Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

Broward criminal attorney finds it interesting how the media and the general public fixate on certain crimes, while many more go unnoticed and, in many cases, unsolved and unpunished. In the 1990s, several high-profile cases captured the attention of the masses, including the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the death of JonBenét Ramsey. Fort Lauderdale attorney Moore believes that those cases received the kind of media attention that Casey Anthony has been receiving over the past months.

JonBenét Ramsey was a little girl who lived with her family in Boulder, Colorado. Born in 1990, she became a star in the beauty pageants for her age group. JonBenét was reported missing on December 26, 1996, after her mother Patsy apparently found a ransom note in the family’s home. The note demanded $118,000 for the child’s safe return. The figure was the same amount as a bonus John Ramsey, JonBenét’s father, had received from his job. When police and family members were searching the home hours later, John Ramsey found his daughter’s body underneath a blanket in the basement.

The police allowed the Ramseys’ friends and family members in and out of the home for hours after it was determined to be the scene of a crime, a move that has earned the Boulder police department significant criticism about their failure to protect the integrity of any evidence. The investigation focused early on the Ramseys, which also possibly prevented the appropriate gathering of evidence at the time. At least some investigators believed from the beginning that the Ramseys were responsible for their daughter’s murder, even developing the theory that her mother had killed her after becoming enraged that the little girl had wet the bed.

Years later, the Ramseys are no longer suspects. Patsy Ramsey has died and the District Attorney notified John Ramsey last year that she was “deeply sorry” for the scrutiny and harm they had endured. New evidence, particularly DNA found on JonBenét’s clothing items years after the initial crime, has completely cleared the Ramseys and they are no longer considered to be suspects in the murder.

Unfortunately, Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney Moore says that many crimes are never solved. The shoddy police work that occurred in the Ramsey case can happen when investigators prematurely hone in on a potential perpetrator, which can lead to the failure to observe or preserve contrary evidence – evidence which could not only lead to the real perpetrator, but also exonerate another suspect.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney – JonBenét Ramsey Flashback " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Murder

Bookmark:

Broward criminal attorney William Moore has been researching the prominent criminal cases Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who was nominated yesterday by President Obama to serve as Justice Souter’s replacement on the United States Supreme Court, has ruled on in her years as a federal judge in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Although Judge Sotomayor is perhaps best known for her ruling in the 1994 Major League Baseball strike, she has also decided several important criminal cases.

Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney Moore is particularly interested in her record on search and seizure issues. She held that a New York City ordinance which impounded the vehicles driven by people who were suspected of driving under the influence was unconstitutional, because it did not allow a procedure to challenge the impoundment – even after many months had elapsed and even when the charges had been reduced.

Judge Sotomayor dissented from the majority in a case dealing with the use of strip searches. Teenaged girls who were being held in a juvenile detention center were subjected to strip searches without cause. Although Judge Sotomayor found that some of the strip searches were conducted constitutionally, only those that were conducted with “individualized suspicion” were legal. Individualized suspicion is the concept that the authorities must have a reason to believe that particular person was engaged in wrongdoing. Therefore, the juvenile detention center could not conduct strip searches of the adolescent girls when there was no reason to have individualized suspicion with regards to some of the girls strip searched.

On a different type of search case, Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney notes that Judge Sotomayor also supported the concept of individualized suspicion when conducting a search. In that case, an employee of the federal Department of Transportation was suspected of “work-related misconduct.” Therefore, the agency conducted a search of his office computer. The employee was subsequently fired based on the information found in the search.

Sotomayor, if confirmed by the Senate, will be the first Latina and only the third woman to ever sit on the Supreme Court. Her confirmation hearings are expected to occur this summer, in advance of the next Supreme Court session, which begins in October. Sotomayor grew up in the housing projects of the Bronx and, despite her Ivy League education, is considered to have a different background than any of the current Justices.

Continue reading " Broward Criminal Attorney: Sotomayor and Criminal Law " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Judicial Trends

Bookmark:

Broward criminal attorney William Moore knows that theft cases are not always clear-cut. Whether the alleged crime is a simple shoplifting incident, an armed robbery, burglary of an occupied dwelling, dealing in stolen property, or some sort of kleptomaniac rampage, he is prepared to provide reasoned legal counsel for every case. Although ten or fifteen years ago credit card fraud was not unheard of, it has increased significantly in the past few years. In particular, identity theft has spiked, and businesses and consumers have continued to look for new measures to guard against identity theft, as well as solutions for those who fall victim to it. Palm Beach criminal lawyer Moore believes that people who commit identity theft have a myriad of reasons for doing so, depending on the particular person. While some may be motivated by simple greed, and may even launch an entire identity theft and credit card fraud operation, others may simply be unable to afford items that they want or need during a recession, and give into their impulses.

Identity theft has only been a federal crime since 1998, which speaks to the new nature of the problem. Congress decided to act after a man, who was already a felon, stole the name and personal data of another individual. The felon racked up in excess of $100,000 of debt from credit cards in the name of his victim, even securing a mortgage through the FHA program insured by the federal government and purchasing guns and vehicles. Later, the felon filed for bankruptcy in the name of the victim, an act that can destroy a person’s credit for years. The felon even made telephone calls to the victim to harass him. Although the victim and his family were forced to spend thousands of dollars and several years attempting to rectify the situation, they were never awarded restitution. Instead, the felon was convicted of making a false statement to procure a firearm and no other charges. Under the new federal legislation, he would almost certainly face tougher penalties.

Broward criminal lawyer Moore notes that identity theft can begin in many ways: some email users, for example, respond to “phishing” emails, which are bogus messages purporting to be from a financial institution or other trusted business. A link in the email takes the user to a website that looks very similar to the site of the business the user knows. There, the fake website will request personal identifying information from the user. Other culprits can include “preapproved” credit card solicitations, which a criminal rummaging through the trash could locate and take upon himself to activate. If he arranges for the bills to be sent to a different address than the victim’s home, the victim may not become aware of the existence of the account until it is already in default or has been sent to a collections company.

Continue reading " West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer: Identity Theft and the Age of Technology " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Fraud

Bookmark:

Broward criminal lawyer William Moore believes that sex crimes are among the most difficult – both to sufficiently prove and to defend against. While that may seem like a contradiction, sex crimes are particularly difficult cases for prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys alike. On one hand, the state attorney’s burden of proving a crime beyond a reasonable doubt is difficult in most scenarios: frequently, the only person who can provide testimony pertaining to the actual crime is the victim. This is a problem that prosecutors also often face with domestic violence cases – there is a “he said, she said” element. Although judges and juries are free to weight the credibility of testimony, a single person’s account of events is difficult to rely upon alone to send a person to prison without corroborating evidence.

The strongest prosecutorial cases are those which have additional evidence beyond the victim’s (or victim’s parents’) and a police officer’s testimony in court. The testimony of wholly unbiased witnesses who can corroborate portions of the victim’s account will make the overall story significantly more reliable. For example, if the victim testifies that she was pushed against her will into a classroom at a university, where she was then sexually assaulted, the victim’s description of events becomes more believable if a professor saw her on the same floor either before or after the alleged assault. Likewise, physical evidence, especially DNA, is an extremely powerful tool for a prosecutor to use – when available – the meet the state’s burden of proof. Another factor that makes sex offenses more difficult to prove is the fact that when they occur, they are often not reported until later, perhaps weeks or months. This delay hampers the investigation by law enforcement and their efforts to gather evidence.

From the perspective of a criminal defense lawyer, a sex crime accusation – especially for crimes involving children – may taint a defendant’s credibility in the eyes of a jury, despite their best efforts to remain unbiased. The heinousness of a sex crime can leave a jury looking for someone to blame and it is important that they are instructed carefully about the state’s burden. The consequences of a wrongful conviction for a sex crime are far-reaching and include placement on the Florida sex offender registry. For those individuals whose past actions meets certain standards, such as the propensity to prey on children, they will be labeled sexual predators and remain on the list permanent. For others, they will like spend a minimum of 25 years on the registry, even if they never commit another crime again.

Continue reading " Sex Offenders, Sexual Predators, and Broward County " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Sex Crimes

Bookmark:

Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney William Moore is well-aware of the dangers of human trafficking. Smuggling often results in individuals desperate for a better life attempting to immigrate to the U.S. in sub-par conditions. Just a few days ago, a boat off the coast of Boynton Beach in Palm Beach County capsized, resulting in the drowning deaths of at least 10 people. The United States Coast Guard was not alerted to the problem for a number of hours after the small, overpacked vessel turned over in the middle of the night, and rescue operations did not commence until the smuggled individuals had been in the Atlantic waters for approximately nine hours.

Now, Broward criminal lawyer Moore says federal agencies are beefing up their anti-smuggling operations around the waters of south Florida. In particular, the United States Customs and Border Protection has one of only two planes in existence that can closely track vessels in the water. According to the agency, the airplane is capable of capturing close-up images of the faces of people aboard a vessel from 10,000 feet in the air. It can also capture video of the smuggling operation as it attempts to come to shore in Florida. The plane is capable of tracking the routes of about 5,000 such vessels all at one time. The equipment tracks vessels leaving Cuba, comparing the travel plans previously filed to the actual path, and can alert the U.S. Coast Guard to dispatch its nearest vessel as soon as the boat or ship begins to deviate from its plan.

Current, the airplane travels high above the water between the Bahamas and the south Florida coast. The computer aboard the plane can quickly sort through the various vessels in the ocean, labeling freight ships, military vessels, and other types of ships or boats. By doing so, its operators can quickly narrow in on the types of vessels more likely to smuggle human beings or drugs. Radar expert Blake Page likened the computer’s capabilities to “an air traffic control system for the ocean.”

The only other plane carrying the $15 million software belongs to the Department of Defense. Computers equipped with the new software are expected to be loaded onto four more Dash 8 airplanes soon. A Dash 8 can stay in the air almost twice as long as the King Air, which is carrying the current anti-smuggling computer. The Dash 8 airplanes come at a cost of $28 million per plane, but come with improved satellite capabilities to complement the software’s functions.

Continue reading " Government Cracking Down on Smuggling Operations off Fort Lauderdale Coast " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Police

Bookmark:

Michelle Braun, 31, is reportedly nearing a plea deal for the federal charges of money laundering and transporting a person across state lines for the purposes of prostitution, Broward criminal lawyer William Moore has learned. Braun is accused of working as a “madam,” running a high-profit, high-profile escort service in California. Throughout, Braun apparently resided in south Florida. Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney Moore says that she has had hundreds of thousands of dollars seized by the government at this point in time, although federal prosecutors believed she earned millions during her tenure with her business Nici’s Girls.

Nici’s Girls was featured in prominent publications, including Rolling Stone magazine. Many of the escorts who worked for the business were models or women who worked in the porn industry. Broward criminal defense attorney Moore says it is not surprising that her client list, which the government found by seizing two cell phones and Braun’s laptop computer, includes Hollywood stars and famous athletes. Braun is originally from Bakersfield, California, but has apparently resided in Florida for several years.

Braun has faced several unrelated criminal charges in Florida in the past. In 2004, she was arrested for animal cruelty after locking a dog in her vehicle at the Boca Town Centre mall. The dog, which became ill due to the heat, eventually recovered. The following year, she was charged with failing to appear in court. In 2007, she was charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. The drug charges were dropped last month.

As part of the plea deal Braun is expected to enter into later this month, she will be sentenced to five years of probation, with six months of house arrest. She will also be fined $30,000 and have to cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service. Currently, Braun shares custody of her two children, ages six and eight years old, with her former husband. The couple divorced in Broward County in 2006.

The charges against Braun have prompted media comparisons to Heidi Fleiss. Fleiss, sometimes known as the Hollywood Madam, served nearly two years in prison for tax evasion after law enforcement officials unraveled her prostitution ring. Fleiss has since become a successful businesswoman.

Continue reading " Boca Raton Woman Nears Plea Deal in Prostitution Ring " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Sex Crimes

Bookmark:

Broward criminal lawyer William Moore has been following the Casey Anthony saga since it began last summer. A little girl, Caylee Anthony, was not quite three years old when she disappeared. The girl’s grandmother reported her missing in July after she could not extricate information about Caylee’s whereabouts from her daughter Casey.

For months, the news media has reported on this story. Casey was arrested in connection with Caylee’s disappearance in October. She was charged with the first-degree murder of her daughter. Making the case more problematic for the prosecution, however, was the fact that Caylee’s body had not been located. According to Broward criminal attorney Moore, not have her remains makes it more difficult to prove that she is even dead. Additionally, it makes forensic research difficult for detectives and the state’s expert witnesses. The information found on or near human remains can lead to a conviction – or an exoneration – in murder cases.

Caylee Anthony’s remains were eventually located very near to the Anthonys’ home in December. Casey Anthony maintains that she left her daughter with a baby-sitter by the name of Zenaida Gonzalez and that she had not seen the girl since. Gonzalez has filed a civil lawsuit against Casey Anthony for defamation, saying that the accusations “ruined” her entire life. She says she has never met Casey Anthony or Caylee and that she certainly was not entrusted with the toddler to care for her.

Initially, the State Attorney’s Office indicated that it would not seek capital punishment for the murder of Caylee Anthony. However, that was shortly before Caylee’s remains were found. Now, prosecutors have backtracked from their earlier position: they stated this week that they will seek the death penalty for Anthony.

The news comes as a surprise to many familiar with the case. Few women ever face the death penalty in the United States, making Casey Anthony’s case unusual and even more likely to attract media attention. Prosecutors say the death penalty is necessary. In a filing with the court, they stated that the “aggravating circumstances” of Caylee’s death make the death penalty a more viable option.

Bob Jarvis, a professor at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, believes prosecutors may be pushing for the death penalty for leverage. Anthony has been unwilling to plead guilty. He believes that even if she is convicted by a jury, they will not be inclined to execute her. "We don't execute women in Florida. Juries find it very difficult to send young women to death row," Jarvis said.

Continue reading " Follow Up: Death Penalty Sought for Casey Anthony " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Murder

Bookmark:

Broward criminal attorney William Moore has learned that four people are facing charges following a murder in Lauderdale Lakes. Henry Mancilla, who was 24 years old, was shot to death after being caught in the crossfire between a friend of Mancilla’s and another man. The incident apparently arose due to another man’s jealousy over a former girlfriend.

Broward criminal defense lawyer Moore, who follows local crime closely, knows that bullets frequently have unintended victims and unintended consequences. In this case, Mancilla was killed while sticking up for a friend, according to the police report. Mancilla intended to marry soon and he was the father of a three-year-old boy. He had recently relocated to south Florida. "He was a loving brother, a loving son, a loving father. He passed away being there for one of his friends," Alonso Mancilla, 21, the younger brother of Henry Mancilla said.

Angel Luis Cruz, 24, of Lauderdale Lakes; Peter Jacob MacDonald, 18, of Hollywood; Lernio Colin, 19, of Royal Palm Beach; and Cruz’s brother Christopher Thomas Harter, 29, who resides in Oregon, have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting. The charges are murder and attempted murder.

According to the police report, Mancilla and his friends had a bout of trouble with the four men who were later arrested. The men allegedly “jumped” them, but they were able to escape. Later, those men confronted them again, this time heavily armed. The confrontation came after one of Mancilla’s friends exchanged heated text messages with one of the perpetrators. The men knew each other prior to the crime. Altogether, between six and eight shots were fired. One of the bullets struck Mancilla fatally in the chest. The defendants were allegedly armed with a baseball bat and a walking stick in addition to at least one gun. Cruz’s former girlfriend was the woman at issue in the dispute, but it is not clear which of Mancilla’s friends was the actual target.

In another tragic headline, Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney Moore reports that the Broward County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Deerfield Beach incident. So far, they believe that Francisco Dacunha, 68, and an unidentified woman died in a murder-suicide at Dacunha’s apartment on April 18 or 19. Law enforcement officials recovered a weapon alongside the bodies. The police received a 911 call requesting that they check on Dacunha. The responding police officer peered through the apartment window and saw blood. Police officers forced entry into the apartment, only to discover the pair already dead.

Continue reading " Fort Lauderdale Criminal Lawyer: Murders Frighten Local Residents " »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Murder

Bookmark: