Articles Posted in Evidence

In Jacksonville, Florida, if a driver is placed under arrest and the vehicle he is driving is impounded, the vehicle is usually searched as part of an inventory search. An inventory search is an exception to the rule that requires Jacksonville police officers to have a warrant before conducting a search. With a Jacksonville Florida Inventory Search, a police officer may search a vehicle without a warrant if the it was lawfully seized and “a search conducted for the purpose of making an inventory of the contents of an automobile.” State v. Jenkins, 319 So. 2d 91, 93 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). However, an “‘inventory” search will be unreasonable if it is utilized as a pretext to conduct an ‘exploratory’ search in order to hunt for incriminating evidence.” Id.

It is important to note that warrantless searches are considered unreasonable and violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution as applied to the States, including Florida, through the Fourteenth Amendment. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 454-55 (1971). Although an inventory search is a well-established exception to the warrant requirement in Florida, the state attorney, not the Jacksonville Criminal Defendant, has the burden to prove that an exception to the warrant requirement applies. Hilton v. State, 961 So. 2d 284, 296 (Fla. 2007); Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367, 371 (1987).

In Kilburn v. State, 36 Fla. L. Weekly D394b (Fla. 1st DCA 2011), the Florida First District Court of Appeals ruled that a Florida inventory search of a vehicle was invalid. See Florida Court Rules that Police Officers Cannot Search Every Vehicle Impounded by Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer.

Florida’s Williams Rule has certain procedural requirements that must be followed before evidence of a Jacksonville Criminal Defendant’s bad acts or wrong doings can be admitted in a jury trial. The State Attorney must file his or her Notice if Intent to Offer Similar Fact or Williams Rule Evidence. This notice must be filed at least 10 days before trial, and it must particularly describe the acts that the State plans on entering into evidence a trial. The Jacksonville Criminal Defendant is entitled to a hearing on the admissibility of the character evidence. If the evidence is admitted, the jury must be instructed about the limited reason for the introduction of the Williams Rule evidence. They must be told that they cannot convict the defendant based upon another offense. Instead, he or she cannot only be conviced of the crime for which he or she is charged.

If you have been charged with a crime in Jacksonville, Florida, it is important to make sure evidence of prior bad acts are not admitted in your jury trial. The jury is instructed that they are not to consider evidence of a Jacksonville criminal defendant’s prior bad acts as evidence that the defendant committed the crime that he is charged with. However, once the jury hears the evidence, it is hard to ask them to disregard it as evidence of the defendant’s bad character. Therefore, it is important for a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer to exclude this character evidence.

In a Jacksonville criminal jury trial, a Jacksonville criminal defendant’s prior crimes or wrong-doings usually cannot be used against him or her. The State Attorney cannot present evidence tending to show a Jacksonville criminal defendant’s bad character if he or she is using the evidence to prove that the criminal defendant acted in conformity with his bad character on a particular occassion.

Section 90.404(2)(a), Florida Evidence Code, governs the admissibilty of a criminal defendant’s character evidence. Normally, evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is inadmissible, but it is admissible if is is “relevant to prove a material fact in issue, including, but not limited to, proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.” This is known as Florida’s Williams Rule.

As a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer, I make sure a defendant’s rights were read when I receive a Jacksonville criminal case that involves police questioning.  In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Fifth Amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination required police to inform a criminal defendant of the following rights:

1. the right to remain silent; 
2. anything that the defendant says can be used against him;
3. the right to the presence of an attorney; and 
4. if the defendant cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to him.

If a person goes through the yellow pages of the telephone book, he or she would be overwhelmed with the amount of criminal defense attorneys available in Jacksonville, Florida. However, selecting an attorney is not an easy process. Often, people will ask me whether or not they should hire a private attorney or use an attorney at the public defender office. My response is “if you can afford a private attorney, you should hire one.”

First, the services of the office of the public defender in Jacksonville are only for those clients that cannot afford an attorney. A public defender is not appointed to everyone that wants an attorney, just for those that do not have funds available to hire a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer.

Second, a Jacksonville criminal defendant cannot chose which attorney at the public defender will represent him. Therefore, if he is unhappy with his public defender, he cannot “shop around” and request another attorney be appointed. There are different types of attorneys at the public defender office and in private practice. Some attorneys are better than others. When you hire a Jacksonville criminal attorney, you have the option of meeting with the attorney and choosing which attorney better suits your needs.