Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

The death penalty remains a hot button topic for Americans, says Broward criminal lawyer William Moore. Although the United States is the only industrialized nation that uses capital punishment, many Americans favor its use for homicide or child sex crimes. A recent movement to allow states to re-institute the death penalty for child rapists failed after the state of Louisiana took the case to the Supreme Court last year. Interestingly, the Supreme Court overturned capital punishment for child sex offenses on a vote of five to four. The Court found that execution for rape was a disproportionate punishment in 1977. Although the victim in that case was actually only 16 years old, the case stood for the legal principle that the government cannot execute rapists whose victims are adults.

Figures for executions vary widely between regions of the United States, reflecting local opinion, says Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer Moore. Currently the United States military, the federal government, and 38 states allow for capital punishment. According to 2006 figures, the South represents the vast majority of executions, with 841 since 1976. The Midwest trailed in second at 119, with the West at 65. The Northeast part of the country has executed just four people in that time frame. In 2004 alone, 125 people were sentenced to death in the United States. Sixty people were actually executed in 2005 with well over 1,000 executed in total since 1976. The vast majority of those executed were male; very few women are actually executed and less than 1.5 percent of the total inmates on death row nationally are female. Florida has only executed two women ever, although many more had their sentences commuted. Currently just one woman sits of Florida’s death row, compared to approximately 400 men. Florida has the third-highest number of death row inmates, behind California and Texas.

Canada, Mexico, Australia, South Africa, most European nations, and a number of other countries have abolished capital punishment for all offenses, notes Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney William Moore. In all, 92 countries have abolished it entirely. Thirty-two nations, a significantly smaller portion, have retained the death penalty, but it is not in active use or has not been used in at least the last decade. Russia is the largest country that keeps it available legally but does not actively use it. Ten countries, including Brazil and several other South American nations, have retained the death penalty, but use it only under special circumstances, such as war crimes. The United States is one of 64 countries that retains its use entirely.

China executes far more people than any other country, says criminal defense lawyer Moore. Next are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and then the United States. Iraq executes slightly fewer people than the U.S. does.

A video on the Louisiana governor’s response to the decision that child rapists cannot be executed:

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Posted In: Judicial Trends

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A Miramar high school student has been arrested for battery early this morning after an incident with a teacher recorded on video. The teen was booked at the Fort Lauderdale detention center for juveniles, but it was not clear if he would remain detained. Law enforcement officials say that when the bell rang this morning for students to go to their first period classes, the student in question remained in the hallway. When confronted by a teacher who apparently asked him leave the hall and go to his classroom, the student refused. Instead, his response to being told to go to class the second time was to “chest bump” the teacher, who is also male. School officials and police viewed the videotape before making the decision to arrest the teen, who is a junior at Everglades High School.

According to Fort Lauderdale juvenile lawyer William Moore, Florida punishes juvenile offenders harshly compared to other states. Many juveniles are “certified” as adults, so that they face adult criminal courts and adult sentencing rather than appearing in the juvenile justice system. Many anti-crime advocates have campaigned against light sentencing for teenaged (and sometimes younger) offenders on the basis that if a young person can “do the crime,” then he should be prepared to “do the time” in an adult sentencing scheme. Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney Moore says that the numbers of juveniles certified as adults in Florida has been rising consistently and that this pattern likely reflects public sentiment against youth crime. Proponents of keeping juvenile delinquents in the juvenile system argue that it is more well-suited to their needs and can focus more on rehabilitation than the adult criminal justice system, which is more retributive. Additionally, since scientific studies have shown that teens are less able to overcome impulses than adults, they believe that juveniles should not be punished like adults because they are not as culpable for their offenses. Proponents also note that major factors for juvenile delinquency include poverty and parental supervision, which are beyond the control of the offenders.

Despite the tough Florida laws, the standards for how states treat youth offenders has evolved significantly. Advances in juvenile delinquents’ rights with regard to the death penalty have come only recently, but nonetheless represent a dramatic shift in American jurisprudence. Until just a few years ago, several southern states still allowed minors who were at least 16 years of age at the time of the offense to be executed for their crime. The United States Supreme Court rejected capital punishment for 16 and 17-year-olds in a landmark decision in 2005. In 1988, the Court abolished the death penalty for juveniles under the age of 16. Now, the only countries that routinely execute minors are Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

Below is a video, which was not made or endorsed by Broward criminal lawyer Moore, on the consequences of capital punishment and life sentences for juvenile offenders:

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Fort Lauderdale residents have been grappling with the problem of rampant prostitution along Federal Highway for years now. Likewise, drug sales on the street level go hand in hand with the prostitution, and local police have had difficulty putting a lid on both problems. According to Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer William Moore, many of those who are apprehended by police are able to post bail or are released on their own recognizance. With high numbers of inmates serving mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, in addition to the many held for other reasons, non-violent offenders are often released before they go to trial.

Street prostitution and open drug sales are associated with other crimes and poverty. Local residents have supported the police crackdown in an effort to revitalize their community. The motels along Federal Highway between Sheridan Street and the Pembroke Road area have largely been the epicenter of these problems, with thousands of arrests at these motels last year.

Some of the motels offer hourly rental rates, contributing to their popularity for prostitution, while others charge less than $40 for a one-night stay. Barry Stock, a neighborhood activist, proposes a more radical solution: “Until you take the motels out completely, the prostitutes and the johns are going to be there.” That solution is closer to becoming a reality since the Hollywood city council gave police the authority to close establishments known for chronic crime under a new provision for nuisance abatement. So far, the police have not actually seized any of the motels, instead hoping to use that power as a threat to force the owners of the motels to reform the properties. Whether that threat has much bite, however, is another possibility: Hollywood officials think they would be subjected to strings of costly lawsuits, which they might not even when.

Since 2005, the Hollywood Nuisance Abatement Board has not closed down any properties, although it has classified three officially as public nuisances. The new ordinance has tougher provisions, including allowing Hollywood to put strings on allowing owners to retain control of their property. For example, they might require a property owner to get additional security guards if criminal activity continues. Despite the provisions, Hollywood criminal attorney Moore says that that refusal to comply with any conditions imposed can result in the city closing the property – but there is no intermediate punishment or disincentive, such as fines.

Continue reading " Prostitution an Ongoing Problem in Fort Lauderdale " »

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Drug addiction is a powerful force that causes people to commit a variety of crimes – and not just drug crimes. According to Broward criminal lawyer William Moore, many criminal acts are the result of dependence upon alcohol or drugs. In addition to drug possession or selling drugs and tracking charges, other crimes like prostitution, burglary, and robbery frequently have their roots in dependence. Some drugs are more addictive than others. For example, heroin and cocaine are considered to be substantially more addictive and require significantly less exposure to form an addiction than alcohol, although the powerful negative effects of alcohol abuse can be just as dire.

When a person is addicted to a substance, the need to acquire and use that substance begins to take precedence over everything else in their lives. A woman from a middle class background might drop out of school and eventually find herself engaging in street prostitution in order to support her cocaine habit. A man might take to mugging people on the street for cash or even pawning his mother’s assets in order to buy more pain pills. An experienced criminal defense attorney handles a variety of cases, including drug crimes and violent crimes, including many criminal defendants with underlying substance abuse problems.

Many drug users become desensitized to a substance after a period of time. This means that it takes more and more of the drug, or more frequent doses of the drug, in order to satisfy their cravings. Getting high twice a week might have been sufficient in the beginning, but after a period it could become every day, then multiple times per day. This degree of drug dependency seriously hampers an addict’s ability to hold down a regular job, thus fueling criminal behavior.

Some United States jurisdiction and many foreign jurisdictions have some form of drug court or program for drug rehabilitation rather than traditional penal sentencing. The rationale behind these programs is that the person himself is not bad so much as the addiction is causing himself to engage in unacceptable behaviors and that, furthermore, he is far less likely to re-offend if the root of the problem is treated. Since all American jurisdictions struggle with the issue of recidivism, Broward criminal defense attorney Moore believes that Florida should, whenever possible, send offending addicts to effective treatment in lieu of time in prison or jail. Addiction has both mental and physical components and treatment programs are typically designed to target both of these issues. One great innovation in the field of drug treatment is the use of anti-addictive medications, such as methadone for opiates, like heroin. The downside is that the street availability of these drugs has resulted in some people forming addictions to the medications that were designed to wean users off of illegal drugs in the first place.

Continue reading " Drug Addiction & Drug Crimes " »

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Posted In: Drug Crimes

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Broward criminal attorney William Moore has been following two missing children cases here in Florida for months now. The first is that of Caylee Anthony, the little girl who was not reported missing until July of last year, a month after her disappearance, and whose body was later found wrapped in duct tape inside a trash bag. The second is the much more recent case of Haleigh Cummings, a five-year-old who disappeared from her home last month and who has not yet been located.

Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyer Moore says that Casey Anthony, the 22-year-old mother of Caylee Anthony, is facing a first-degree murder charge for her daughter’s death. Police allege that Casey killed her two-year-old daughter, then drove around with the girl’s remains in the trunk of her car. The prosecution plans to present evidence regarding the stench emanating from the vehicle, a smell which Casey Anthony claimed was old pizza, but investigators concluded was actually the scent of decomposing human remains. According to criminal defense attorney Moore, the toddler’s disappearance was reported by her grandmother, who had grown increasingly concerned about the child’s whereabouts after Casey Anthony had refused to provide details about Caylee’s location.

Casey Anthony was in court yesterday as her criminal defense lawyer argued several motions, including the family’s successful plea to keep the note left by her father during a suicide attempt out of the courtroom. Family members contended that it was unrelated, although Caylee’s grandfather had apparently indicated that he wanted to join Caylee in the afterlife. The judge agreed that the contents of the note were largely inflammatory and offered no real value to determining the guilt or innocence of Casey Anthony.

The other case that has been making waves is that of Haleigh Cummings, Broward defense attorney Moore says. The little girl and her brother were staying with their father Ronald Cummings last month in Palatka, although he was not home that evening. Their father’s girlfriend, 17-year-old Misty Croslin, told investigators that she put the children to bed at about 8:00 p.m. and went to sleep herself about two hours later. She woke up hours later to discover the little girl gone and the back door propped open with bricks. Her boyfriend, the father of the children, came home soon thereafter and the couple contacted the police. The story has been in the news again recently because of the decision of Cummings and Croslin to wed with the permission of the bride’s mother. The two married earlier this week and family members say that the decision was in part due to Haleigh’s desire to see the couple wed. The couple are honeymooning in New York City, where they are expected to appear on the Today Show to discuss Haleigh’s disappearance.

Continue reading " Broward Criminal Lawyer – Recent Developments in Florida " »

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Palm Beach criminal lawyer William Moore is happy to report that none of the victims of a home invasion was seriously injured in a late-night incident in a Lake Worth Home in the early hours of March 9. According to police, Carlyle Blackburn allegedly broke into a home at 217 South D Street, getting in through a window. He attempted to attack a 68-year-old woman who lived in the home. She was sleeping in her bed when Blackburn allegedly broke into the home.

According to law enforcement officials in Palm Beach County, Blackburn met up with the family’s large and powerful dog before he could get to the lady. The Catahoula Leopard dog, which was described as "a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger" than a German Shepherd, a breed known for its strength and, at times, ferocity. The dog held up Blackburn and all of the noise woke up the older woman’s adult son, who resides in the home with her. West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer Moore says this was a fortunate development.

The son, Jim Mampe, is a big guy and he is protective of his mother. At 6’5” and about 300 pounds, Mampe used to work as a bouncer, a job that got him into some tough scrapes. As a result, he was feeling tough enough to take down the intruder. Although Blackburn allegedly tried to stab Mampe with a screwdriver – possibly a tool he intended to use as a weapon in a sexual assault – Blackburn held fast, holding the attacker around the throat. He turned the screwdriver on the man who allegedly brought it into his home. Mampe says the intruder begged for mercy, but he told Blackburn that he would “die tonight.” Mampe was able to call 911, bring Sheriff’s Deputies to the scene. Blackburn was charged with felony battery and will likely face additional criminal charges. Afterwards, Mampe described twisting the intruder’s throat and holding him down in his mother’s bedroom. “You could hear it cracking,” Mampe said, describing the sound of the man’s windpipe. At 5’9” and 145 pounds, Blackburn is far smaller than his successful opponent.

Palm Beach criminal lawyer Moore has learned that Blackburn has just recently left prison. In 1994, he was convicted of rape. As a result, he spent 15 years incarcerated and was only released earlier this year. Although the man was trying to enter a woman’s bedroom late at night, it is not clear that Blackburn was definitely trying to commit another rape, although the public details of the attack are not apparent enough at this time to draw a firm conclusion either way. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate the incident.

Continue reading " Lake Worth Rapist Taken Down by Former Bouncer – Palm Beach Criminal Lawyer " »

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Posted In: Violent Crimes

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Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer William Moore has been following the police brutality controversy surrounding a recent spat between three members of the Fort Lauderdale police department and a suspect. On December 5, 2008, Joshua Daniel Ortiz was taken into custody by law enforcement officers after police allege he was hostile towards the officers. When he arrived at the police station, Ortiz had suffered a broken nose. Ortiz was later charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer as a result of the incident.

Ortiz was headed home at about 4:00 a.m. after a night on the town. He and his girlfriend were getting into an elevator to go to a parking garage when a fight broke out in the lobby area of the building between some members of the group Ortiz out with. Ortiz himself was not involved in the fight.

What happened next is only now beginning to come out, according to Broward criminal lawyer William Moore. Officers came to the area, where Ortiz allegedly yelled from the elevator at the Fort Lauderdale police who were breaking up the fight. According to the police report, Ortiz approached an officer aggressively, bumping his own nose against the officer’s nose. The officer says he pushed Ortiz off and prepared to arrest him. At that point, the police report indicates that Ortiz assumed a “fighting position” with fists clenched.

Ortiz says that the police report is almost entirely fabricated. He admits to speaking agitatedly to the officers, but says he did not fight them or intend to engage in a physical confrontation. His side of the story has gained significant credibility since his lawyer’s discovery of an elevator surveillance tape that caught the events on film. His criminal defense attorney says that he believes the video “speaks for itself” – Ortiz was falsely accused of battering police in order to justify their use of excessive force.

The felony battery on a law enforcement officer charge was dropped to a misdemeanor charge upon first review of the video by the State Attorney’s Office. Later, they dropped the charge against Ortiz completely, with an Assistant State Attorney noting that, “We thought based on the facts and the evidence, including the videotape, that there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction at trial.”

Unfortunately, police brutality allegations are often not fully investigated, and the person arrested is frequently viewed as unreliable. The Fort Lauderdale police officers who acted in this case were already cleared of any wrongdoing by an internal investigation within the department – not an independent investigation. Additionally, it is not clear that the internal investigators had the benefit of viewing the videotape, an extremely important tool in determining whether the law enforcement officials misrepresented the facts in their police report or if Ortiz was subject to an inappropriate level of force. Ortiz says the officers “were on a power trip” and that he no longer trusts law enforcement officials as a result.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney – A Police Brutality Conspiracy or a Misunderstanding? " »

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West Palm Beach criminal lawyer William Moore knows that most people are familiar with the concept of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This complicated standard is known in the legal community as the burden of proof. In order for someone to be convicted of a crime, the judge or jury must find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The burden of proof in a criminal case falls on the prosecution: the state attorney is responsible for demonstrating the criminal defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If the prosecutor fails to meet that burden, the defendant cannot be convicted of the crime and must go free.

Palm Beach criminal defense attorney Moore explains that the burden of proof must be satisfied by the introduction of evidence into the courtroom. For example, the prosecutor cannot speculate about facts or make crazy claims about the defendant without an evidentiary basis. In order to build a criminal case, the prosecutor must instead demonstrate the defendant’s guilt by providing evidence to show what the state believes occurred.

West Palm Beach criminal lawyer Moore says this can be accomplished in a variety of ways. One of the most common forms of evidence is testimony. A prosecutor can call witnesses who have personal knowledge of facts that tend to prove the defendant’s guilt, such as a garbage collector who saw a murder defendant place a bloodied knife into a trash bag the morning after his neighbor was stabbed to death. High profile cases, especially (although certainly not exclusively) capital murder trials, are known for the use of expert witnesses. Although these witnesses do not have personal knowledge about events related to the crime or the allegations against the defendant, their expertise in their field allows the court to give their testimony credibility due to their particularized understanding of the facts.

Famously, Marisa Tomei’s character in the movie My Cousin Vinny served as an expert witness for auto mechanics. A clip of the opening statements from that movie can be found below:

The prosecutor can also introduce “real evidence,” or actual items. He might bring a scratched up baseball bat into court if the state believes that the defendant used that bat to smash the windshield of his girlfriend’s car. Likewise, a murder weapon would be considered real evidence. Criminal defense attorneys, like prosecutors, introduce testimony and other evidence in their clients’ defense. For instance, a criminal lawyer might call a witness to testify to the defendant’s whereabouts at the time of the crime – an alibi.

The standard to convict a person of a crime is much higher than to award damages in a civil case. For example, in most civil cases, a jury or a judge will only have to find that the plaintiff proved his case by a preponderance of the evidence. Put another way, that standard means “it is more likely than not that the plaintiff’s injuries were caused by the defendant.” Criminal cases are subject to a much higher burden of proof due to the very serious nature of a conviction and the possibility of penalties such as imprisonment.

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