What is Mens Rea?
Mens Rea is the mental element of an individual’s intent to commit a crime. It can also be expressed as the knowledge that a particular act would result in a crime being committed.
Why is Mens Rea significant if I have been accused of a crime?
When Should You File a Post Conviction Relief Motion in Florida?
A motion for post conviction relief is a motion that is filed after an individual is convicted of a crime where the court is being asked to relieve a person from their conviction. The following grounds may be used as the reason for filing:
February 14, 2018 is a day that will never be forgotten when a gunman by the name of Nikolas Cruz opened fire devasting Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida killing 17 students and injuring multiple staff members. Scot Peterson was an armed officer at the school at the time of the shooting. Peterson found himself caught in the middle when he was criminally charged with the inability to take action in the protection of students and staff members.
Peterson was admitted into Broward County Jail and was charged with eleven counts of second- and third-degree felony neglect of a child (F.S 827.03) and a second-degree misdemeanor of culpable negligence (F.S. 784.05). As to neglect of a child, the State must prove failure or omission to provide a child with care, supervision, and services necessary to maintain the child’s physical and mental health as well as the failure of reasonable effort to protect a child from abuse, neglect, or exploitation by another person. To convict on misdemeanor culpable negligence, the State must prove exposure to personal injury. During the school shooting, Peterson allegedly retreated to safety instead of taking action against the gunman when shots were fired. Shortly after the incident, Peterson obtained a bad reputation and was nicknamed “the Coward of Broward,” leaving families in an uproar about his failed negligence. Mr. Peterson stated that he continuously replays the shooting over in his head and is quoted as saying, “There wasn’t even time to think, it was my job and I couldn’t find him (the gunman).”
The charges that were filed against Mr. Peterson are not typical; it is very unusual for law enforcement to be held criminally liable for not protecting the public. Constitutional law, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, does not generally provide for the public to have the right to expect the police to protect against harm. The charges against Peterson in regard to the neglect of a child and culpable negligence is not specifically for law enforcement and is usually applied to parents. This case brings into question what this may mean for other officers and how school officers may need to re-evaluate how to respond in these situations. The critical question that still stands is whether Peterson had a constitutional duty to protect the children from the actions of Cruz.
National headlines were made when the wife of former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover was arrested for domestic violence battery and resisting arrest in St. Johns County, Florida on May 13, 2018. The altercation allegedly occurred after Lucas Glover missed the 54-hole cut at The Players Championship. Lucas Glover told authorities that his wife gets violent every time he does not play well in a major PGA Tournament. There were allegedly visible injuries on Lucas Glover and his mother. Krista Glover faces a court date on May 31, 2018 and was released on a $2,500 bond.
Krista Glover is charged under F.S. 784.03 which states the offense of battery occurs when a person:
1) actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other; or
Florida Statutes § 775.21, also known as the Florida Sexual Predators Act, was established by the Florida Legislature to implement a strategy on how to deal with repeat sexual offenders, sexual offenders who use violence, and sexual offenders who prey on children. Essentially, this strategy includes ensuring decisions to release sexual predators due to prison overcrowding are not made, providing for specialized supervision of sexual predators who are in the community by specially trained probation officers with low caseloads, requiring the registration of sexual predators with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, providing for public notification concerning the presence of sexual predators, and prohibiting sexual predators from working with children.
Offenders that must be designated as “sexual predator” include offenders convicted of:
William Kuckuck v. State of Florida, 43 Fla.L.Weekly D80b (5th DCA 2017) involves a defendant, William Kuckuck, who was convicted of violating Florida Statutes section 847.0135(3)(b), by knowingly using a computer on-line service, internet service, or other similar device to solicit a person believed to be a parent of a minor child to obtain their consent to engage in unlawful sexual conduct with the child and of violating section 847.0135(4)(b) for traveling to meet the minor child to engage in unlawful sexual conduct after solicitation.
The arrest came about after an FBI Agent posed as the father of 11 and 9 year old daughters and posted an ad on Craigslist seeking “taboo” experiences for his “daughters.” Kuckuck responded by email and engaged in explicit communication regarding sexual conduct that Kuckuck sought to engage in with the “daughters” on July 14, 2016 and sought consent from the “father” on July 15, 2016. On July 15, 2016, Kuckuck traveled to have sex with the “daughters” and was arrested.
There were two counts filed by the State of Florida; for his solicitation on July 14, 2016 and his traveling after solicitation on July 15, 2016. Kuckuck argued that double jeopardy applied and prohibited a conviction on the solicitation count because the conviction would be based upon the same acts as the traveling charge and was subsumed in the traveling count.
A grandmother in Saint Augustine, Florida worked with her granddaughter to create green flames in their jack-o-lantern for Halloween, according to Jacksonville.com. The pumpkin ended up being an explosive, rather than the awesome Halloween prop they probably intended. Sixty-two (62) year old Wanda Michelle Reyna and her seven (7) year old granddaughter had apparently been inspired by a Youtube video, which gave instructions on how to create the green flames. The green flames would have been a very cool effect if it were not for the minor accident that took place.
The Youtube video gave a recipe to combine household chemicals as a way to create the green fire. In a 911 called the grandmother placed as the seven year old screamed in the background, the grandmother frantically explained that the chemicals got on the child. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the chemicals were burning at the time. The little girl was thrown in the pool to put out the reportedly minor flames. She had to be taken to the hospital to be treated for her burns. As a Florida criminal defense attorney and Florida family law attorney, a few scary possibilities come to mind. Being prepared for the possibilities of what may come is important for a Florida attorney.
Criminal Law Implications
Take a look at the picture above. Is there anything that troubles you about this picture? I’m bothered by the distance between the adult and the two small children that are walking several feet behind the man. Even more troubling is the time and place that this occurs. This picture was taken about 8:20 a.m. near the intersection of Philips Highway and University Boulevard on a Monday morning as I drove to my office. By the time the man made it to the intersection, he did finally stop and wait for the children. However, I wondered if he would have simply kept going if traffic had allowed him to continue.
As a Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer, I sometimes find it hard to look at the world surrounding me and not break out into a legal analysis of situations that I encounter from time-to-time. When it comes to situations that involve children, I suppose I wear my father hat and my Jacksonville criminal defense attorney hat at the same time. I immediately began to consider all the reasons why what I was seeing was an incredibly bad idea. I was actually proud that my feelings as a parent dominated my thoughts as a Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer; my thoughts on how I could defend this man were second to my thoughts of “what in the [insert expletive of your choice here] were you thinking?”
Florida Statute 827.03 defines neglect as follows:
“Neglect of a child” means:
1. A caregiver’s failure or omission to provide a child with the care, supervision, and services necessary to maintain the child’s physical and mental health, including, but not limited to, food, nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical services that a prudent person would consider essential for the well-being of the child; or 2. A caregiver’s failure to make a reasonable effort to protect a child from abuse, neglect, or exploitation by another person.
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As a Jacksonville criminal defense attorney, brazen acts committed in front of authority figures are like nails on a chalk board. Perhaps the only things that could be worse for a Jacksonville criminal defense attorney are videos of the offense and confessions. Recently at Jacksonville’s Wolfson High School, 18 year old Chynna Cinnamon Thompson allegedly attacked another student and the Dean of Discipline, Joshua Kristol, when he tried to intervene. According to firstcoastnews.com, both acts took place in front of a school resource officer. Thompson was arrested for misdemeanor battery, as well as, battery on a school employee.
Battery occurs when someone intentionally touches or strikes another person against the person’s will or intentionally causes bodily harm to another person. Battery is typically a 1st degree misdemeanor, but under Florida law, when certain classes of people become victims of a battery, the offense is automatically reclassified as a felony. In the case of a school board employee, as we have here, the battery is reclassified a 3rd degree felony. Felony offenses, by definition, are offenses where a person can be imprisoned for more than one year. In these cases, hiring an experienced Jacksonville criminal defense attorney to defend you or loved one is important.
Battery on a school board employee is punishable by up to five years in Florida State Prison, while a simple misdemeanor battery can have a punishment up to one year in jail. This puts Thompson in jeopardy of spending up to six years behind bars. However, based on the limited information available to the public and the apparent lack of any serious injuries in this case, it is unlikely that Thompson will be sent to prison, but the boldness required to launch an attack in font of a school resource officer will most certainly be of great concern to the State Attorney’s Office and the presiding judge.
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Another NFL player has made headlines due to alleged physical violence. Minnesota Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson, has been indicted in Texas for child abuse. Peterson allegedly spanked his four-year old son until the child bled. According to cnn.com, Peterson sent text messages to the boy’s mother saying that Peterson felt bad about what he’s done. Peterson went on to text, “Never do I go overboard! But all my kids will know, hey daddy has the biggie heart but don’t play no games when it comes to acting right.” However, photographs of the child’s alleged injuries demonstrate that Peterson may, in fact, have gone overboard. Most disturbing is that Peterson was previously accused of abusing another four-year old son of his, reports espn.go.com.
As a Jacksonville criminal defense attorney, I’ve defended clients charged with child abuse pursuant to Florida statute 827.03 in varying degrees. Child abuse in Florida, at a minimum, is a third degree felony that could land an accused in prison for up to five years, but can be charged as a first degree felony, which is punishable by up to thirty years.
Child abuse is committed when a person intentionally causes physical or emotional injuries to a child. Any intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in a physical or mental injury will be enough, even when there was no apparent desire to cause the resulting harm. The “should have known better” aspect gets many parents into trouble, especially since those that will be passing judgment will be doing so unaffected by the emotion that triggered the alleged excessive discipline.
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Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog