Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Overcoming Adverse FST Results In A Florida DUI
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has approved three Field Sobriety Tests for use in DUI arrests. If a defendant provides a breath or blood sample, as most defendants agree to do, prosecutors use the FST results to establish probable cause for that law enforcement request. If the defendant refuses to provide a chemical… Read More »
What Are The Three Types Of Plea Bargains In Juvenile Cases?
In the Founding Fathers era, and for many years thereafter, jury trials resolved almost all criminal cases in the United States. Bench trials, in which a judge serves as both factfinder and legal referee, were rare, and plea bargains were almost unheard of. Things started changing in the late 1800s. The country was growing… Read More »
Tampa Jury Returns Guilty Verdict In Hate Crimes Case
A 29-year-old man faces up to ten years in prison after a jury concluded that a 2021 road rage incident was racially motivated. Court documents show that the defendant encountered J.T, the alleged victim, while he, his girlfriend, and 4-year-old daughter were en route to Clearwater. The defendant pretended to “shoot” the victim and… Read More »
Seven Common Kinds Of White Collar Criminal Cases In Hillsborough County
Thirty years ago, white-collar crimes weren’t very serious. Many prosecutors in many jurisdictions didn’t even file charges in these cases. The 2001 Enron scandal, in which investors lost about $78 billion, changed that approach. Now, prosecutors see white-collar crimes as crimes, instead of civil matters. Since prosecutors are much more aggressive, these defendants need… Read More »
Five Key DUI Checkpoint Requirements
The Supreme Court permanently legalized sobriety checkpoints, which allow law enforcement officers to bypass the Fourth Amendment, in 1990. Because the Supremes gave them such broad authority, peace officers must strictly follow many rules when they set up these checkpoints. Otherwise, the roadblock is illegal. A checkpoint affects your Fourth Amendment stop, search, and… Read More »
Gold Coast Police Officer Faces Multiple Sex Crime Charges
A former Palm Bay Police Department officer allegedly engaged in in illicit “sexual relations” with a 13-year-old girl. According to court documents and the PBPD, the 23-year-old officer, who had been on the job less than a year, reached out to the girl on social media and “met the victim for sex on two… Read More »
Should I Plead Guilty?
On February 7, 1881, Alameda County resident Albert McKenzie pleaded guilty to misdemeanor embezzlement to avoid trial on felony charges. He allegedly siphoned $53 from his sewing machine company employer. His was one of the first recorded plea bargains in American legal history. In the late 1800s, the country was growing significantly, and taxpayers… Read More »
Procedural, Substantive, And Affirmative Defenses In Drug Possession Matters
According to many people today, including many Hillsborough County jurors, drug possession is a health and safety issue as opposed to a criminal law issue. However, law enforcement doesn’t feel the same way. About 80 percent of drug arrests are for simple possession. These arrests feed the beast. Drug possession cases keep police officers… Read More »
Angry Customer Pistol-Whips UPS Manager In Miami
A dispute over a damaged printer led to a violent assault which police are still investigating. “He started hitting me with a handgun a couple of times,” the alleged victim said about the customer. Store security footage captured the man, dressed in a bright orange shirt and black shorts, attacking a UPS store manager…. Read More »
Challenging DUI-Drug Infractions In Florida
Many states have extremely broad DUI-drug laws. Pretty much everyone has at least one impairing substance in their pantry or medicine cabinet. Even everyday drugs, like caffeine, could involve DUI charges. Florida’s law is considerably more limited. It only applies if the substance at issue is designed “for the purpose of inducing a condition… Read More »