Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

William Waldman was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition this past Saturday. As a result of that arrest, Waldman was warned not to return to any city parks. However, when a park ranger involved in that arrest recognized Waldman at Holiday Park on Thursday, Waldman was arrested a second time for trespass. (Photo Credit: Broward Sheriff's Office)

At this stage, these charges are only allegations and have not yet been proven, nor has Waldman plead guilty or no-contest.

William Waldman's second arrest is going to pose a big problem for him in regards to his first bond. When a person is placed on bond, regardless of the offense, the main responsibility that person has is to not get re-arrested.

When a person is on bond in one case and then they get re-arrested in another, the prosecution has the right to motion the court to revoke the bond on the first arrest. This is because a re-arrest violates the most fundamental condition of any bond - to remain at liberty without re-offending.

In William Waldman's case, it appears as though the new trespass charge has been given a $2,500.00 bond. This may be very temporary once sex crimes prosecutors learn he was re-arrested while on bond for Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition - especially since the new arrest concerns returning to city parks.

Continue reading "William Waldman Arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for Lewd and Lascivious Exhibition" »

Federal agents raided a cruise ship docked at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this past week, leaving many ungrateful passengers. The MSC Poesia was scheduled to sail around the western Caribbean this week as part of its Jam Fest cruise. In a classic lame-o Federal drug bust, agents from the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshall's Service, and the Broward Sheriffs Office took down the ship as it sat docked at Port Everglades.

Oh yes, and the bounty was great!

These maestros of law enforcement netted a whopping 15 seizures of of marijuana, LSD, mushrooms, hash oil, Ecstasy, prescription drugs and drug paraphernalia. Mostly all of which were in small quantities.

Good job G-men! Hoover would be proud. In a time where our country is teetering on financial ruin under the constant threat of terror, you guys are wasting our money to bust a bunch of Dead-heads on their way to Jam Fest?

Really? What are you, morons?

Take the time and money that you wasted and go find Osama bin-Laden, or better yet, go logon to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and start looking. Or, you could each get assigned to sit outside the home of a registered sexual predator and make sure no kids are going in for candy.

Why are you wasting OUR money on small quantities of pot and other party drugs while complaining about how much your salaries have been minimized due to budget cuts?

Don't act like you don't know what I am talking about...

Continue reading "Feds Raid Cruise Ship Headed for Jam Fest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida" »

The more I think about the presence of Judges at Florida DUI Checkpoints, the more I am bothered by it. Aside from the obvious problems created when a judge becomes a witness in a case, I think the presence of judges at DUI checkpoints serves to undermine the public's confidence in the integrity and independence of the judiciary. I also think it suggests an unfair bias that favors police and may also violate individual rights to Equal Protection and access to the courts.

As a Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer, my professional knowledge is focused on criminal law and the criminal justice system. As such, I am by no means an expert in Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct. However, I think the idea of having judges present at DUI checkpoints possibly violates three canons. They are:

Canon 1: A Judge Shall Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary

Canon 2: A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in all of the Judge's Activities

Canon 3: A Judge Shall Perform the Duties of Judicial Office Impartially and Diligently

Before I delve into this subject, lets first take a moment to understand the role of a judge in the search warrant process and how that impacts DUI investigations for police.

Continue reading "Judges at Florida DUI Checkpoints? It's Worse than I Initially Thought (PART 2)" »

As a Fort Lauderdale criminal lawyer, I can tell you there is a new, disturbing trend in DUI enforcement. Namely, judges are participating in DUI checkpoints run by police. While I have not personally seen a case involving this new scenario, my understanding is that the judges are on hand to order blood draws in the event that a DUI arrestee refuses to submit to breath testing.

So far, to the best of my knowledge, this scheme has not been used in any DUI checkpoint in Broward County, Florida.

Police and prosecutors may think it is pretty smart to have a judge present at DUI checkpoints, but in truth, it is fraught with problems and in my opinion, creates a law enforcement scheme that is contrary to our legal tradition.

First and foremost, any judge present at the scene of a DUI checkpoint immediately becomes a witness. As a witness present on the scene of a DUI checkpoint, a judge may be required to testify at trial, during deposition, and certain pre-trial hearings. Judges would also be subject to cross-examination by opposing parties. Moreover, since a judge's presence at a DUI checkpoint would be known to prosecutors, the prosecution would have an affirmative duty to disclose the judge's name in their discovery submission to defense lawyers.

Continue reading "Judges at Florida DUI Checkpoints? Not a Good Idea. (PART 1)" »