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Miami-Dade protecting renters from homelessness.

An ongoing and escalating issue in Miami-Dade County is the sky rocketing increase in housing. Residents in Miami have been seeing their rent increase between $500 to even $1000 more. Effective March 25th, 2022, a new Miami Dade Ordinance will now require landlords to give their tenants at least a 60 day written notice when increasing their rent by more than 5% and it extends notices of rental termination of month-to-month rent from 15 days to 30 days. This is extremely important and prominent to tenants who have been suffering financially from these blindsiding rent increases. Read More

Marsy’s Law- Victim’s Rights

The United States Constitution highlights and outlines the rights that any accused and convicted individual has within our criminal justice system. However, an aspect of the criminal justice system that is not as profiled as the defendants rights is the rights given to the victim of a crime.

The primary goal of Marsy’s Law is to ensure that the victim is granted the same rights as the perpetrator of the crime. Read More

Bill Cosby set free from prison.

Bill Cosby is out of prison and his conviction is overturned. Why? In 2005, then Montgomery District Attorney decided not to file charges against Bill Cosby for the alleged sexual assault against Andrea Constandt. He issued a press release stating that no criminal charges would be filed against Mr. Cosby. This decision not to criminally prosecute stripped away Mr. Cosby’s Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination when he was deposed in the civil case that Andrea Constandt filed against him. Mr. Cosby, relying on the promise of non- prosecution and compelled by a civil order to testify, incriminated himself in four separate civil depositions. Thereafter, despite the publicly issued promise of non-prosecution, the original district attorney’s successor filed criminal charges against Mr. Cosby and used his incriminating civil deposition testimony against him in a criminal trial resulting in a conviction. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that this violated Mr. Cosby’s fundamental due process rights. The court overturned his conviction barring any further prosecution of Mr. Cosby and ordered his immediate release. Read More

Bill Cosby released from prison early and conviction overturned.

I just bought a house in Miami which has squatters. Can I get them out even with the moratorium?

Yes, you certainly can get him out via the Ejectment process. This is a circuit court cause of action wherein the lawful owner petitions the court to grant a final judgment of ejectment on the squatter and the clerk, in turn, issues a writ of possession. The sheriff serves the writ of possession and executes it to remove the squatter. While the moratorium is still in existence here in Miami Dade County, it does not apply to squatters which means the sheriff’s will physically remove them. The question is whether the owner wants to pay the expedited fee for removal or park in the long cue created by Covid. Read More

You obtained an eviction in Miami against your non-paying renter, now what?

Under normal circumstances in Miami, the order that the judge signs granting an eviction judgment against your non-paying tenant states “Let all writs of possession issue”. What this is basically is an order to the clerk’s office to submit a writ of possession to the Sheriff’s office who then executes the writ. A writ of possession is a document that entitled possession of a property back to its lawful owner and removal of a tenant with no ownership or legal interest in the property. Unfortunately we are not living under normal circumstances any longer, and these days in Miami, a writ of possession is pretty much worthless. Read More

Evicting a tenant for non-payment of rent in Florida.

Evicting a tenant for non-payment of rent in Florida is a multi-step process. Florida Statute Section 83.56 is the controlling law in residential evictions. This article provides you with step by step instructions on how to evict your tenant and get possession of your real estate back in your hands!

THREE DAY NOTICE WHEN EVICTING A TENANT FOR NON-PAYMENT OF RENT IN FLORIDA

The first question to ask is why are you evicting your tenant? There are many reasons, but this article will focus only on evicting a tenant for non-payment of rent in Florida. A Three Day Notice is the first document you need to create and post on the tenant’s door. Use a process server to post this document to insure proper notice. This document is statute specific pursuant to Fl. Statute Section 83.56 and must state as follows: Read More

The Difference Between Battery and Aggravated Battery in Florida Criminal Court

Simple Battery in Florida

If you have been arrested in Florida for battery, your first concern should be whether the battery you are charged with is “simple” or “aggravated”. If the battery is simple, this means that you touched a person against their will without any sort of weapon; that person was not over 65 or pregnant; and the injury, if any, that occurred was not permanent. For example, a simple battery occurs when John Smith punches Bob Jones in the face with his fist and only causes a temporary black eye. The Florida Statute to refer to for simple battery is Florida Statute section 784.03 Read More

Can A Domestic Violence Victim Drop Charges?

In short, the answer is legally no, but indirectly yes.

First of all, important to note is what exactly is domestic violence. In Florida, Domestic Violence means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member. Florida Statutes 741 and specifically 741.28 define domestic violence in Florida. Read More

I’ve Been Arrested in Florida: What Should I Do Now?

Maybe you were minding your own business. It could have been an accident. Regardless of why you were arrested in Florida, you need to understand that how you act moving forward can have an impact on your case. Things can go smoothly if you do things the right way.

Every citizen should know what to do and what not to do after being arrested because it CAN happen to anyone. The following contains some general advice about how to behave and steps to take after being arrested.

Things You Should Do after You’ve Been Arrested in Florida

First, know what you need to do in the minutes and hours that follow your arrest. Understanding how to interact with police what to be aware of will help ensure that your rights are not violated as well as keep you from getting into more trouble. Here are some essential things to do:

Aside from stating calmly that you are invoking your right to remain silent, do not communicate with police.

Always be polite to police and follow their instructions.

As soon as possible, ask for your attorney. Do not say anything until you’ve had a chance to discuss events with your attorney.

Ask that your attorney be present for any questioning, lineups, or medical tests, such as bloodwork.

Memorize the badge numbers of the officers you interacted with during the arrest.

If any deals are mentioned, let your attorney do the talking.

If you were injured at any point during your interaction with police, photograph the injuries as soon as possible. Ask for medical attention.

Think of who witnessed the arrest or any alleged activity. Try to obtain their contact information.