Clearwater Criminal Defense Law Blog

False imprisonment is a crime that is commonly misunderstood in Florida. It is a serious crime nonetheless, and a conviction of false imprisonment carries serious consequences with it. What follows is a discussion of Florida’s false imprisonment law and what you need to know if you ever find yourself charged with it. Basics Florida law defines false imprisonment as forcibly, by threat, or secretly confining, abducting, imprisoning, or restraining another person without lawful authority and against his or her will. Although false imprisonment closely resembles kidnapping, there are important...

  First degree murder is a serious charge with serious consequences in Florida. Defense attorneys have several ways to defend against a first-degree murder charge, which makes it of vital importance that you enlist the services of the best defense attorney available if charged. Following are several of the more common defenses to first degree murder used by defense attorneys in Florida. Wrong Defendant Perhaps the most common defense to first degree murder in Florida is the SODDI defense – “some other dude did it.” A common tactic in a SODDI defense is to introduce evidence of an alibi...

Vandalism in Florida is a crime that costs both the government and private landowners millions of dollars each year. Sometimes the perpetrators are caught, oftentimes they are not, and sometimes law enforcement collars people who are not guilty of vandalism and charges them with the crime. Here’s what you need to know about the crime of vandalism in Florida. In a nutshell, vandalism is the willful destruction, alteration, or defacing of property belonging to another. Frequent methods include spray painting, indelible markers, eggs, and keys. The property need not be totally destroyed. Every...

In a Florida criminal trial, both the prosecution and the defense use evidence to help build a picture of their version of events. Although all evidence is intended to prove a fact, not all evidence is the same. What follows is a discussion of the various types of evidence and what you need to know about evidence if you find yourself on trial in the state of Florida. Basics Evidence is generally divided into four categories: Real evidence, demonstrative evidence, documentary evidence, and testimonial evidence. Although each type of evidence may be used in a trial, the persuasive value of a...