South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In these hard economic times it is a welcome gift for criminal defendants in Fort Lauderdale jails to be offered GPS bracelets and let out of jail without posting bail. The Pre-Trial Release Program, originally intended for indigent defendants, has broadened itself to embrace criminal defendants who have the financial resources to pay for their bond. The explosive growth of the government financed program has become the focus of a major political struggle. Supporters of expanding Pre-Trial Release are maligning Bail and Bond agents who insist they can do the job of getting criminal defendants to court for less money. Bond Agents say Pre-Trial Release should be pared back and limited to indigents only. State Senator John Thrasher (Republican from Jacksonville) has introduced a controversial bill in the Florida Senate that will curtail Pre-Trial Release. The bill would limit the program to the indigent. National Public Radio shined a national spotlight on this issue in a radio report aired in late January 2010 which did little to calm the waters. The broadcast inflamed the already heated fight by allegedly airing false statistics about the program’s success rate and cost.

The chief law enforcement officer of the Federal Government (our protectors/masters in DC) Attorney General Eric Holder announced his marching orders: Arrest all those who commit “economic crimes”. In his speech to the National Sheriffs’ Association’s at their 2010 Winter Conference he set out on his warpath to end economic crimes. (He omitted to address bankers and stock brokers). In his speech he said the Feds plan ….”To give particular emphasis to initiatives aimed at tackling economic crime, international organized crime, youth violence and the exploitation of children. “South Florida criminal lawyers, like your host, have been inundated with mortgage fraud, credit card fraud and identify theft cases. In fact the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor has a staff working fulltime on prosecuting mortgage fraud cases.

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Here are a few questions to ask when you are interviewing to hire a federal criminal lawyer:
1. Does he/she have a PACER CM/ECF number? If the answer is “what’s a PACER CM/ECF number? Hang up the phone and call the next lawyer on your list.
2. Does he/she have a subscription to the publication ‘Florida Law Weekly Federal’, it’s expensive and most lawyers won’t pay the $500.00 yearly cost, but if he/she doesn’t read it weekly then he/she is definitely NOT on top the law and federal criminal law IS CONSTANTLY changing.
3. How many federal cases are active in his/her office? Most competent and active federal criminal lawyers have, at a minimum, five active cases in federal court. Don’t bother to ask their success at trial because most federal trials end up in conviction because federal courts have become famous for railroading defendants into convictions.

Winning in a federal criminal prosecution is only a possibility if your federal criminal lawyer is a wiz on procedure, can nail evidentiary issues hard and fast, and has earned the respect (and fear) of Assistant United States Attorneys in the local federal criminal courts. Power in Federal court is earned by fighting and winning motions and procedural issues. Federal court can be a sinkhole if your Florida criminal lawyer isn’t a real federal criminal lawyer, and that means in court, in front of judges and dealing with federal court cases in a significant number of cases. At a minimum it should be 30% of a criminal lawyer’s practice before they can be a real federal criminal lawyer and not a local lawyer trying to grab-off a case that is beyond their capabilities.

Federal criminal lawyers must be current with the explosive increase of Federal criminal laws, federal criminal procedures, federal criminal evidence and the inscrutable PACER Federal online document filing system. It is almost impossible to be an effective and competent lawyer in federal court unless the attorney devotes significant ongoing time keeping current with federal criminal law. Federal court is hobbled by arcane procedural rules, almost Byzantine local rules that overlay the federal criminal rules and procedures, and……it gets worse…... THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ON PAGE TWO....

Continue reading "What Is A Federal Criminal Attorney?" »

Probation is a sentence, not a condition of pre-trial release or bond. If you have been placed on probation by a Judge in Florida you need to read and understand the standard conditions of probation. The standard provisions of probation in Florida appear in Florida Statute 948. [Press HERE to go to the statute]. A violation of probation is a serious matter. Most probationers in Florida violate at one point in the term of their probation. If you are on probation and have any questions that are not answered clearly by your probation officer call

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Federal criminal defense attorneys in Florida appear before the federal district courts in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Federal criminal prosecutions require defense lawyers who are skilled in federal criminal practice, know the law and statues for federal crimes, have defended white collar crimes such as mortgage fraud, money laundering, cash transaction reporting statutes, wire fraud, federal drug trafficking and drug possession law, know the federal evidence code and federal criminal court rules. A Florida federal criminal lawyer, to be effective, should know federal criminal laws backward and forward: something that comes from years in federal criminal courts. Federal criminal lawyers learn their skills by appearing in federal criminal courts, defending those accused of federal crimes in Florida and out of Florida. [this article continues on page 2 ]

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Published first in 2008 by BookMasters, my book is the book you need to own, I know because I wrote it for you, not for me or my vanity (?). CAN THE POLICE LIE TO ME? is 218 pages of pure information on criminal law, prosecutors and police. The book has one paragraph definitions of the fifty most-charged crimes in Florida: from A to Z. Distilled into plain English it is direct, concise and easy to read. The book then goes into a question and answer format. I have assembled the 100 questions I hear from my clients. It starts with the realization that "CAN THE POICE LIE TO ME?" And the answer is YES. Each question is one sentence and each answer is limited to one page. This is a great first step for students, teachers and citizens to know enough about criminal law to get along in this world. If you read the book and have a question just call me. I'll answer your questions; whether about criminal law in Florida or if you have been arrested and need to know how to defend yourself. Availaable from Amazon or from me in my office (I usually provide copies for my clients to read).

Many people ask me how I would go about hiring a criminal lawyer. I found a very helpful and brief article (two paragraphs) which I want you to read [GO TO ARTICLE PRESS HERE]. Now that you've read it here's some additional advice... ( continued on second page)...

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This will get your blood pressure up for sure. If you are arrested you can be tried in a federal court under a federal criminal statute, OR the jurisdiction (State) in which you were arrested. Yep! Double jeopardy? No, the law says its not double jeopardy, but many don’t agree. Being a federal criminal lawyer means specializing in federal criminal trial rules, evidence and procedures. Federal criminal charges come from the federal criminal code (title 18) and differ from (for example) Florida criminal laws and rules. If you are arrested and charged in federal court your first need is pre-trial release: for that you are brought before a federal magistrate. Federal criminal courts have several pre-trial release methods, from standard monetary bonds to corporate surety bonds, personal surety bonds, or stipulated agreements between the United States Attorney and your federal criminal lawyer. Rules of court vary from federal criminal district (Southern District of Florida vs. Middle District of Florida) and from region to region. If you have been arrested in South Florida and are in the preliminary pre-filing stage: are the feds going to “pick up the charges” or the State of Florida?? There are many things your South Florida federal criminal lawyer can do to help you. Call Ralph Behr for a free consultation.

When the economy goes 'south', some crimes go through the roof! Identity theft, always a major problem, is again making headlines and on YOUR dime! (dollar??).
The Attorney General of Florida has posted an identify theft protection kit, which I highly recommend. Press on identify therft and it will take you to the webpage.
Credit card fraud, bank fraud, falsification of credit information....all is increasing in frequency, and your South Florida criminal lawyer sees it every day! To protect yourself from identify theft follow some basic sensible precautions. First; keep your (article continues on page two)

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Anyone arrested in South Florida (Fort Lauderdale or any community in Broward County) is brought before a Magistrate and bail (bond is bail) is set, (or denied) according to the type of crime charged and the persons’ personal situation. The bail or bond sets conditions and/or the money which must be posted for release. Once released from incarceration, you are free to go home. (the article continues....go to page 2)

Continue reading "Bail Bonds: The How’s and What’s about Bond and Bail in Fort Lauderdale " »

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Our next competitor is China. Here are the numbers for the USA:
-Over 7 million people are in prison, probation or parole
-With 5% of the world’s population the USA has 25% of the world’s incarcerated
-70% of US prisoners are “non-white”
-1 of 3 non-whites males between 20 and 29 years of age are in prison or parole
-In Federal prisons 57% are in on drug related charges
-93% of prisoners are male

In Broward Count Florida (composed of Fort Lauderdale, Pompano, Davie, Weston, Hollywood, Coral Springs, etc)
-in 2008 there were over 90,000 arrests