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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.

Leaving the Scene of an Accident: What Does Florida Law Require?

While South Florida public transportation is getting better with each passing year, the majority of people still use their own private vehicles to get from place to place. Most of the people I know have been involved in at least one fender bender within the last few years. What most people do not know is that, even if it is the slightest of the slightest fender benders, everyone is required, pursuant to Florida law, to stay on scene and call the police to make an accident report. By leaving the scene of an accident, one could be subject to criminal penalties and civil litigation.

Florida Statute Section 316.061 and 316.062 mandate that the driver of any vehicle involved in a crash resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property shall immediately stop and provide their name, address, registration number, and driver’s license to the other driver or police officer. Failure to do so results in a misdemeanor of the second degree, which carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail. Normally this type of penalty is never enforced in South Florida due to the overabundance of cases in our heavily populated jurisdictions. However, in other counties within our conservative state, this type of penalty may be enforced for first-time offenders.

Leaving the Scene of an Accident: Exceptions

Of course, exceptions to rules always exist. For example, Florida Statute Section 316.064 permits a driver who is physically incapable of making a report to contact law enforcement within 10 days of the accident. I have had a case where the driver suffered a concussion and left his vehicle unattended after crashing into a wall. After providing a medical record to law enforcement and contacting them within 10 days of the accident, my client’s charges were dropped. Another case involved a client who was fearful for her life because the drivers with whom she was involved in the accident were screaming profanities and acting aggressively towards her. She contacted law enforcement within ten days and her charges were also dropped.

While an experienced attorney can assist in resolving criminal charges for leaving the scene of an accident, it is much better to not even reach this point. The important thing to remember, even with the smallest crash, is that it is in your best interest to call the police and have the officer write up an accident report. This avoids potential criminal charges and prevents the other driver from fabricating evidence for a civil personal injury suit.

Criminal Defense Attorney: An Unforgettable Case

One of the cases that I’ll never forget involves a young client of mine who was involved in a situation that anybody can get involved in. My name is Marcia Hansen, and I’m a criminal defense attorney here in Miami, Florida.

So one of the cases involves a client of mine who was charged with aggravated battery. Aggravated battery is a third-degree felony, and my client was facing five years in state prison. He went to a bar and he drank a lot like most twenty-year-olds do, having a good time. He ended up getting a little too boisterous and loud.

The staff told him to leave. He didn’t leave. He continued having a good time, so the staff decided to physically escort him out. According to my client, they crossed the line and they roughed him up a little bit too much. Unfortunately, in his drunken stupor, he decided to defend himself. He ended up throwing a punch at one of the bouncers, but that bouncer had very good reflexes. My client’s fist ended up landing in the face of the owner. So the owner fell flat on his face and was left unconscious. Somebody there called the police, so they immediately heard from the witnesses, and they ended up arresting my client.

So here we have a young man who’s never been arrested in his life facing five years in state prison. He decided it was time to get a criminal defense attorney, and he was referred to me. And I did what I do in every one of my cases. I basically dissected every single evidence that the state claimed they had and tried to find out if they had any corroborating evidence or information to support what they were claiming against my client.

The first thing that I did is I looked into all of the state’s discovery, and I saw that there were about ten witnesses confirming that he actually did hit the man, and allegedly, medical records showing that the injury was pretty bad. I didn’t have the medical records and I decided, you know I think it’s important that I get the medical records to actually corroborate what the state is saying.

And that’s how I’ve learned in my experience is the way to attack a criminal defense case as a criminal defense attorney. You always dissect what the state has, and you usually see yourself chipping away at their evidence, and you usually get a good result for your client.

Criminal Defense Attorney: An Example of What We Do

I found out that the prosecutor was offering three years state prison because the injury was allegedly severe. So I did some research. And I found out that a severe injury is something that is permanent, that requires surgery. So I said, well, where are the medical records? Let me see if this is a severe injury.

The only medical records I got after going in front of the judge because the prosecutor refused to provide them to me was a bunch of bills and nothing else. So there I chipped away at the state’s “severe injury” case. And it became, really, just a punch in somebody’s face. And I also put together a huge mitigation packet with a bunch of witness statements and a lot of information about how great my client was. This was his first arrest, and we ended up receiving a much better deal to close the case out.

So from a person who was facing five years in state prison, he got one year probation. No conviction, and his probation was early terminated. To me, the cards were stacked against him, which most of my clients are facing that. I always just chip away at the state’s case like I did in this case, and I’m really proud of what I did for him because I see he now has a life, whereas he could have been in prison.

I’m Marcia Hansen of the Hansen Law Firm. If you or someone you know needs a criminal defense attorney, don’t hesitate to call me.