Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

NO! No, the “War on Drugs” seems to continue to be a priority of our government. Yesterday morning, for example, the U.S. Coast Guard offloaded approximately 2,800 pounds of cocaine at Port Everglades. The estimated wholesale value of the seized contraband was $40 million. They seized the cocaine during two separate encounters, November 2nd and 6th, both in the central Caribbean.

The Coast Guard called their effort “Operation Martillo (Hammer) patrols.” They claim it’s part of their effort to interrupt the shipment of cocaine into U.S. via Central American coastal routes.

After reading about this latest bust, I had several thoughts. The first one was, “Wow, that’s a lot of coke!” My second thought was, “I guess the ‘War on Drugs’ ain’t over.” What that means to me is that many of my future clients will continue to be subjected to Draconian minimum mandatory penalties for drug possession crimes. I’m not speaking about the guys responsible for attempting to bring in 2,800 worth of cocaine into our country. I’m talking about the guys and gals who most likely will be prosecuted for drug offenses. Typically, that means the addict who purchased a bit extra and now faces a fifteen year minimum mandatory prison sentence.

The year was 2001. A Missouri teenager, who we’ll call Ryan, along with his buddy Chuck, chose to rob and then brutally murder a man. The victim was a well respected newspaper sports editor. Both teens were arrested. In 2005, Ryan went to trial. Chuck was the primary witness against Ryan, detailing how the two committed the crime together. Also, there was fingerprint evidence, eyewitness testimony and bloody footprints, all found at the scene of the crime. Ryan was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison. I’m sure you’re thinking, “Good, that’s what he deserves for the abhorrent premeditated criminal acts.”

Wait, hold the judgment and condemnation. There’s just a few minor problems with this open and shut “hypothetical” case that I’ve laid out for you. All the physical evidence left at the scene didn’t match Ryan. Also, Chuck struggled with critical details about the crime when questioned by police and then later recanted his trial testimony. The eyewitness who claimed that Ryan was at the scene of the murder, also later recanted.

Unfortunately, the “hypothetical” is an actual case. Ryan Ferguson spent ten years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. In spite of Chuck and the sole eyewitness admitting they lied when they testified against Ryan, it still took years and extraordinary work by dedicated appellate attorneys who finally secured Ryan’s freedom. The appeals court overturned Ryan’s conviction based on prosecutors’ withholding of evidence that should have been turned over to his defense attorneys during his trial. A newly appointed special prosecutor has decided not to retry Ryan.

Manti Te’o is thrilled. Finally, a more bizarre story coming out of football than a Notre Dame star falling in love with a woman on the internet who he never met, who turned out to be a dude. I’m talking about the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin controversy.

Suspended Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito now claims that his teammate Jonathan Martin actually sent him threatening text messages a week before the scandal broke. In fact, Incognito claims the two beefy lineman sent each other more than 1000 text messages. Some find many of the messages offensive. Incognito passionately claims that they were sent out of love. Even when Martin threatened to murder Icognito’s family, he claims, Martin was just joking, and filled with love.

Here’s what Martin is saying…nothing. His lawyer is doing a lot of talking, alleging a lot of things. We haven’t heard Martin utter one word.

Let’s say you were arrested and accused of murdering your spouse. In spite of your innocence, cops are hell bent on stripping you of your liberty. Worse, an overzealous prosecutor seems determined to see you rot in prison for life. He even does the unthinkable. He intentionally hides evidence of your innocence, ensuring an unfair trial. You’re convicted and sentenced to life. During your brutal incarceration, the prosecutor’s career flourishes, even becoming a well respected judge. After 25 years in prison, it is finally revealed that the prosecutor, now a judge, never disclosed that the only eye-witnesses of the crime said that you weren’t the culprit. Fortunately, you’re finally free from prison. What should happen to the prosecutor?

Unfortunately, most of the hypothetical provided above was real. That all did happen to Michael Morton, who really did serve 25 years for murdering his wife, in spite of his innocence. Thanks to former Texas prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson, more than two and a half decades of Morton’s freedom was taken from him.

In light of the evidence against him, Anderson pled guilty to criminal contempt. His sentence? Well, for starters, he had to give up his law license. He also has to perform 500 hours of community service. What about prison time? How much did he get? What amount of time do you believe is sufficient punishment for Morton’s “rotting away” in prison unnecessarily for twenty-five years? The answer in a moment.

Imagine you’re a book publisher and I’m pitching you with a new book idea. Here’s my captivating story, which I’m convinced will be a best seller. Let me know what you think.

The year was 1984. A flight attendant was handed a note by one the plane’s passengers. It was from a hijacker who threatened to take the lives of all of the 57 passengers and crew members. His demands included that the plane, which was headed to Miami, return to Havana, Cuba. The hijacker, a Black Panther member, wearing all black, brandishing a small pistol, and calling himself, “Lt. Spartacus,” boasted of having a bomb on the plane. He hijacked the plane thinking that upon his landing in Cuba, he’d be welcomed as a fellow revolutionary and be provided military training to assist him with his own uprising in the U.S. The plane’s captain, a military veteran, tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the hijacker using the plane’s intercom system.

The plane returned to Cuba. The hijacker, whose real name was William Potts, was immediately arrested by Cuban authorities. He was tried and convicted in a Cuban court and sentenced to 15 years in prison. While in Cuba’s violent prison, Potts turned down opportunities to go home to the U.S. prior to his sentence concluding.