Z Law Firm

On December 11, 2015, an Orlando man was arrested for a felony charge of Possession of Methamphetamine .   The resulted from a traffic stop as the Orlando man was exiting an Orlando area 7-11.   Orlando police officers claimed that they had stopped the man’s vehicle for failing to come to complete stop as he was exiting the convenience store parking lot. According to the arrest affidavit, Orlando Police Officer Shelby Riggs-Hopkins wrote that she “observed in plain view a rock like substance on the floor board where his feet were.”   When questioned about what was found, the man advised that what she was looking at was sugar from a Krispy Kreme donut.   This eleven-year veteran of the Orlando Police Department retrieved the observed substance and conducted a field test.   The substance produced a positive result for amphetamines.   When questioned further about the substance, the 64-year old man advised Officer Riggs-Hopkins that the substance was...

It has long stood in the State of Florida that anyone over the age of 18-years who was charged with and convicted on a violation of Chapter 893, Florida Statutes, was subject to having their driving privileges suspended for a period of two-years. That meant that anyone who was convicted of possession or sale of, trafficking in, or conspiracy to possess, sell, or traffic in a controlled substance was subject to the two-year suspension.   However, now following the 2014 Legislative Session, we have seen a change that can be found in the wording of Florida Statute §322.055 that details the license revocation period for persons over the age of 18 who have been convicted of alcohol, drug and tobacco offenses. Now, if you are over the age of 18 and are convicted of a violation of Chapter 893, Florida Statutes, you are now subject to a license suspension of one-year. www.zlawfirmfl.com  

The Fourth Amendment is still alive.   In a unanimous decision (9 – 0 for those of you keeping score), the United States Supreme Court held that law enforcement may not search the cell phones of criminal suspects upon arrest without a warrant.   The justices said smart phones and other electronic devices were not in the same category as wallets, briefcases, and vehicles -- all currently subject to limited initial examination by law enforcement. The issue arose following the arrests and subsequent conviction of defendants in Massachusetts and California.   In these cases, United States v. Wurie , No. 13-212 and Riley v. California , No. 13-132, the defendants were convicted, in part, after phone numbers, text messages, photos and addresses obtained from personal electronic devices linked them to drug and gang activity.   Those cases were appealed to the high court, giving it an opportunity to re-enter the public debate over the limits of privacy rights, with...

The issue of whether you can be charged with both misdemeanor driving while license suspended in violation of section 322.34(2) and felony driving while license suspended in violation of section 322.34(5).  This issue was addressed in Pedro Gil v. State of Florida, No. SC11-1983 (July 11, 2013).   On October 6, 2009, Pedro Gil was stopped in Miami-Dade County for speeding. Gil informed the officer that his driver’s license was suspended, and Gil was then arrested. For purposes of this case, the arrest report listed the following charges: driving with a suspended license (DWLS), in violation of section 322.34.   On October 27, 2009, Gil pled nolo contendere to the misdemeanor DWLS charge in a county court and was adjudged guilty of this charge. Gil was sentenced to six months’ probation and two hundred hours of community service, plus the payment of $358. On the same day, the State Attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit filed an information that charged Gil with ...