When someone is arrested and charged with a drug offense, police officers often rely on a “field test” to confirm the substance is an illegal substance. However, a commonly used field test known as the NarcoPouch is being called into question. An example is a case that occurred in Broward County earlier this year. A woman parked her truck and went for a hike to a remote canal in the woods to watch birds and be one with nature. While in the woods , she lit a “smudge stick,” which is a combination of sage, sweet grass, and lavender, and placed it in a bowl. When she returned to her truck, law enforcement confronted her. One spotted her incense and asked if he could see it. He took the bowl and incense, asking whether it was marijuana. Law enforcement believed it smelled like marijuana and conducted the field test, which proved ‘positive for marijuana.’ She was eventually arrested. The substance…Read More
Even though Florida has no-fault car insurance laws, there are still minimum coverage requirements that motorists must meet in order to purchase and maintain a vehicle in our state. These requirements include at least $10,000 of coverage in personal injury protection (PIP) and at least $10,000 of coverage in property damage liability (PDL). Although these limits are fairly low, especially compared to the coverage requirements in states that operate under a tort system, the premiums can be expensive for certain motorists. A variety of factors can affect car insurance rates, including: Age; Gender; Driving record; Vehicle make and model; Deductible; and Claims history. At the end of the day, insurance providers want to determine just how likely a particular motorist is to file a claim. Since individuals with a history of accident claims, traffic tickets, or reckless driving charges are more likely to get into a collision in the future, they can expect to pay higher premiums for auto insurance…Read More
A recanting victim is always beneficial from a defense standpoint, however, the fact that an alleged victim later changes his story will not result in a dropping of the charges in Florida. This is because detectives investigating sex crimes are trained to scrutinize conflicting statements where minor children are involved. Broward Criminal Lawyers routinely come across investigators hold to beliefs that a child victim was originally telling the truth about a crime. Later changes in testimony regarding their recollection of the facts are often seen as false and considered to be fabricated by the victim rather than as exculpatory evidence. A recent study found that up to 25% of child victims of sexual abuse in Florida changed their recollection of the facts giving rise to an arrest in some significant shape or form. This creates significant problems for the prosecutor, obviously, however will not guarantee that the criminal action be closed. Attorney Weick attributes this to a belief by detectives…Read More
John Goodman was convicted of DUI manslaughter in West Palm Beach. After his conviction, the Judge sentenced him to 16 years in prison after the conviction. However, his lawyers are trying to get him a new trial. That motion for a new trial was denied however the fight still goes on. Lawyers are now asking the Judge to throw out the conviction based on juror misconduct. One juror, in particular, conducted a drinking experiment during his tenure as a juror. The defense believes they are entitled to a new trial, the state disagrees. The fight will go on.Read More
