the trial dog

beak blur chicken close up

Can’t Make the Sick Chicken Better

There is also a human element to a criminal defense. The accused is a person. Usually, the accused has family and friends that care about him/her regardless of what the allegations might be. A good criminal defense attorney recognizes this and tries to nurture a relationship with the client and his/her family in order to better serve the client. While it might not be in the book definition of criminal defense, it is my book regarding criminal defense that people need to be treated right and that starts with honesty and integrity in discussions about the case and treating people with dignity and respect they deserve for being human (regardless of what they are accused of or may or may not have done).

Banned!

When dealing with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Parler, these apps and computer services are owned and operated by private companies. Although these applications have created a public forum for all sorts of speech, these applications are not operated by the local, state, or federal governments. In fact, these apps are exclusively run by private companies.
Being private companies, these entities can change and alter what types of speech will or will not be tolerated. Contrary to popular sentiment, private companies can limit, restrict, or outright ban certain speech, topics, or speakers.

Justified or Excused? The Basics of “Affirmative Defenses” in Criminal Cases in Florida

An “affirmative defense” is a defense which admits the cause of action, but avoids liability, in whole or in part, by alleging an excuse, justification, or other matter negating or limiting liability. In layman’s terms, “I did it, but my act is justified or excused.” If the defense is accepted by the jury, then the verdict must be “not guilty” because the entire criminal act is excused or justified (and, therefore, legally negated). If the defense is not accepted, the accused has admitted to all the elements of the offense (and usually convicted him or herself).

You don’t say … or maybe you did. A brief explanation of witness impeachment by prior inconsistent statement.

The ability to impeach a witness is a trial skill that is perfected over time. It should not be undertaken lightly because a butchered impeachment of a key witness at trial can spectacularly backfire and unintentionally bolster the credibility of the witness. Although the principles of impeachment can be easily learned through studying caselaw, impeachment is better understood in practice and requires years to master. Watching an attorney perform a skillful impeachment is like watching a master craftsman carve a magnificent statute out of a single block of granite. It is akin to an artform. As with many trial skills, the more trial experience an attorney has, the better the attorney usually is at impeaching a witness. In this regard, there are no substitutes for trial experience and trial preparation.

Huh? There’s No “Form” Objection???

Many seasoned Florida practitioners are surprised to learn that the often standard, non-specific, “objection to the form of the question” or simply, “objection, form,” is legally insufficient to preserve an evidentiary objection for trial or review, and, therefore, useless.