The Trial Dog

Anthony Candela is the Trial Dog and a Board-Certified attorney. He opened the Candela Law Firm, P.A. in 2014 and handles criminal trials and appeals (as well as estate planning, wills, and trusts). He received his J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law in 2000 and his B.A. in Political Science from King’s College in 1996. As an expert in criminal law and procedure, he has tried over a hundred cases to verdict. Since 2008, he has been certified and recertified by the Florida Bar in Criminal Trial three times. He has also argued several dozen appeals. In the federal system, he is admitted to the Middle District of Florida and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal. #candelalawfirm #thetrialdog

Who is the Most Important Person in a Criminal Courtroom? Psst. My Answer Might Surprise You.

My advice is simple – treat all the court report personnel with the utmost respect and you will get the same treatment from them. While the judge might not rule in your favor, the court room personnel will not think you are a jerk. This kind of respect works both ways and you will thank me down the road. You are forewarded. Plus, over the years some of my best friends I have ever made are the court personnel.

Going “All In” on the Presumption of Innocence

The defendant has entered a plea of not guilty. This means you must presume or believe the defendant is innocent. The presumption stays with the defendant as to each material allegation in the charging document through each stage of the trial unless it has been overcome by the evidence to the exclusion of and beyond a reasonable doubt. To overcome the defendant’s presumption of innocence, the State has the burden of proving the crime with which the defendant is charged was committed and the defendant is the person who committed the crime. The defendant is not required to present evidence or prove anything.

What Makes a Will Valid in Florida

Nobody (and I mean nobody) wants to think about their death or what should happen when to their assets when they die. The obvious problem is simple – once you are dead, you cannot do anything to help your family because you are gone. So, the only way to assist them is to do the planning while you are alive and make an estate plan. Find an attorney. Start with a will. It is money well spent. Remember, “There is no dollar sign on a piece of mind…” “Chicken Fried.” Home Grown. Zac Brown Band. (2005)

Take the Stand.

Abstractly, almost anyone understands the point, but when your life or liberty are at stake – -testifying goes from an uncomfortable idea to being flat terrifying. Think public speaking being considered scarer than death. Now turn that public speaking fear “up to 11,” and you have testifying to save yourself or clear your name.

No, You May Not Search

The established test to determine whether consent was voluntary (versus involuntary and, therefore, acquiescence to police authority) is for the court to consider the “totality of the circumstances.” Analyzing the actions of the accused from the reasonable person standard, the trial courts are to look at three factors to determine whether the consent to search was voluntary: (1) the time and place of the encounter, (2) the number of officers present, and (3) the officers’ words and actions; a court analyzes these factors from the perspective of a reasonable person, untrained in the law, deciding whether he or she is free to end the encounter.[

What is Discovery? A Brief Explanation of How Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220 Works

Inevitably, discovery disputes arise in these criminal cases. These types of errors are too numerous to list, but usually take the form of an updated report that is inadvertently not produced to the defense or a new witness is added or substituted into a witness list at the last minute or a witness offers new testimony at trial that was not part of their report or deposition testimony. When a discovery violation is alleged, it is the duty of the trial court to conduct a hearing to determine “whether the state’s violation was trivial or substantial, and most importantly, what effect, if any did the violation have on the ability of the defendant to prepare properly for trial.” The violation and hearing on the matter is a referred to as a Richardson hearing.

Corpus Delicti: What Do I Need to Know?

Corpus delicti is a legal rule which refers to the proposition that the prosecution must prove all the elements of an offense (and, thus a crime) before the accused’s out-of-court statements can be introduced as evidence to demonstrate that the accused was the perpetrator. This principle is widely accepted in criminal prosecutions. The purpose of the rule is to ensure that crazy people are not convicted of crimes simply because they made some admission that they committed the crime without further proof.

Digital Estate Planning is for Everyone

Nowadays, estate planning must necessarily include a digital estate plan too. It is estimated that 60% of people will die without a will or any type of estate plan. Additionally, most people will end up taking their passwords and usernames to their grave. While this might be acceptable if the person was a spy and keeping state secrets safe, it is a nightmare scenario for the next of kin, partner, spouse, or personal representative trying to windup and close your estate so that they can take care of your heirs and beneficiaries. Keep in mind, once you are gone you cannot text them to tell them that the list is in a file on a “c” drive of your laptop or the list is written down a piece of paper in the junk drawer by the Keurig.

“Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” not so Tasty

Although based in the language of the Fourth Amendment, the exclusionary rule remedy grew out of an understanding of fairness and purpose. If the government could prosecute someone with illegally obtained evidence, then what exactly was the purpose of the Fourth Amendment? And how was that fair? What did the Fourth Amendment protect if it could not be enforced on its face? Obviously, the government could not/should not get a windfall by circumventing the requirements of the Fourth Amendment…thus, the exclusionary rule remedy.