How Florida courts treat field sobriety exercises, when an officer can ask for them, what refusing means, and how our attorneys challenge roadside DUI evidence in Tampa.
Continue reading ›From First DUI to Death Penalty
How Florida courts treat field sobriety exercises, when an officer can ask for them, what refusing means, and how our attorneys challenge roadside DUI evidence in Tampa.
Continue reading ›A false confession in a Florida sex crime case can be challenged in a motion to suppress, at a section 92.565 trustworthiness hearing, and in front of the jury. Here is what Florida police may and may not do in an interrogation or controlled phone call, and how our attorneys respond.
Continue reading ›Since July 13, 2026, Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190(g) governs motions to suppress both physical evidence and statements. Here is how the motion, the evidentiary hearing, and the common grounds work in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.
Continue reading ›Usually yes, but not always. If you threw drugs or a gun before police seized you, such as while walking away or running, Florida courts treat it as a voluntary abandonment and the evidence comes in even if the officer had no lawful reason to stop you. If you had already stopped and submitted to…
Continue reading ›Updated November 8, 2026 Yes, inside their own jurisdiction. An off-duty Florida officer keeps full arrest power within the agency’s territory, including while working a paid security detail. Outside it, past the city limit for a police officer or the county line for a sheriff’s deputy, the officer can arrest only through fresh pursuit, a…
Continue reading ›Updated November 6, 2026 Only in two situations: you actually consent, or a court later finds true exigent circumstances based on the specific facts of your case. Otherwise, officers need a warrant. On September 2, 2026, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal in State v. Marlin affirmed the suppression of a forced blood draw in…
Continue reading ›Rewrite/update date: September 2, 2026 Generally, no — a warrantless search of your home is presumed unconstitutional in Florida, and only a few narrow exceptions (consent, a true emergency, hot pursuit) allow police inside without one. Florida courts enforced that rule twice in 2026: the Second District threw out evidence after officers crawled through a…
Continue reading ›Rewrite/update date: September 2, 2026 A Florida traffic stop can last only as long as it takes to handle the stop’s “mission” — checking your license, registration, and warrants, and writing the ticket. Police cannot stretch the stop to wait for a drug dog unless they have separate reasonable suspicion of a crime. In July…
Continue reading ›Updated November 8, 2026 Constitutional Violations Create Powerful Defense Opportunities The Key Principle When police violate your constitutional rights, a judge can exclude any evidence obtained as a result. Without that evidence, the State may have no choice but to dismiss your charges. When you face criminal charges in Tampa, every piece of evidence counts.…
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