Month: November 2019

Are drug dealers considered murderers when their clients overdose? This is a hot topic in America’s former “Pill Mill Capital,” where opioid deaths continue to climb. Twenty states have similar laws on the books, but Florida set the trend in 1982 during the culmination of the War on Drugs. These laws aim to reduce the …

Continue reading “Florida’s Drug-Induced Murder Laws May Hurt Communities”

The votes are in. On Nov. 11, the Orlando City Council voted unanimously to bring electric scooters to the streets of downtown for the first time. This decision comes after the successful bikeshare program that Orlando introduced in 2015, followed by the 2018 decision to incorporate dockless bikes. To make electric scooters a permanent fixture …

Continue reading “The City of Orlando Votes “Yes” on E-Scooters”

Last year, Florida voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Amendment 4, a ballot measure to restore the right to vote to 1.4 million ex-felons who have repaid their debts to society but never had their voting rights restored. As one of just three states in the U.S. that bans convicts from voting for life, a …

Continue reading “Have Ex-Felons Had Their Rights to Vote Fully Restored in Florida?”

If your neighbor is perfecting their trumpet skills or working on home improvement projects that are louder than your normal daily activities – when do those activities become a disturbance to the peace being enjoyed by you and your fellow neighbors?  Every state has laws in place designed to protect society from chaos and to uphold …

Continue reading “What are the Criminal Consequences of Disturbing the Peace?”

The judge presiding over your case holds a lot of power. Their determination dictates whether you win or lose your case and, many times, will influence the next couple of years of your life. Even if it’s a trial by jury, the judge has the authority to grant or deny what evidence is permissible when …

Continue reading “Can I Change the Judge in My Criminal Case?”

If you have a friend or a loved one in a Florida correctional facility, you might have some questions about what it’s like going to visit them. Visiting a correctional facility isn’t something most people do very often, so it might feel a bit intimidating. But taking the time to visit that friend or loved …

Continue reading "3 Things to Know Before Visiting a Florida Inmate"

In January, the City of Orlando joined a growing number of cities in Florida where electric scooters are an option for getting around town. Since January, the city has been contracting with companies to make hundreds of scooters available in the city, and city leaders are anticipating that as many as 30,000 people may use …

Continue reading “Will Electric Scooters in Orlando Lead to More Accidents?”

When someone gets arrested, they must post bail to get released from police custody. You might wonder how these bails are set.  Judges set bail after a suspect has been arrested, and their first court appearance is usually the bail hearing. Judges have a bail schedule that they typically follow but can raise or lower …

Continue reading “How is My Bail Amount Determined?”

The evolution of drones began more than 100 years ago. At first, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were developed for military use. In fact, one of the first recorded uses of drones involved the Austrians, who sent 200 unmanned bomb-filled balloons to Venice in 1849. The idea of aerial surveillance bloomed in the Spanish-American War of …

Continue reading “How are Drones Changing the Insurance Industry?”

Walking out to your parked car and finding that another driver crashed into it is a predicament that nobody wants to be in. Cities that require parallel parking, like downtown Orlando, are especially susceptible to being bumped into as drivers overestimate the space between their vehicle and neighboring ones. If you’re lucky, the offender left …

Continue reading “What to Do When Someone Hits Your Parked Car”