Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Death Penalty Sought For Parents In Child Abuse Murder
In 2016, Kristen Meyer and Alejandro Aleman were charged with child abuse and first-degree murder in the starvation death of their 13-month old daughter Tayla. Meyer is now scheduled to stand trial on March 13, intending to lodge an insanity plea, while her husband will be tried separately. Both will face the death penalty… Read More »
Florida Domestic Violence Coalition Dissolved
On March 12, the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV) was officially dissolved by a judge in Leon County. The Coalition has been under fire for alleged misuse of state and federal funds, mostly in compensating their CEO Tiffany Carr as much as $7.5 million per year. The FCADV will almost certainly be ordered… Read More »
Juvenile Misdemeanor Drug Possession
The Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey from 2019 revealed that approximately 20 percent of the surveyed middle and high school students have used marijuana at some point in their lifetimes. A total of roughly 29 percent of the surveyed students reported using at least some kind of illicit drug in their lifetime. Unfortunately, it… Read More »
West Palm Beach Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer
Florida treats domestic violence allegations very seriously, so there can be harsh punishment for a conviction, including jail time, fines, and a permanent mark on your criminal record. However, there are other implications, including severe limitations on your personal freedoms if your accuser obtains an injunction against you. If you were arrested or received… Read More »
Law Enforcement Mistakes in West Palm Beach Drug Cases
Police are tasked with enforcing criminal laws and protecting public safety, and they undergo significant training to ensure they have the skills to do so. However, officers are human and capable of making law enforcement mistakes in West Palm Beach drug cases. Even though Florida Department of Law Enforcement statistics show that Palm Beach… Read More »
Have You Been Arrested For Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is a heinous crime that is widely seen as a betrayal of trust, especially if the two people involved are married. However, Florida’s definition of domestic violence covers several types of behavior between people with several types of relationships. If you have been arrested and charged with domestic violence, it is crucial… Read More »
Florida Prescription Drug Abuse Charges
Florida has an unfortunate negative history as a “pill mill,” with large swaths of south Florida playing host to “pain clinics” that would simply write prescriptions for pain pills without any kind of oversight. While reforms in 2011 effectively curtailed much of this type of trade, many who had become used to abusing these… Read More »
Palm Beach County Cracks Down On Drug-Recovery Industry Fraud
In the 1980s and 1990s, Florida had a notorious reputation as a ‘pill mill’ capital, leading to a major spike in drug addiction, especially opiates. As time has moved on, Florida has reinvented itself again, becoming a capital of the drug recovery industry, with countless treatment facilities opening up and down the coasts in… Read More »
Woman Burned In Apparent Random Attack
A woman unloading boxes on the street in West Palm Beach during work was injured when another woman threw hot water at her, perpetrating an allegedly random attack. The injured woman suffered first and second-degree burns on her back, and the perpetrator, Andrea Clarke, a Jamaican national, was taken into custody and charged with… Read More »
Before Grand Jury Testimony
Florida prosecutors have wide autonomy to charge a suspect with a crime – unless they are suspected of first degree murder or another capital crime. Then, the charge must be presented to a grand jury, which then will either vote to indict the person, or they will vote “no true bill,” meaning that there… Read More »