So many details of your life appear on your cell phone: photos, texts, location, account numbers, private relationships and more. Since your phone is personal property, it falls under the Fourth Amendment protections of the United States Constitution. Even though...
Florida takes a strict stance against the illicit use and distribution of pain medications. In fact, if you possess pain pills that a doctor did not prescribe to you, or if you attempt to deliver, sell or give pain medications to another person, you may face drug...
Why would someone face federal crimes? There are several reasons that investigators or prosecutors from Washington or field offices around the country could take an interest in a case. One is criminal activity that may be happening across state lines or on federal...
Does it really matter if you meant to commit a crime or not? Maybe. There are certain crimes, like homicide, that are punished more seriously depending on whether the perpetrator acted with malice aforethought. The mens rea, or mental state of the person who committed...
Immigration violations have become the number one most common source of federal prosecutions in this country, surging well ahead of the second-most prominent contender: Drug crimes. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's annual report, immigration crimes surged...
Human beings have always been practical jokers -- but some jokes can actually have serious legal consequences because of their potential for serious physical or economic harm to others. "Zoombombing" is the latest practical joke that's drawing attention from the...
Wire fraud is one of those criminal charges that the government typically tacks onto a long list of other charges. But what is wire fraud, exactly? Basically, any type of scam that intentionally defrauds another person or entity out of their money or property through...
There's been quite a bit of furor in the news these days over some recent presidential pardons and commutations. Both of those actions fall under the category of post-conviction relief. Here's what you should know about the differences between having your sentence...
In Florida, a felony conviction has historically meant the end of your ability to vote -- a restriction that hails back to Jim Crow-era laws and tends to affect black voters disproportionally. Amendment 4, or the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, was...
Embezzlement is a very specific type of crime. Unlike ordinary theft or burglary, embezzlement requires you to be part of an organization and in a relatively trusted role. That generally only happens when you've been in a position of authority inside a company for...
