Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Florida’s Kratom Ban Means Increased Scrutiny Of Consumers And Smoke Shops
In the 1990s, you knew you were cool if you had a neon sign in the shape of a cannabis leaf casting a deep green glow from the window of your dorm room or duplex. These days, cannabis is legal in so many situations in the parts of Florida that matter the most to… Read More »
Father And Son Face Criminal Charges After Teen Causes Fatal Accident
Teen drivers cause accidents so often that some parents hope that their own children will join the growing trend among young people not to get a driver’s license until they are in their 20s, or even older. The ones whose kids are eager to drive console themselves with the statistics that show that most… Read More »
Anonymous Tips To Police Leave Room For Reasonable Doubt
When someone faces you in court and makes accusations against you, you have the right to refute these accusations; this is one of the axioms of justice. It takes more than an accusation to trigger a punishment for a crime, even if the accuser risks his or her own reputation to accuse you. An… Read More »
Do You Dare To Reject A Plea Deal?
Florida’s prison population is the stuff of legend. If you wanted to make a high concept movie set in Florida, you would have to include someone struggling to rebuild his life after serving a long sentence for a minor offense, a modern day Jean Valjean; this is what would convince audiences in the know… Read More »
Nelson Hearings And Florida Criminal Cases
The Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial includes the right to representation by a criminal defense lawyer. Since the drafting of the Bill of Rights, the courts have further interpreted the responsibilities of attorneys representing defendants in criminal cases. For example, the Gideon v. Wainwright decision set the precedent that, when defendants cannot… Read More »
The Florida Youthful Offender Act Is for Young Adults, Too
If you are in your mid-twenties or older, there are probably incidents from your youth that you are embarrassed even to think about, and there are probably also incidents that you are relieved did not lead to worse consequences than the ones that occurred. The attributes of youth do not instantly disappear as soon… Read More »
How Much Immunity Do You Get By Being An Informant?
Some people out there will tell you that anyone who takes a plea deal is a chump, but most of them have never faced criminal charges punishable by imprisonment. You might even have seen billboards or late-night TV ads for criminal defense firms that promise to get you acquitted. Yes, you have the Constitutional… Read More »
Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel And Your Florida Criminal Defense Case
When you hire a criminal defense lawyer, it is because you are counting on him or her to get you out of trouble, or at least to get you into less trouble than you are currently in. If you are being unfairly accused of a crime, your lawyer’s job is to show the jury… Read More »
Kentucky Man Arrested For Assaulting Police Officer During Visit To Florida
News stories about what happens after lottery winners receive their prize money are a potent reminder that you should be careful what you wish for. If you win a few hundred bucks because you guessed three out of six numbers correctly, you might be able to make a dent in the outstanding balance of… Read More »
What’s Next, Now That The State Admitted That You Were Innocent All Along?
Finding out that the court has exonerated you of a crime you did not commit can feel like waking up from a nightmare. The difference is that, when you wake up from a nightmare, the bad things you dreamed about never happened except in your dream. If you get exonerated after spending six years… Read More »