Category: Uncategorized

Step 5: Expect More Uncertainty   Chaos unleashed by the pandemic will continue for at least two or three years. Everyone still wants to hear that a miraculous cure is a month away and vaccination is right around the corner. Reality will intervene harshly.   The Criminal Justice System (CJS) is never properly funded because tax cuts to the super-wealthy are more important than actually paying for the cost of the most expensive and backward criminal justice system in the world. Now that the pandemic is here, there will be additional money for Florida’s CJS just like there has been… Read More

Step 4: Your Background Information Report is more important than ever   A Background Information Report is also known as a Fact Pattern Report because you must write down each and every fact and circumstance that we need to know about your case.   Many people blow them off. Why? They are hurting emotionally and they want a lawyer “who will listen to me. They want frequent contact in some cases, but all want to vomit out their story and vent the upset and emotional stress in order to feel better.   No, thank you. We are counselors at law,… Read More

Step 3: Raise Money   How are you supposed to raise money when you have lost your job or business? I don’t know. We are all in the same boat with a depression worse than the one before World War II.   As a student of history, I studied lots of pandemic and depressions. This one is a game-changer. So, you don’t have to tell me how hard it is for you on a free consultation.   In fact, I’m going to be blunt: If you can’t or don’t want to pay the legal fee upfront and in full, please… Read More

Step 2: Understand the 80/20 Rule and how it Applies to Violation Cases   This is really short and easy to understand.   The 80/20 Rule, also known as Pareto’s Law, says that 80% of the effort produces 20% of the results and that 20% of the effort produces 80% of the results. This Rule is important in probation violation cases for two reasons:   About 80% of the people charged with violations of probation, house arrest, parole and community control will have better odds of a successful outcome than they would have had before the pandemic wrecked the CJS.… Read More

Step 1: Understand where your criminal case fits in the scope of things The criminal justice system (CJS) is in chaos. COVID-19 had turned the usual order of how courts run their business upside down. Worse, over 130 probation officers supervising 164,000 probationers are closed. No one can do community service work and many other requirements due to social distancing. Then there is the issue of money. Many people on probation have lost jobs and businesses. Virtually no one can comply with probation. The State of Florida is about to face over 150,000 probation, community control and misdemeanor court violations… Read More

Recent studies and inventions have shown that drunk driving and DUI arrests can be reduced by encouraging drivers to implement certain steps or attitudes. Uber Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a non-profit advocacy group formed by mothers whose children were killed in alcohol-fueled crashes, has partnered with Uber, the ridesharing phone application, in combating the prevalence of drunk drivers on the road. The two organizations conducted a survey and study and found that the introduction of Uber into a market decreased alcohol-related accidents by 6.5%. This has also led to a 10% decrease in DUIs in some states. Since the advent… Read More

Every day in traffic courtrooms across the country, a significant number of motorists choose to miss work and other obligations to appear in court and contest a traffic citation they received. These motorists are usually not savvy attorneys – in fact, many of them are not even represented by an attorney. Instead, they appear hoping that the officer that wrote them their ticket will not appear and their ticket will be dismissed. Without the crucial evidence of the officer’s testimony available to the prosecutor, he or she is unable to prove the motorist’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and thus… Read More