Florida juries are given what some courts describe as an inherent pardon power to return a verdict of guilty for a lesser offense. However, the jury must be instructed as to lesser included offenses. If not, this may constitute a per se reversible error. In a recent decision, the appellate court found that…
St. Petersburg Criminal Lawyer Blog
Florida Appeals Court Reverses Trial Court that Refused to Instruct the Jury on Defendant’s Self-Defense Claim
Florida criminal law proscribes illegal activities through statute. That means that after a legislative session, actions that were once permissible might become unlawful or vice versa. For those accused of crimes, the defendant will likely be subject to the law at the time that the crime occurred. In a jury…
Identification of Typo Changes Crime Classification in Florida Defendant’s Conviction
The concept of “scrivener’s error” is certainly applicable to the legal system, although it’s not especially technical. In fact, it’s known by most as a “typo.” Courts systems require human labor to draft legislation, motions, and written judgments, so sometimes mistakes are made. In the criminal law context, the omission…
Grand Theft Auto Conviction Overturned for Florida Bail Bondsman
Law enforcement has broad discretion to enforce the laws. Still, it’s sometimes surprising to see how far a case can proceed before a court overturns a conviction. In fact, the defendant in a recent Florida grand theft decision was arguably doing his job as a repo man when he was charged…
Limitations Period Expired for Sex Crime Charge, Rules Florida Appeals Court
Crimes with a statute of limitations are required to be prosecuted within a defined period of time. This helps ensure that evidence for the prosecution is still available at trial and encourages law enforcement to actively seek to resolve crimes. A Florida appeals court recently determined that the limitations period…
Cell-Tower Data Used in Murder Case Against St. Petersburg Man
As cell phones have risen in popularity, criminal prosecutors now use cell phone records to build their cases. Cell phone records can show such records as calls made or received, text messages, and even proximity to cell towers. Although cell phone records do not provide specific GPS coordinates of a…