Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

A Fort Lauderdale newspaper has reported that a former Lantana, Florida high school drama instructor has accepted a plea deal negotiated by his criminal defense lawyer. Andrew Foster, 28, was a teacher at Santaluces High School when he began dating and having sex with two of his students, one of whom became pregnant as a result. Foster took the girl to obtain an abortion. She reported their activities to police when she was devastated by the discovery that he was engaged in an ongoing sexual relationship with another student. The teen had thought she and her teacher were exclusive couple planning to spend their lives together. Foster was later arrested and charged with two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor in Palm Beach County.

Foster’s criminal defense attorney indicated that the second young woman wanted to remain in contact with her former teacher. She testified on Foster’s behalf, telling the court that since she is now an 18-year-old adult, she would like to be allowed to remain in contact with Foster during his prison term. The woman, who is now a college student, told the court that she was not harmed by her relationship with Foster. The court ruled that while the teen may write to Foster, he is not allowed to contact her at all, even in response to any letters she sends. Circuit Judge Lucy Chernow Brown told Foster he is not to communicate with the victim through “skywriting [or]…any way that can be conceivably imagined.”

Under the terms of the plea deal negotiated by the prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers in the case, Foster will spend a total of five years incarcerated. Following his release, he will remain on sex offender probation for another decade following his release. Foster will also be required to submit to lie detector tests and HIV testing, in addition to the restrictions placed on all sex offenders with regard to where he may reside or find employment.

In Florida, unlawful sexual activity with a minor is a sex act between a child aged 16 or 17 and an adult 24 years of age or older. It is a second degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000 for each count. Foster’s plea deal allows him to spend only five years in prison, with the 414 days he had served while awaiting sentencing counting towards the total.

Continue reading "Palm Beach County High School Teacher Arrested, Accepts Plea Deal for Sex Crimes" »

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Legal System , Sex Crimes

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Since the 1970s almost thirty states have enacted laws designed to prevent criminals from receiving monies that may otherwise be derived from selling their stories. The problem is that in the early 90s the United States Supreme Court ruled that “Son of Sam” laws were unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment. The reasoning of the high court was simple; no laws may restrict speech based solely on content. Since the 90s several states have had similar laws on the books overturned by higher courts on the same constitutional grounds. In response, many states are enacting general forfeiture laws as an alternate deterrent. Under the new “Son of Sam” type forfeiture laws, the victims of said crimes would receive the profits of any stories sold by the assailant.

The most recent media attention that such a law received was in reference to OJ Simpson’s new book, “If I Did It.” Many criticize the law applied to this situation believing that Simpson received funds long before revealing his story, thus circumventing the Goldman family’s rights to all revenues.

In Florida we have seen prosecutors use the current laws on the books to seize small amounts of revenue. These lawsuits have been filed by Florida’s prosecutors in an effort to determine if such seizures would be appealed and overturned. The general consensus is that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement wouldn’t want to find out that forfeiture laws were flawed on a high profile and high stakes case.

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Legal System

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It’s the oldest trick in the book. An officer gets too rough with a suspect and needs justification for booking an inmate who is battered and bruised. Battery on a law enforcement officer or resisting with violence charges are all that are needed. I can’t tell you how many times I have been told by clients that they did nothing to a police officer who became excessively rough with them during an arrest. Regardless, these people were charged with the felony crime of battery on a law enforcement officer. What is more disturbing is that a majority of these cases started off as misdemeanors. The most recent case to travel through this firm involved an individual who had been arrested for possessing a small amount of marijuana. Unfortunately, something that this individual said didn’t sit right with the law enforcement officer conducting the investigation and he was beaten prior to being placed in the patrol car.

Instantly, the misdemeanor charge of marijuana was accompanied by the felony charge of battery on a law enforcement officer. Failure to charge this would have rendered the Broward Sheriff’s Office liable for a law suit due to an unjustified use of force. We have had several cases in the past where our clients have been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer that were videotaped without the officer’s knowledge. On one such occasion, a DUI officer’s in-car video equipment recorded a complete contradiction to his police report; an individual who was roughed up despite his doing his best to comply with the officer’s commands.

Recently, in Boynton Beach, Officer David Coffey, age 27, was fired from the Boynton Beach Police Department after an investigation revealed that he was unjustified in beating suspect Adam Weiss following an arrest. A surveillance camera captured images of Coffey slamming Weiss’s head into a concrete wall, grabbing his throat and tasering him four times. Officer Coffey, not realizing that his actions had been captured on video, proceeded to file battery on a law enforcement officer charges against suspect Weiss.

Had this video not existed, been destroyed, or had not been discovered, Adam Weiss would not only have suffered such a brutality but may also have been a convicted felon for a crime he never committed.

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

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This week I was again picking a jury in a criminal trial where the prosecution and defense are given an opportunity to question a presumptive jury panel. The panel is usually 21 people who need to be narrowed down to six who can try the issues of a criminal case fairly, without bringing pre-conceived notions or biases into play. Skilled criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors use this opportunity not only to wean out individuals that are likely to vote for their side in the trial, but also to educate these potential “tryers-of-fact” as to their role. From a criminal defense standpoint, this is the single most important time that he or she can begin to relate to jurors, form a relationship with, and get them to commit to rendering a not guilty verdict, even before hearing any of the evidence. When I got to my line of questioning whereby I ask potential jurors whether they find police officers to be more creditable than the average citizen. As usual, a great number of potential jurors did in fact believe that officers of the peace speak the truth while ordinary citizens lie.

Under our system of law, police officers are not to be given added creditability by virtue of their positions. In fact, this issue is considered so important that standard jury instructions include language that requires jurors to refrain from finding a police officer to be creditable simply because he is an officer. A case in point, Broward Sheriff’s Officer, Sgt. Lisa DiSavino.

On November 27, 2007 newspaper headlines read, “Deputy Slasher is Still on the Loose.” The 29 year old deputy had claimed that she had been stabbed while on patrol early Sunday morning in the City of Tamarac, Florida. A county-wide manhunt ensued involving officers, civilians, swat team members, and canine officers. They were looking for a male in his 20’s or 30’s, about 5’8”, with short brown hair and white shorts. He was wearing a Miami Dolphins jersey with the number 99 on it. A reward was issued for his arrest. Sgt. DiSavino had been very specific about how the incident had taken place. She claimed she had approached a suspicious man near a bus stop on Commercial Boulevard who proceeded to stab her in the stomach and run away. As violence towards officers has been sharply on the rise in South Florida in recent months and due to the fact the allegations came from a police officer, there was no doubt that someone had committed a crime and they would be tracked down, arrested and prosecuted, if not killed. I am surprised that no one was arrested as the description could fit thousands of people in South Florida. I am also not surprised to learn that the whole story told by the good Sergeant, was in fact, an absolute fabrication. Sgt. DiSavino had inflicted injury upon herself and then concocted a story about the assault. The Broward Sheriff’s Office has reported that she will not be disciplined, although she is on paid administrative leave. The Broward Sheriff’s Office describes her as being a model deputy who worked well with others and had undergone a large amount of police training.

Seasoned defense lawyers know the importance of educating the jury in the voir dire process and in closing arguments and explaining that giving officers extra creditability by virtue of their uniform is a violation of the rules in which we all share. To the contrary, considering that law enforcement’s number one obligation is to seek out crime and obtain convictions, it can easily be argued that their propensity to fabricate or at least bolster evidence mounted against the defendant is most certainly possible. Attorneys know that most jurors sitting in judgment of the defendant come to the table wanting to believe that police officers are more truthful than average citizens. However, they quickly begin to reconsider their position when asked questions such as whether they would be more inclined to buy an automobile from a police officer than an average citizen; if they have ever read any articles about a police officer being untruthful; or if they believe or understand that an officer’s job is to seek out and arrest people they believe have broken the law and obtain convictions in greater numbers as opposed to fewer.

Posted by William Ryan Moore | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Legal System

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