Whenever administrations change, may they be presidential or otherwise, it is very likely that the new administration will have a different approach or strategy than the previous one. That's a not-so-veiled comment about the current political climate in our country, but politics aside, the sentiment does hold true. Now, why do we bring this up on criminal defense blog?
Crime rates are down, but the accused are still in a bad spot
One of the facts that may get lost in a lot of the spectacle of the last year in U.S. politics is that crime rates have actually declined over the last quarter-century. And actually, that doesn't quite get the sentiment across. Crime rates have been plummeting since 1993. According to FBI data, from 1993 to 2015 the number of violent crimes per 100,000 residents in the U.S. has fallen from 747.1 to 372.6.
Evidence vault hit by explosion, cases hang in the balance
An interesting story from up the coast has caught the eye of many in the criminal defense world. An evidence vault at a Washington D.C. police station was the site of an explosion that "significantly" damaged 150 packets of evidence out of the 52,000 that were there. Officials still aren't sure at this time what caused the explosion, but an investigation has been launched. One person was injured in the explosion. Officials are coordinating with prosecutors to determine if cases have been undermined as a result of the lost evidence.
A world without internet is impossible to imagine now
The internet has become a fundamental element of everyday life, so much so that it is hard to remember life without it. How did you meet up with friends before you had cellphones and texting connected on a 4G or WiFi network? Where did you get your information before there was Wikipedia and Google? How did you stay in touch with your friends and family that lived so far away?
The details of drug cases are crucial
One of the stereotypes about drug charges is that "they're all the same." Every drug offender is "the same." The cases proceed in "the same" way. The people who read about these cases think "the same" way about the alleged perpetrators: more poignantly that they are probably guilty even though the person alleged to have committed the crime has his or her presumption of innocence until proven otherwise.
Largest heroin bust in Hernando County has a unique twist
On January 27, a total of 5,000 individual packets containing heroin were seized by the Hernando County Sheriff's Department. A related package of 550 packets was intercepted in May 2016 through the U.S. Postal Service. With a combined weight of 3.3 lbs, this has been called the largest bust in Hernando County history.
Found cocaine leads to fisherman on brink of lifetime in jail
You may not have heard the story of Thomas Zachary Breeding before, but it is a cautionary tale about drug charges and proactively protecting yourself in difficult legal situations. Breeding was a fisherman who had run-ins with the law before his infamous moment in 2016.
Numerous charges for man accused of selling drugs near school
A man from Cape Coral, Florida was arrested on drug charges recently after a SWAT raid executed a search warrant of his premises, turning up numerous drugs and tens of thousands of dollars in money stashed around the house. The man is being held on $180,000 bond at the Lee County Jail.
