Author Archives: Jay Butchko
State vs. Federal Drug Crimes
If someone in Florida is arrested and charged with drug possession, they are technically violating both federal and state law at the same time. However, the decision of whether to charge an offender under federal or state law will depend on several different factors. As a general rule, federal sentences for drug possession and… Read More »
Will I Lose Custody Of My Kids After A Domestic Violence Charge?
If you are arrested and charged with domestic violence, you may have to face potential consequences in your life even if you are not convicted of anything, though the consequences upon conviction will understandably be more severe. One of the worst is that domestic abusers can and do lose custody of their children if… Read More »
Are You Guilty Of Drug Trafficking?
In early December, a West Palm Beach man was arrested and charged with one count of trafficking hydromorphone in Martin County. The man was found with 120 pills, weighing approximately 0.7 grams, which is enough to merit a trafficking charge under Florida law. However, what some do not realize – and the arrested man… Read More »
Defenses To Drug Possession
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), there were approximately 110,000 drug-related arrests in Florida in 2019. A significant percentage of them, if not a majority of them, were for simple possession, as opposed to drug trafficking or distribution. If you have been arrested for drug possession, you may not think that… Read More »
Do Police Have To Arrest Me For Domestic Violence?
In some states, police who are called to the scene of a domestic dispute must, by law, arrest at least one of the people involved. This is usually rationalized by saying that even if a domestic dispute does not reach the level of intimate partner violence, it is a breach of the peace. Alternatively,… Read More »
Woman Shoots Man Over Counterfeit Cash In Drug Deal
A Boynton Beach woman met a man in a Publix parking lot to conduct a drug deal, and wound up shooting him several times after she determined that the cash he gave her in return was fake. The victim was taken to Delray Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, while the aggressor was booked on… Read More »
The Williams Rule In Florida Domestic Violence Cases
If you are charged with a crime, and your case goes to trial, certain things are normally understood as features of U.S. criminal procedure, such as the fact that prosecutors normally are not permitted to offer evidence of the defendant’s character unless the defendant does it first. In many cases, character evidence is not… Read More »
Recreational Marijuana Is Still Illegal In Florida
The 2020 election saw five more U.S. states legalize marijuana in some form, with New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota, and Montana approving recreational use (only for those over age 21 in New Jersey), and South Dakota and Mississippi legalizing the drug for medical use. As of this writing, this means that 15 states and… Read More »
Perceptions Of Gender In Domestic Violence Cases
In early November 2020, a Manatee County woman was arrested and charged with killing her husband, though she alleged that she did so in self-defense. As of this writing, law enforcement has found no evidence of self-defense, though the ultimate outcome of her case remains to be seen. Historically, when one thinks of domestic… Read More »
Do Mandatory Minimums Actually Prevent Drug Crime?
In early 2020, the Florida legislature took up a bill aimed at reducing mandatory minimum sentences in place for certain drug-related crimes. Historically, this has been a hot-button issue, but over time, measures like this have found more and more support among voters – even the Florida Prosecutors’ Association supported the 2020 measure. However,… Read More »