encourage addicts to seek treatment? In the United States, the misuse of legally sold prescription medications has become a bigger health problem than the sale of narcotics or cocaine. There are questions not only about the best way to address addiction but also about how far any society should go, morally, philosophically, and economically, to placate drug addicts.
Portugal Decriminalized Drugs. What Can the U.S. Learn? : The New Yorker
DEA, Federal Trafficking Penalties
Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentences Drug Chart
Are Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences Cost-Effective? | RAND
Here's a recent painting of a bright young couple eagerly awaiting their marriage license in Pinellas County, Florida.

Degas' painting (1876) portrays grim Absinthe drinkers in a cafe, imagine how they'll look when they see the bill.

AGGRAVATED IDENTITY THEFT - WARNING SIGNS YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN ABDUCTED FOR CONSUMERS IN CLEARWATER

2011-10-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

Always be alert for these RED FLAGs of Identity Theft from your Federal Trial Lawyer:

You find that there exist accounts in your name which you never opened.
You find purchases from accounts that you do not remember nor can explain.
You find purchases made to unknown companies, organizations or people.
You find inaccurate, flawed, incorrect or fraudulent information on credit reports on any information including any accounts or any personal information, such as the month, day or year of birth, your mother's maiden name, the name of your favorite pet (Sancho) your Social Security number, the spelling of your middle name, your present or past employers and the years you worked there.
You find that you are no longer receiving bills for credit cards or other debts, because the Identity Thief changes the address to which the bills are sent to cover his tracks.
You find that you have been sent a credit card for which you never applied and that my name is on it instead of yours.
You find that your credit rating has fallen, that you've been denied credit.
You find that you get voice messages, repeated debt letters from bill collection agencies, attorneys (damn them!), or from unique businesses concerning services, merchandise or priceless antique art work you could never afford and most likely didn't buy even if you were under the influence of drugs, alcohol or Antiques Roadshow.

If you may have been a vicim of identity theft in Clearwater, Florida and believe your information has been compromised this web page has information on what to do next.

As to the legal ramifications of identity theft here is a synopsis of yesterday's important 11th Circuit Federal Identity Theft decision:

United States v. John Doe, No. 09–15869

( October 26, 2011) Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida John Doe (real name unknown at time of appeal) appealed his convictions for aggravated identity theft, claiming that the government did not produce sufficient evidence that Doe knew the name and social security number he used in applying for a United States passport belonged to an actual person. The Eleventh Circuit rejected this claim, noting that Circuit precedent stands for the proposition that a defendant's repeated and successful testing of the authenticity of a victim's identifying information prior to the crime at issue is powerful circumstantial evidence that the defendant knew the identifying information belonged to a real person as opposed to a fictitious one. Drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the government, the Court found that a rational jury could have concluded that Doe knew the victim’s identifying information was subject to a detailed verification process when he applied for a driver's license. Doe's successes in obtaining not one, but two different driver's licenses from two different jurisdictions, in addition to opening a bank account and obtaining a debit card from Bank Atlantic, were meaningful circumstantial indicia that Doe knew the victim’s identifying information belonged to a real person, the Court wrote.
The full text of the decision can be found here.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
Internet Crime Trends
Good News & Bad News About Identity Theft

This unfortunate man was recently the victim of Identity Theft. Now he wonders around Europe trying to find out who it was he was meant to be while confronting mighty windmills.

Honoré Daumier - Don Quixote - 1868 - Where's Sancho, my golden retriever?

AVOID BEING TAKEN IN BY THIS NOTORIOUS TELEPHONE SCAM - ADVICE FOR TAMPA BAY CONSUMERS

2011-10-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Each of us should be concerned about the avalanche of personal information we give out nearly every day, not only from high tech computers but every time we make a phone call.
All Floridians - especially older Floridians in the Tampa Bay Area - face being scammed and need to be on guard for telephone scams; the scammers will try to pry money from you over the phone.
Yet people in the Tampa Bay area, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County, Florida are sometimes falsely accused of committing fraudulent acts such as phone crimes, cyber crimes and white collar crimes, especially when confronted with unreasonable law enforcement officers with little training, if so call your Criminal Defense Attorney and Trial Lawyer.
Here's a notorious telephone scam and the grandmother who outfoxed the perpetrators of this crime as illustrated in a recent Daily Finance article.
An 84-year-old Illinois lady receives a chilling phone call from a man saying he is her grandson, a soldier who only recently has come home from the War in Iraq. He needs emergency money fast - always a possible hint of a scam - his voice sounds different, shaking, strange - "Have you been drinking?"she asks. "No, grandma I've just been in a car accident in Canada and hit a pole."
Her heart skips a beat as he says he needs $5,000 immediately.
This grandmother outfoxes the fox by agreeing to wire the money on condition that he her give one word, "What's your grandfather's name?" (see her full declaration to the Federal Trade Commission) He tries to avoid answering her question, she asks him again, he hangs up.
How to Avoid Becoming a Financial Scam Victim - DailyFinance
Consumer Sentinel Network - Law enforcement's source for consumer complaints
FBI — Common Fraud Schemes

Should you see the tortured artist below, a man well known for making crank phone calls and perpetrating endless scams, please contact French Law Enforcement immediately.

Frédéric Chopin, by Eugene Delacroix, the original is hidden in Clearwater, the copy may be found at the Louvre.
1838

HACKED! AN IMPORTANT WARNING TO EVERY COMPUTER USER IN THE TAMPA BAY AREA!

2011-10-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

All of us are at risk when using computers, cell phones, and email accounts with companies such as Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Apple. All of these companies are storing more and more of our personal information 'in the cloud,' placing each of us and those in our 'contact lists' at risk of fraud.

With the complex nature of these charges, many police officers in the Tampa Bay Area, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, Florida neither have the training nor the computer literacy to fully comprehend complex computer networks accusing and arresting those who had nothing to do with the unlawful acts, an important consideration if you've been falsely accused of a White Collar Crime.

Companies across America will spend in excess of $130 Billion because of data breaches, how much will it cost you? CNNMoney

James Fallows' recent article in The Atlantic, HACKED!, describing his wife's ordeal when her Google account is taken over by a Nigerian thief - Fallows attempts to regain control of the account and the lost information - even as the Nigerian contacts everyone on her contact list for money to be wired immediately because of her mugging in Madrid:

Hacked!

As email, documents, and almost every aspect of our professional and personal lives moves onto the “cloud”—remote servers we rely on to store, guard, and make available all of our data whenever and from wherever we want them, all the time and into eternity—a brush with disaster reminds the author and his wife just how vulnerable those data can be. A trip to the inner fortress of Gmail, where Google developers recovered six years’ worth of hacked and deleted e‑mail, provides specific advice on protecting and backing up data now—and gives a picture both consoling and unsettling of the vulnerabilities we can all expect to face in the future.

A stream of concerned responses from friends and acquaintances, all about the fact that she had been “mugged in Madrid.” The account had seemed sluggish earlier that morning because my wife had tried to use it at just the moment a hacker was taking it over and changing its settings—including the password, so that she couldn’t log in again. The bogus message that had just gone out to me and everyone else in her Gmail contact list was this:

From: Deb Fallows <debfallows@gmail.com>

Date: Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 8:45 AM

Subject: Problem

To:

now this might come as a suprise to you,but I made a quick trip to Madrid in Spain and was mugged.My bag,valuables,credit cards and passport all gone.The embassy has cooperated by issuing a temporary passport.I need funds to settle outstanding hotel bills,ticket and other expenses.

To be honest,i don’t have money with me at the moment. I’ve made contact with my bank but the best they could do was to send me a new card in the mail which will take 2-4 working days to arrive here from DC. I need you to lend me some Money to sort my self out of this predicament, i will pay back once i get this over with because i need to make a last minute flight.

Western Union or MoneyGram is the fastest option to wire funds to me. Let me know if you need my details(Full names/location) to effect a transfer. You can reach me via hotel’s desk phone and the number is, +34 981 600916867.

Hacked! - Magazine - The Atlantic

Areas of Practice for Robert Hambrick - Attorney in Clearwater, FL

Contact Info and Directions for Attorney Robert Hambrick in Clearwater, FL

FBI — Cyber Crime

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Annual Reports

ProtectYourIncome.com

Here is a recent portrait of Deb Fallows as her GMail Account is being HACKED by Nigerian Thieves. Scholars believe the white flowers floating in the air and water represent the lost emails. Somehow out of great pain and loss magnificent art always emerges:

The Birth of Venus (Nascita di Venere) is by Sandro Botticelli. c.1486, many thanks to the Uffizi Museum in Florence. Perhaps the museum would be willing to fly me to Florence so that I can more accurately present these paintings to the world.