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Amanda Love Gardner was arrested for stealing credit cards from shopper’s purses at Wal-Mart stores in Duval, Clay, and Baker Counties. She is accused of taking the credit cards and then using them to purchase items for herself. She has been charged with fraudulent use of credit cards in Jacksonville (Duval County), but she will likely face charges in Clay and Baker Counties, as well.

On May 31, 2011, Jacksonville.com posted pictures of two suspects (Thieves stealing shoppers’ credit cards at Jacksonville Walmarts). This led to Gardner’s arrest. The Jacksonville Fraudulent Use of Credit Card Attorney handling the case will need to view this video with Gardner as soon as possible to build a defense.

The Fifth Amendment is applied to Florida, and all the other States, through the Fourteenth Amendment. It protects a person from self-incrimination and is meant to “assure that an individual is not compelled to produce evidence which later may be used against him as an accused in a criminal action.” Maness v. Meyers, 419 U.S. 449, 461 (1975). A witness in a civil proceeding has the right to refuse to respond to a question on the grounds that his answer may tend to incriminate him. See Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 444-45 (1972). When a person invokes the privilege against self-incrimination, “it need only be evident from the implications of the question, in the setting in which it is asked, that a responsive answer to the question or an explanation of why it cannot be answered might be dangerous because injurious disclosure could result.” St. George v. State, 564 So. 2d 152, 155 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). Therefore, a person can testify at a Jacksonville, Florida civil hearing or trial but refuse to answer certain questions by invoking the 5th amendment privilege. The person giving testimony must be careful not to waive his or her privilege by testifying as to the criminal matter and “opening the door” to the subject-matter.

Also read, Fifth Amendment’s Right Against Self-Incrimination Applies to Jacksonville Domestic Violence Injunction Hearings

Eric Francis Sandefur pled guilty to attempted first-degree murder. He was accused of stabbing a transient man, Jason James Jerome, in Jacksonville on December 4, 2010. He entered a guilty plea which exposes him to 40 years in Florida State Prison. Due to the recent Supreme Court ruling in Graham v. Florida, Sandefur cannot be sentenced to life in prison. Duval County Judge, Virginia Norton, will listen to mitigating evidence presented by Sandefur’s Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer and aggravating evidence submitted by the Duval County Assistant State Attorney. Thereafter, she will render a decision and sentence this Jacksonville teenager. Therefore, it is important for Sandefur and his Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer to prepare well for this sentencing hearing.

For more information, read Defendant Pleads Not Guilty in Jacksonville Stabbing Case.

When I was a child, I remember my dad talking about the oil crisis of the 1970s. He talked about people using a tube to siphon gas from other vehicles. In fact, people would install gas guards in order to prevent this from occurring. Therefore, when I think about some stealing gas in Jacksonville, Florida, I think of gas siphoning or gas and go (driving off without paying for gas). Siphoning gas is theft. If a person were to siphon gas, he or she would only be able to take an amount that would establish grounds for a petit theft. Jacksonville Petit Theft and driving off without paying for gas are both misdemeanors.

With Jacksonville Theft crimes, the higher the dollar amount stolen, the more serious the crime. If the dollar amount $300 or more, the crime is a felony. A felony gas theft occurred this week in Jacksonville, Jacksonville.com reports that 1,300 gallons of gasoline were stolen “from First Coast Shell at Greeland Avenue at Ramona Boulevard in Jacksonville. Station operators called in the theft at 4:05 p.m. Tuesday, reporting that $5,200 worth of gas was taken sometime after 10 p.m. the night before.” If the perpetrator is caught, he will certainly be facing a Jacksonville Felony Theft Charge.

Jacksonville teen, Michael Beauregard, was arrested and charged with Jacksonville Leaving the Scene of an Accident involving death. According to media reports, the accident occurred early Saturday morning. Monica Moon was returning from the store, when a truck hit her. Her fiance, David Lopez, witnessed the Jacksonville hit and run and stated that the driver of the truck stayed for approximately two minutes and then left the scene. Moon died at the scene. Police obtained a warrant and Beauregard was arrested yesterday.

If a bond has not already been set in the warrant, one will be set today at Beauregard’s Jacksonville bond hearing. His Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer will need to build a defense immediately. He is likely facing a Florida prison sentence.

Michael Fiorelli was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida for voyeurism and violation of his probation. Employees of a Jacksonville Kohl’s store caught Fiorelli going in the dressing room of the women’s inmates department. They were able to obtain his license plate number, and they gave this to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Thereafter, a woman was in the ladies’ restroom at the Marriott when “all of a sudden, she heard what sounded like someone standing on and slipping off of the toilet seat in the stall next to her… the man ran out of the bathroom.” The woman was able to obtain the man’s license plate number. (News4Jax)

The police contacted Fiorelli’s Jacksonville probation officer and confirmed that he was at the Marriott. He was arrested for Jacksonville Voyeurism in 2004 and 2007. In the 2007 case, he was placed on felony probation. Due to this 2011 Jacksonville arrest, he is also facing a violation of his probation along with the new felony charges.

Last July, St. Johns County Florida judge, John Alexander, voiced his concerns about the Duval County Juvenile Detention Center. A St. Johns County boy was being held at the Center on charges of drug paraphernalia possession and violation of probation. The boy was attack by two other juvenile detainees. Judge Alexander was never notified of the attack. Judge Alexander saw “this as tangible proof that the department’s closing of the St. Johns County juvenile detention facility last year was a mistake, and that he’d predicted this would happen. In 2009, the St. Johns County Detention Center closed, and St. Johns County Juveniles were transported to and from the Duval County Juvenile Detention Center for court proceedings. This was due to Florida’s State budget cuts (Jacksonville.com).

If you have questions about a St. Johns or Duval County Juvenile Case, contact a St. Johns County Juvenile Attorney.

The Duval County Juvenile Detention Center is a facility that holds juveniles that are court ordered to secured detention while they await a disposition in their cases. The facility holds a variety of juveniles. Florida Statute Section 985.255 lists the criteria required for detention of a juvenile, and Section 985.26 sets forth the length of detention. Secured detention is only to be used when it is completely necessary. Indeed, “the Legislature intends that detention care, in addition to providing safe and secure custody, will promote the health and well-being of the children committed.” Fla. Stat. 985.02 (2010). The Duval County Juvenile Detention Center’s website claims that their “facility provides supervision of youth in a safe, secure and humane environment.” However, there have been contradictory allegations. In particular, a St. John’s County Florida judge voiced his opinion about the practices of the Duval County Juvenile Detention Center last year.

Florida Statute Section 934.03 governs the interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications in Florida. In Jacksonville Illegal Wiretapping Cases, a person records the conversation of another person without his or her consent. While most people are aware that you cannot record someone else’s conversation in Jacksonville, Florida, they are not aware that you cannot record your own conversation. If you want to record a conversation, you must have the consent of all of the parties involved. Florida is a two-party consent state. Therefore, both of the people in a telephone conversation, or any other oral communication, must be aware that the conversation is being recorded. If you are recording your own conversation, be sure to advise the other person that you are recording the call.

Quite often, Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys and Florida Family Law Attorneys will encounter a case in which spouses, in the midst of a divorce or custody battle, will make a secret recording to obtain evidence. For more information on domestic cases, read “Wiretapping Teddy Bear Leads to Large Fine” written by attorney, Kelly Ryan. For more information, on federal and state wiretapping laws, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures. If you have been charged with violating the Florida wiretapping law, contact a Florida Criminal Defense Attorney immediately.

Last night, the Honorable Judge Jefferson W. Morrow passed away (Story by Florida Times Union). Judge Morrow was a circuit court judge in Jacksonville, Florida. As a Jacksonville Juvenile Lawyer, the first time I met Judge Morrow was in Jacksonville Juvenile Delinquency Court. He was very punctual, patient, and fair. He treated my client, a Jacksonville Juvenile Criminal Defendant, and myself with respect and kindness. He respected lawyers that were well-prepared and well-spoken. As a former Jacksonville criminal trial lawyer, he understood the challenges faced in criminal cases and the need for efficiency and guidance in the criminal justice system.

Judge Morrow was admitted to practice law in Florida in 1983. He was a former member of the largest network of Florida Criminal Defense Attorneys, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL). After practicing as a criminal and civil trial attorney, he was sworn in as a Duval County Florida Judge in January of 2009. After presiding as a Jacksonville Juvenile Judge, he was assigned to the felony circuit court bench where he presided until his recent death. As a Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer, I hope that a judge with his compassion and courtesy will fill the void that Judge Morrow has left.