How it Works – Florida Sentencing Law
The law regarding sentencing for a criminal conviction will likely (hopefully) remain nothing more than a curiosity for most of us. Nevertheless, it does no harm to understand the workings of a scheme that so profoundly affects the lives of many Floridians.
Until around the middle of the 90s, sentencing was...
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Civil Justice For Crime Victims
Seeking justice against the perpetrator of a crime is generally understood as criminal prosecution seeking incarceration. But in the wake of a crime the victim is often left injured in a way that prosecution does not help. Victims left with physical, emotional and financial...
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Beware of Civil Forfeiture
Civil forfeiture is when the government seizes property it claims is connected to illegal activity. It developed under British maritime law, where it was easier for the Crown to seize and prosecute a vessel, rather than its owner who may be across the ocean. Thus, civil...
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The Importance of The Fifth Amendment
Protection for the individual citizen against State Power was a core consideration of the Founding Fathers. Many people don’t realize it, but half the amendments of the Bill of Rights focus on protections for criminal defendants—it’s like a miniature code of criminal procedure.
The 5th
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Motions to Dismiss in the Criminal Context
The two core principles of American criminal jurisprudence—proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the burden of proof belonging to the accuser—have allowed countless of the wrongly accused to prevail at trial. But pursuing a case all the way to trial can be daunting, expensive and time-consuming. How can a defendant go on...
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