Florida Criminal Defense Blog

Diane Katz Santarelli, from St. Johns, began serving a 364-day sentence this week, after having been found guilty of hosting an open house party that led to the death of two teens. The sentence was the maximum allowable for the two misdemeanor which Judge Richard O. Watson found her guilty of. [Read more...]

The blue-ribbon panel tasked with taking steps to prevent future wrongful convictions is looking at the use of jailhouse informants and considering taking steps to ensure they are a reliable source of information. [Read more...]

In an extensive investigation by the Herald-Tribune, we get a very close look at how the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, designed to discipline officers accused of violations, may be sheltering the problem officers instead. The reason could be that the commission is filled with union representatives and members, who are notoriously interested in protecting police officers no matter the violation they are accused of. [Read more...]

In an eight month period eight black men were shot and killed by officers of the Miami police department. While many within the community saw this as a problem worth looking into, it’s taken a bit longer to get the attention of officials. Last week, however, the Department of Justice announced it would be looking into the shootings to determine the cause. [Read more...]

The “Occupy” movement is in full swing in Tampa, where news reports of protester-police relationships are varied, interesting, and often conflicting. Conflicting reports about Occupy movements across the country are not surprising as the mainstream media doesn’t seem to know how to handle the protests that don’t resemble any other movement of recent years. [Read more...]

The Tallahassee based Florida Innocence Commission has begun a new study, this one to analyze statewide interrogation tactics in an effort to limit false confessions and wrongful convictions. Earlier this year, the group completed a study on eyewitness questioning, a study that led to statewide policy. They are hoping this study goes in the same direction. [Read more...]