Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog

September 20, 2017

Prior Crimes Can Impact Your Sentence

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Police recently arrested a hit-and-run suspect in Sunrise after the man allegedly struck a bicyclist who was on her way home fro work. The suspect comes to court as an experienced defendant, as this offense represents his sixth traffic violation just this year, including prior misdemeanors and felony counts. That was double as many as he had in 2015, when he was cited three times for traffic crimes, including a single-car crash.

According to The Miami Herald, he also has prior offenses for resisting arrest without violence, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and speeding. He is now facing a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident with serious injuries. Per F.S. 316.027, it carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He is just 21-years-old.

In order to qualify as a “serious injury,” alleged victim must have suffered a physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement or a protracted loss or impairment of an organ or bodily member. Continue reading

September 7, 2017

Sheriff Promises Arrests for Outstanding Warrants at Hurricane Shelter

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

While monster Hurricane Irma threatens the Florida peninsula after battering the Bahamas, Floridians everywhere are making plans either to evacuate or hunker down. Those who choose to stay (or are unable to leave) may have only one option from this Category 5 behemoth – a designated shelter.

As our criminal defense lawyers in Fort Lauderdale understand it, one Florida sheriff has made the controversial decision to announce deputies would be checking IDs at the door, and not only would sexual offenders be denied access, but anyone with a warrant would be arrested on site.

The Polk County Sheriff announced days ahead of the storm that anyone who shows up at a hurricane shelter with an active warrant will be “escorted to the safe and secure shelter called Polk County Jail.” It should be noted the deputies have no way of knowing the underlying purpose of the warrant – whether it’s a violent felony offense or a non-violent misdemeanor. Continue reading

September 2, 2017

The Nurse, The Deputy and the Warrantless Blood Draw

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

In an explosive video that went viral recently, a Utah nurse is manhandled and arrested by a sheriff’s deputy, irate that the charge nurse refused to take a blood sample from an unconscious patient absent a warrant. He threatened her with charges like obstruction of justice. However, such charges won’t prevail when the officer’s initial directive was unlawful.

As our criminal DUI defense lawyers in Fort Lauderdale well know, the nurse was absolutely in the right. As the nurse states correctly in the video, from a constitutional standpoint, a person’s blood is his or her property. Any non-consensual search or seizure of it is subject to approval from a judge in the form of a warrant, barring exigent circumstances.

In this case, no such circumstances existed because, first of all, the badly-burned, unconscious patient in question, a truck driver, was not suspected of any wrong-doing. In fact, he is believed to be the victim of a drunk driver who swerved into the trucker’s lane of traffic, causing the rig to burst into flames, resulting in serious injury to the trucker. (The suspected impaired driver died at the scene of the crash.) Continue reading

August 25, 2017

Fake Credit Card Arrests in Florida Spike

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A number of recent criminal cases in South Florida have involved counterfeit checks.

Florida Statute F.S. 817.60(6) deals specifically with forgery of credit cards. Violation of this statute is punishable under F.S. 817.67, which classifies it as a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

A strong criminal defense is required in these cases. Continue reading

August 20, 2017

Can I Legally Keep a Gun in My Car in Florida?

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

We all know the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees Americans the right to own weapons. However, that freedom is not without restriction, and it’s important to understand how state law may restrict your rights.

It’s common in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach for gun owners to keep their firearms in the vehicle.

You should know that keeping your firearm in your vehicle is as legal as keeping it in your house – so long as it isn’t concealed. Continue reading

August 15, 2017

Pleading Down to Reckless Driving After Florida DUI

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Recently, pro-golfer Tiger Woods agreed to plead guilty to reckless driving and enter a diversion program, in exchange for prosecutors dropping DUI charges against him.

ESPN reports the Florida DUI arrest occurred after Woods was found sleeping in his sports car, allegedly under the influence of sleeping medication and painkillers. No alcohol was found in his system. Following the diversion program, he will have the opportunity to ask the judge to expunge the reckless driving conviction.

As our DUI defense attorneys can explain, this is a somewhat typical outcome in a case like this in cases where:

Defendant has no prior criminal record;
Defendant did not harm anyone or cause property damage;
Prosecutors may not have the strongest case (i.e., intoxication via drugs is tougher to prove than alcohol impairment);
One is represented by an experienced attorney.

August 10, 2017

Sportscaster’s Florida Elder Battery Arrest Underscores Growing Crime Trend

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A well-known South Florida sports caster was arrested for battery on an elderly person, identified as a 70-year-old man. It’s not clear whether the two are related, though defendant had been staying at the home where the elder man resides.

The Palm Beach Post reports authorities were called to do a welfare check. Then an hour later, a woman called 911, identifying the NBA radio host and indicating he was beating an elderly man. Following his first court appearance, at which alleged victim stressed the judge he was not afraid of defendant, the court ordered a mental health evaluation before approving a pre-trial supervised release.

Although this case involves a high-profile defendant, it underscores the increasing incidence of cases filed under F.S. 784.08, assault and battery on an a person 65 or older. It also highlights the fact that not all domestic violence incidents occur between romantic partners or exes. Such crimes can result felony or misdemeanor consequences, depending on the details. Continue reading

August 6, 2017

South Florida DUI Manslaughter Trial Ends in Plea Deal for 9 Years

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A South Florida man has been sentenced to nine years in prison on DUI manslaughter charges after accepting a plea deal to avoid harsher prison time after a fatal crash that claimed the life of an 85-year-old dentist.

The Palm Beach Post reports defendant will have to serve at least six years in prison following his release from prison. The last-minute deal halted the impending trial, which could have resulted in defendant receiving up to 15 years in prison, per F.S. 316.193. DUI manslaughter in Florida carries a minimum mandatory penalty of four years in prison, with a maximum of 15 years. This maximum penalty could be increased if the individual also flees or tries to flee the scene. In that case, it’s considered a first-degree felony, carrying a maximum 30 years behind bars.

Having an experienced defense lawyer can help increase your odds of a favorable outcome – or at least minimize the chances of spending more than a decade behind bars. Continue reading

August 3, 2017

Florida Adopts Tougher Opioid Trafficking Penalties

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

A new Florida law signed by Governor Rick Scott takes aim at opioid trafficking and possession, imposing harsher penalties for those convicted of dealing and using pills, heroin, fentanyl and more. The measure, House Bill 477, enacts new mandatory minimum sentences for opioid users and dealers and establishes new bans on trafficking drugs that include synthetic marijuana and fentanyl.

The new law sets mandatory minimum sentences for convicted dealers, which will force judges to lock away drug offenders for extended periods of time with little opportunity for discretion.

All this is despite the growing realization that “tough-on-crime” drug laws simply do not work, and disproportionately affect poverty-stricken and minority communities. Meanwhile, the state will receive $27 million in federal grant money to help pay for its enforcement. Continue reading

July 31, 2017

Fingerprint Analysis Increasingly a Factor in Local Law Enforcement Crime Solving

By The Law Offices of Richard Ansara, P.A.

Fingerprint matching has long been considered a critical investigative tool. However, despite its longtime claims of being infallible, the practice started to fall out of favor over the last few years with emerging science indicating that finding a “match” on a fingerprint was more likely to indicate a concordant connection than one that is without a doubt identical.

As noted in a 2014 study published in the journal Public Library of Science, examination of latent fingerprints is often a complex task, even with advanced image processing. In many cases, fingerprints gathered at crime scenes contain less information than those collected under controlled conditions. They can be distorted and might only contain part of the total fingerprint. So despite assertions that fingerprint analysis is “infallible” or has a “zero error rate,” there are many cases in which errors are found and we find that certain assertions of infallibility were implausible.

Despite this, police and prosecutors in South Florida are increasingly relying on fingerprint evidence and analysis in making their cases against criminal defendants in Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas. Continue reading