Pumphrey Law Blog

May 17, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense Social Share

One of the most basic tenants of our criminal process system is the requirement that those who are being accused of a crime need to be competent to stand trial. This requirement works alongside the more well-known idea that an accused is innocent until proven guilty. This is because those who are accused of an alleged crime must be capable …

May 14, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense, News & Announcements, Violent Crimes Social Share

Dan Markel, a law professor at FSU, was shot and killed in his driveway in Betton Hills in July of 2014. Although it has been almost eight years since the murder, there was just a recent arrest made and an upcoming retrial. Prosecutors believe that the killing was a murder-for-hire plot, in which Sigfredo Garcia was the alleged shooter. Garcia …

May 14, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense Social Share

In some special cases of a crime or attempted crime, the defendant may not been in the right mental state. The defendant may have not even have been aware of what they were doing, or that any consequences could arise with their actions. In this rare occurrence, the defendant may be able to claim the insanity plea. The insanity plea …

May 12, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. College, College Student Disciplinary Hearing, Criminal Defense, Sex Crimes Social Share

In 2021, FSU Professor John “Read” Gainsford was accused of sexual misconduct with a male undergrad student. Although Gainsford was never charged and remains a faculty member, the incident brings up the current state of the university’s policy on sexual misconduct. There are different routes to take for either a student or faculty member getting accused of sexual misconduct. This …

May 12, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense, News & Announcements, Violent Crimes Social Share

A former NBA player has been shot and killed in Orlando on Monday, May 9th, 2022. Adreian Payne had been previously been a member of the Orlando Magic basketball team. On Monday night around 1 am, Orange County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a shooting at a residence on Egret Shores Drive in Orlando. When they arrived at the …

May 12, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. College, Criminal Defense Social Share

On June 23, 1972, Congress passed the law called Title IX of the Education Amendments. The law is in charge of barring sexual discrimination in both education programs and activities offered by universities. Before the law passed in the 1970s, there were major inequalities in education faced by women. There were limited programs that women could be a part of, …

May 11, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Probation Violation, Sex Crimes Social Share

Sex crimes are very serious offenses, and the state of Florida takes does not take them lightly. If someone has been accused of a sex crime, they face harsh consequences such as fines, potential jail time, and the social stigma of being placed as a registered sex offender. In some cases, a guilty verdict may not necessarily mean that the …

May 10, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense, Violent Crimes Social Share

This summer marks the beginning of “capital punishment” season in Florida. The Broward County courthouse will have five different cases deciding whether defendants will go onto death row. COVID-19 is playing a large factor in the cases all happening all at the same time. Defense attorney Fred Hadded commented, “That backlog prevented all those cases from going forward, and the …

May 10, 2022 Don Pumphrey, Jr. College, College Student Disciplinary Hearing, Sex Crimes Social Share

Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault. The Columbia University sexual assault case referred to as the “Mattress Case” received national attention in 2014. The case involved two students attending Columbia University at the time—Emma Sulkowicz and Paul Nungesser. On the first day of Sulkowicz’s sophomore year at Columbia in 2012, she claimed that she was raped by …