INTRODUCTION Based upon what happened in a bond hearing today in Broward criminal court, you would have thought that prosecutors uncovered evidence proving that Zachary Cruz, brother of Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooter Nikolas Cruz, actually conspired with, and assisted his brother carry out his abhorrent crimes. Well, that didn’t happen.…
INTRODUCTION The irony is that the Florida International University pedestrian bridge that collapsed last week was built with the intention that it would provide students a safer way to cross a canal and six lanes of traffic. It didn’t quite work out that way. As a result of the catastrophe,…
INTRODUCTION For years, one of the arguments that we’ve heard about cigarettes is that they are filled with nicotine, which is addictive, which causes health problems and even death. That argument has been successfully made in lawsuits against “Big Tobacco,” the companies responsible for putting those “cancer sticks” into the…
The jury had been deliberating several hours and I was getting a little nervous. I take great pride in persuading jurors during closing arguments that if they have any reasonable doubt about my client’s guilt, then there’s no reason to go into the jury room and spend hours debating. Just…
Three women were cited with a violation of a criminal ordinance in Laconia, New Hampshire for displaying their nipples on a beach. They are challenging the ordinance, claiming it is unconstitutional. First, they argue that there is no state law that prohibits their actions. Additionally, they claim the ordinance is…
INTRODUCTION Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you must have heard about the 80+ women alleging that Harvey Weinstein harassed and/or assaulted them in some way. Additionally, numerous other similar troubling allegations have been made about other high profile folks like Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Brett Ratner, Charlie Rose…
While the “Not guilty” verdict in the Steinle murder trial wasn’t what most people expected and/or desired, it doesn’t mean that the verdict was unjust, unfair, and/or “disgraceful.” Having practiced in state and federal criminal courts for the past 25 years, serving as a prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and adjunct…
FACTS A woman from Fort Bend County, Texas has been threatened with arrest for a particular bumper sticker she chose to put on her truck. The sticker reads, “F-ck Trump and f-ck you for voting for him.” The woman, Karen Fonseca, was arrested as a result of an outstanding warrant…
The story the 16-year-old victim told the cops was that she had been dating my client for several months but then broke off the relationship. A few days later, she said, my client and one of his friends showed up at her house when her mother was away. When she…
We had the case in the bag. As a young prosecutor, I was helping another colleague in the trial of a career criminal/violent offender accused of armed robbery. The evidence we had presented was considerable and compelling and we had just called our last witness, a cop. I didn’t think…