The information age has provided law enforcement agencies in Florida and around the country with several new investigative tools, and none of them is more controversial than facial recognition technology. Advocacy groups see these systems as the harbinger of a...
Blog
Criminal Law
Orlando will send counselors to some 911 calls
Each career has a certain set of guidelines to follow and tasks to complete, depending on the specific job role. Police officers, for instance, enforce the law and arrest criminals who threaten society at large. Counselors receive training to handle mental health...
The many costs of incarcerating low-level criminal offenders
Our current system of imprisonment costs the U.S. economy $1 trillion annually and over-incarceration ultimately affects American communities and families. However, an examination of the upswing in prison time for low-level offenders has led to the criminal justice...
Violent crime rates predicted to fall
The rates of violent crimes and crimes against property were falling through 2019 in Florida and nationwide and are predicted to continue declining through 2021 for many reasons. Mostly, better socio-economic conditions add up to continually reduced violent criminal...
Florida prosecutor announces new resisting arrest policy
A Florida prosecutor says that her office will no longer pursue most resisting arrest charges. The state attorney, who represents almost 1.8 million Osceola and Orange County residents, says that police are misusing resisting charges. According to media outlets, the...
Supreme Court to hear warrantless entry case
Police officers in Florida and around the country are generally required to obtain a search warrant before entering a private residence without permission, but exceptions are made when exigent circumstances exist. Police officers could claim that exigent circumstances...
The long history of polygraph technology
Florida residents could be forgiven for thinking that polygraph machines were invented quite recently. The devices, which are often called lie detectors, measure stress by noticing changes in an individual’s blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration and breathing...
Police can sometimes conduct warrantless searches
Florida drivers know that at some point, they could be stopped by the police. It could be for an issue as simple as a broken tail light, or it could be for something that they're not even aware of. Many drivers are not clear if the police can legitimately search their...
Factors that contribute to wrongful convictions
For many years, DNA evidence has been used to overturn convictions in cases overseen by judges in Florida and throughout the country. Research has discovered a few common reasons why individuals may have been wrongfully convicted, and that research has led to reforms...
Reasons for a preliminary hearing
If you are charged with a crime in the state of Florida, a preliminary hearing will typically be held to review the evidence against you. This type of hearing may also be held in civil matters such as a divorce or car accident case. Generally speaking, both witness...
