Yet another Florida man is released after serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. Robert DuBoise should be happy about the freedom from his extended stint in prison, but instead feels that he has a debt that needs to be paid. The blame of this debt is being placed on the police who were in charge of the investigation, …

A Rare Sentence On November 19, 2020, Marlin Joseph became the first person in Palm Beach County to be sentenced to death in 18 years. The case resulted in a wave of shock throughout the area, as prosecutors have sought to impose the death penalty 112 times since 2010, with Joseph being the only one sent to death row. Joseph, …

Mental health courts are a special kind of court aimed at helping repeat offenders with untreated mental illness. Florida courts recognize that their jails and prisons are “not designed, equipped, or funded to deal with serious mental illness, so the creation of mental health court was a logical response.” Often, mental health courts will order offenders to attend treatment facilities …

The last two years have seen a rise in violence, or excessive force being used during police-citizen encounters. After the summer of 2020, protests took place across the entire country to ask for reform of the police departments. These recent events have created a tense relationship between police officers and citizens.  Law enforcement officers have the authorization to use force …

When stopped by a police officer under suspicion of driving under the influence, you or a loved one may have to take a breathalyzer, breath test, or sobriety test. It also might be called an “Intoxilyzer”, but this name just refers to a more dated version of a breathalyzer test. To learn more about Intoxilyzer tests specifically, visit our blog …

Broward County Medical Examiner Office’s chief toxicologist is under criminal investigation by the Broward Sheriff’s Office. This investigation could be potentially disastrous for hundreds of criminal cases wherein the toxicologist served as an expert witness. The chief toxicologist, Gary Kunsman, has been at the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office almost a decade and is suspected of evidence tampering and theft …

The Facts Terry McKirchy was charged with attempted murder and aggravated child abuse for shaking 5-month-old Benjamin Dowling when she was babysitting him on July 3, 1984. When Benjamin’s mother picked him up from McKirchy’s home she was immediately concerned as his body was limp and his fists were clenched. After rushing him to the hospital, doctors determined that Benjamin …

In Florida, the consequences of crimes involving sexually violent and predatory behavior bear severe consequences. Alongside a criminal sentence and other terms of probation, prosecutors can seek to civilly commit a “sexually violent predator.” This civil commitment comes from Florida Statute Section 394.917’s Florida’s Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators Act (the “Jimmy Ryce Act”). This Act provides that …

Litigation is tricky for more reasons that one. The stress of trial can cause some attorneys to forget the importance of preserving issues for appeal or ensuring that the record is all-encompassing. An attorney must plan ahead and preserve the record for appeal, because “if it’s not in the record, it does not exist,” as far as appellate review goes.[1] …