ROBBERY WITH A FIREARM - Not
Guilty after Jury Trial.
The client was facing life in prison with a 10 year minimum
mandatory sentence. At trial, I was able to prove
that the client had no knowledge that the robbery
was about to take place. A passenger in the car got
out and robbed a lady with a purse. The client then
left the scene at a high rate of speed. When the
police came up behind the car, everybody, including
the client, ran, jumped over two fences, and eluded
police for over 3 hours. The judge read my special
requested jury instruction on duress. This was
critical to our theory of defense. The reason my
client ran after the police came up behind him was
that the guy who robbed the lady pointed the gun in
his general direction and told everybody to get out
of the car. My client did not have a choice. He had
to get out because he was under duress. The client
just graduated high school. He was found not guilty
after a jury trial just days before Christmas. His
parents told me it was "the best Christmas gift
anyone could give."
FEDERAL
MARIJUANA GROW HOUSE - All felony charges dropped
I filed a motion to suppress in
a federal drug case involving two separate grow
houses for marijuana in South Florida. My client was
facing up to 160 years in prison. Federal agents and
police entered into a house just after midnight
without a search warrant. The issue was whether
consent was freely and voluntarily given by a
Spanish speaking couple who did not understand
English. The client was initially charged by
indictment with:
-
Conspiracy to maintain a
place to manufacture or distribute marijuana,
facing 20 years, $500,000 fine and 3 years
supervised release.
-
Maintaining a place to
manufacture or distribute marijuana, facing 20
years, $500,000 fine and 3 years supervised
release
-
Conspiracy to manufacture,
distribute and dispense 100 or more marijuana
plants, 5 year minimum mandatory prison
sentence, 40 year maximum, $2,000,000 fine, 5
years supervised release
-
Possession with intent to
manufacture, distribute, and dispense 100 or
more marijuana plants, 5 year minimum mandatory
prison sentence, 40 year maximum, $2,000,000
fine, 5 years supervised release
After the motion to suppress
was heard, I negotiated a plea deal for the Federal
government to drop all counts (maximum of 160 years
in prison). In exchange, my client pled guilty to
one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana
with no jail time.
TRAFFICKING IN COCAINE AND
MARIJUANA - Conviction & 20 year sentence Reversed
based on my special requested jury instruction.
On appeal, the client claimed
that the trial court erred in refusing to give the
special jury instruction written by me, his trial
lawyer. The instruction more accurately stated the
law to be applied in his constructive possession of
cocaine case.
At trial, I requested a special
jury instruction on constructive possession where
the contraband (cocaine and marijuana) is found on
jointly possessed premises. The trial court denied
the request and read the jury the standard jury
instruction on possession.
The Fourth District Court of
Appeal (the appellate court) determined that in
cases of joint possession of the premises, the
standard jury instruction is confusing. The
instruction discusses joint possession of the
article but does not discuss joint possession of the
premises upon which the article is found. Further,
the appellate court stated that The standard jury
instruction does not explain what must be proved
where possession of the premises is in joint rather
than exclusive possession of the defendant. The
specially-requested instruction, unlike the standard
instruction, instructs the jury that the elements of
knowledge and ability to control may not be inferred
from the mere fact of joint possession of premises
where contraband is found, but must be established
by independent proof. Therefore, in this case [Grey
Tesh's requested] special jury instruction was
necessary in order to present [his] theory of
defense. (Emphasis added).
My client's conviction and
sentence were reversed as a result of the appellate
courts' determination. Also, as a result of my
efforts on his behalf, in creating a special
instruction, the appellate court recommended that
the standard jury instruction be modified to include
my special instruction. They said "We also recommend
to the Criminal Standard Jury Instruction Committee
that it review the standard instruction for
modification in cases where an issue at trial
involves the joint possession of the premises on
which contraband is found."
JUVENILE
BURGLARY OF A
STRUCTURE/CONVEYANCE - Not Guilty after Trial.
The client allegedly broke into
a car and stole a purse, cd player with a remote
control. The police found my client a short distance
away. The remote control was found near his feet.
The accuser identified the remote control as being
the one that was stolen from her. My client
testified that he didn't know how the remote got by
his feet.
GRAND THEFT AUTO - Not Guilty
after Trial.
My client was caught riding a
stolen ATC vehicle. There is a statute that gives
the State a presumption of guilt to theft if he is
in possession of recently stolen property. In spite
of this, through cross-examination, enough
reasonable doubt was created as to whether he knew
it was stolen. This was my third case with this same
client. He's like Teflon - nothing sticks to him.
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT ON SCHOOL
BOARD EMPLOYEE - Not Guilty after Trial.
This happened at Dwyer High
School in Jupiter, Florida. My client was driving a
van in the school parking lot. A friend of his was
joyriding on the hood. His friend jumped off the
hood. The police aid working for the Palm Beach
County School Board District went in front of the
van. She ordered my client to stop. My client
refused, shaking his head in a negative fashion. The
car surged towards her almost knocking her down. My
client testified that he saw her, but tried to drive
around her. He admitted to shaking his head "no"
when she told him to stop. He was unaware that she
had to jump to safety.
BURGLARY OF A DWELLING -
Juvenile Sanctions, no prison
The client, a child, was direct
filed (charged as an adult) for burglary of a
dwelling, 15 year maximum, grand theft, 5 years
maximum, and resisting arrest without violence, 1
year maximum. The child scored 22 months prison.
That's what the State of Florida offered to resolve
the case. I convinced a Palm Beach County Judge to
give the child juvenile sanctions. As a result, the
child does not have a felony conviction on his
record. He also got his GED. Also, the child did not
do any prison time for this offense.
BATTERY ON A SCHOOL BOARD
EMPLOYEE - Not guilty after trial, but guilty of
misdemeanor battery.
A school board employee was
trying to break up a fight. My client was fighting
three other people. My client hit the school board
employee. However, at trial, on cross-examination, I
got the accuser to admit that he did not have any
credentials on his clothes that showed he was a
school board employee. My client hit him so hard
that he knocked his tooth loose.
BATTERY AND RESISTING ARREST
WITHOUT VIOLENCE - Not Guilty after Trial.
This was a case of
self-defense. My client suffered injuries from
another person who hit her with a shoe. My client
was bleeding. My client then fought back, which is
reasonable self-defense. The Judge found that the
cops did not have enough probable cause to arrest my
client for battery because of the self-defense
claim. She was found not guilty of battery. Also, we
beat the resisting arrest charge because the State
could not prove that the police were making a lawful
arrest. She resisted arrest by turning away from
police and running. It's perfectly legal to resist
arrest without violence if the police are making an
unlawful arrest.
ATTEMPTED PURCHASE OF MARIJUANA
- Motion to Dismiss GRANTED.
The client was absolutely
guilty of trying to buy marijuana. It was a reverse
sting operation in Delray Beach, Florida. Undercover
agents were posing as street-level dealers selling
fake pot. A passenger in the car, next to my client
said "let me get two." My client gave ten bucks to
his friend. The friend then gave the money to the
undercover agent for the weed. My client was
arrested. The state violated my client's speedy
trial rights. The charging document was filed too
late. The judge granted the motion to dismiss all
charges.
ASSAULT & BATTERY
BATTERY - Not Guilty after Jury
Trial.
The client was accused of
kissing a woman in an elevator. According to the
accuser, the client approached her in the elevator,
told her she had beautiful blue eyes, asked her if
she was married and said her husband was lucky. She
went on to say that he grabbed her hand and kissed
it, and then kissed her on her mouth. The client
testified at trial that they did meet in the
elevator. However, he denied ever touching or
kissing the accuser. He also testified that she must
be prejudice towards him because he is Hispanic and
she is white. The jury deliberated for less than ten
minutes. Not Guilty after jury trial.
ASSAULT & BATTERY- Not Guilty
after Jury Trial on all counts.
This case was a down-filed
felony. He was initially arrested for aggravated
domestic battery, punishable by up to 15 years
prison. The allegation was that my client attacked
his girlfriend and her eight year old son. He chased
her around the house with a five foot pole. He
wedged the pole between the door and the door frame,
so the door could not close. As the accuser was
closing the door, he struck her in the neck with the
end of the pole. Her neck was injured. This was all
done in front of her son. At trial, the accuser was
cross-examined thoroughly about bias, motive to lie,
and fabricating evidence. Not Guilty on all counts,
assault and battery.
DOMESTIC BATTERY - Not Guilty
after Jury Trial based on Self-Defense.
The client had an argument with
her husband. She told him a hit man from Chicago was
going to "snuff him out." She also complained that
he doesn't have sex with her. Her son tried to
intervene. She grabbed her son by the arm so she
could continue to argue and threaten her husband.
She caused abrasions to her son's forearms.
Initially, the client was arrested for child abuse
on her son, a felony, and domestic battery on her
husband. When the client grabbed her son, her
husband intervened. The client hit and scratched her
husband, injuring him. He had lacerations to his
left cheek, neck, left forearm and hand. The client
denied anything occurred. At trial, the defense was
self-defense. Her husband grabbed her first and she
fought back. You have the right to defend yourself.
The jury agreed.
DOMESTIC BATTERY - Not Guilty
after Jury Trial.
The accuser's side of the
story: She told my client she was breaking up with
him. They argued. He told her they were "going to
die tonight." This was a classic reference to the
"if I can't have you, nobody will have you"
argument. He was driving fast and wouldn't let her
out of the car. She tried to get out. He went crazy
when she said she was leaving him. She eventually
got out and ran with her daughter. She called 911.
He slammed the phone down to the ground. He hit her
on the face by the right ear and her chest area. It
is undisputed that she had redness and a scratch
mark on her body when police arrived. At trial, the
defense was self-defense. Yes, she had marks, but
she was the aggressor. Domestic battery is a
gender-biased crime. It seems the guy almost always
goes to jail. However, the jury found him not
guilty.
DOMESTIC BATTERY - Not Guilty
after Trial.
My client was the son of a
famous jazz drummer who played with John Coltrane. I
love jazz, so this was an honor to defend him. The
allegation was he hit his wife on her right arm with
a cane and knocked her into the counter. He did push
her away in self-defense. She picked up a phone and
tried to hit him with it. The theme of the case was
this is a he said, she said, with no visible
injuries. He used reasonable force to defend
himself.
BATTERY - Not Guilty after Jury
Trial.
The client allegedly hit his
wife in the face. She called 911. She had redness on
her cheek area. Photos were taken. The client was
arrested right away without being able to tell his
side of the story. After arrest, the police found a
vicodine pill. He did not have a prescription for
it. That felony charge was dropped. We went to trial
on the battery charge. We argued lack of evidence.
It was a he said-she said with virtually no visible
injuries. The not guilty verdict was a relief for
the client.
STALKING - Not Guilty after
Jury Trial.
The allegation was the client
harassed an openly gay couple. He left notes on
their front door step. He called them numerous times
and left messages. The gist of the messages were
that their children were growing up with gay
parents. There were other sexual comments made. In
short, the client did not approve of a gay couple
rearing a child. The gay couple said as a result of
the messages (phone, written and email), they
changed their lifestyle. They changed their route to
work, work schedule, and made arrangements for their
daughter to be picked up and dropped off at school.
They claim to have suffered emotional distress. The
cops went to talk with the client. He admitted
leaving the notes and making the statements. He said
he "did not agree with their lifestyle." At trial, I
requested and got a special jury instruction. The
instruction talked about severe emotional distress.
An "objectively reasonable person" standard was
applied. In other words, it wasn't enough for the
alleged victims to say they suffered severe
emotional distress. On cross, I was very nice to the
accusers. Some lawyers make the rookie mistake of
beating up every witness. You catch more flies with
honey than you do with vinegar.
DUI / DWI
DUI - Not Guilty after Jury
Trial
A cop saw him leave a bar.
He picked up a woman who needed a ride. She was
not a prostitute. However, he said he wanted a
blow job. She needed a ride home. She started to
give him a blow job. The cop pulls up beside the
car and notices her head going up and down. The
officer said he reeked of alcohol, had bloodshot
eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on his
feet. However, he was polite and cooperative
with the officer. The second time was the charm
for my client. His DUI was tried by another
attorney the first time, which resulted in a
hung jury. After I tried the case, a jury found
him not guilty after mere minutes of discussion.
DUI dropped to Reckless
Driving - Motion to Suppress Blood Results
GRANTED
The client was driving was
driving recklessly and completely totaled his
car. He rammed it into a tree. He kept saying
"I'm sorry" to the officer at the scene. The
officer noted he had bloodshot eyes, slurred
speech, a bloody chin and red marks on his
chest. The red marks, according to the officer,
were consistent with an air bag being deployed.
The client was taken to the hospital. He was
read implied consent. He initially agreed to let
the nurse take his blood. However, when they
went to take it he said "I know my rights, I
want to speak with my lawyer, you're going to
have to kill me if you want to take my blood."
The nurses and cops held him down and drugged
him up. Then they took his blood. The reading
came back .156, almost exactly twice the legal
limit of .08. I filed a motion to suppress the
blood, saying the taking of the blood was not
voluntary and the client's injuries did not
amount to serious bodily injury. The judge
agreed and granted the motion to suppress. Two
days later, I negotiated a reckless driving for
the client. The terms of the negotiated plea did
not include a license suspension, car
immobilization or random testing for alcohol or
drugs at his expense.
DUI - State concedes motion
to suppress and drops DUI.
The client was a decorated
World War II veteran. It was an absolute honor
to represent him, as my grandfather was also a
decorated World War II vet. In court, I kid you
not, people actually saluted him like he was a
hero. He was a hero. He loaded the atomic bombs
that went to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although
those bombs killed many people, they saved
countless American lives and brought the war to
an end. I filed a motion to suppress the stop
and seizure of my client. The motion was so
strong that the Prosecutor agreed it was a bad
stop. The stop was based on a BOLO (be on the
lookout for) a certain vehicle and the
description of the individual and direction of
travel did not match. There was no mention in
the BOLO of whether the client was White, Black,
Hispanic, Asian, or a description of his
clothing. Also, the direction of travel was not
consistent with the BOLO.
DUI
- All charges dropped.
Although my client had been
drinking, the State could not prove that my
client was the driver of the car. I also won the
department of motor vehicles hearing. My client
got his license back.
DUI WITH COCAINE - Not
Guilty after Jury Trial
The client was rip-roaring
drunk and had a trace amount of cocaine in his
system. I filed a motion to keep the witnesses
from testifying about the cocaine. The judge
granted my motion. The state failed to prove
beyond all reasonable doubt that my client was
in actual physical control of the vehicle.
DUI WITH AN ACCIDENT-
Motion to Suppress the Breath Results GRANTED
DUI with an accident. Judge
Barry Cohen suppressed the extremely high breath
readings of .265 and .253 because the State
violated my client's constitutional rights based
on Shiver v State, 30 FLW D653 (FL 1st DCA March
8, 2005). Judge Cohen opined that "Because it
has been established in Shiver that the breath
test affidavit contains testimonial hearsay
evidence, the admissibility of the affidavit
alone would constitute a violation of the
Confrontation Clause."
DUI - Not Guilty after Jury
Trial
The client was observed
striking a median, making an abrupt lane change,
making a wide turn and again striking the
shoulder of the road. The officer turned on his
lights, but the client made no attempt to stop.
Eventually, the client stopped. The officer
noted he smelled of alcohol, was having a hard
time standing, and was leaning against the car
for support. The client performed poorly on the
roadside exercises, but refused the breath test.
He stated "I only had two beers." His speech was
slow and slurred. At trial, the jury agreed with
me that there was a lack of evidence to convict.
The government did not prove their case beyond
all reasonable doubt.
DUI - Sentence reversed and
vacated on appeal
At trial, the judge limited
cross examination questions. We successfully
argued that the state went into new material on
their re-direct examination. We were entitled to
cross the officer about it. We proffered the
questions we would have asked. The appellate
court agreed and reversed the client's
conviction. When the case came back from the
appellate court, the client got a reckless
driving offer.
DUI - Not Guilty after Jury
Trial
The client swerved
erratically, jerked the car back into another
lane, crossed the dividing line between lanes.
He had bloodshot, watery eyes, slow, slurred
speech, odor of alcohol on his breath, couldn't
find his driver's license, and fumbled through
his papers looking for his insurance and
registration. He admitted to playing pool and
having "a few beers." At trial, we proved to the
jury why he had slurred speech. He was born with
a speech impediment. It is not against the law
to drink and drive so long as you don't blow
over a .08 or your normal faculties are not
impaired. The jury heard him speak. He always
speaks with a lisp. He performed poorly on the
roadside exercises.
DUI - Not Guilty after Jury
Trial.
My client was caught
speeding, driving erratically. He performed
poorly on the roadside exercises. I filed a
motion in limine, which was granted, to keep out
statements he made on video that incriminated
him in a prior DUI. Not guilty in ten minutes
BURGLARY OF A DWELLING -
Juvenile Sanctions, no prison
The client, a child, was direct
filed (charged as an adult) for burglary of a
dwelling, 15 year maximum, grand theft, 5 years
maximum, and resisting arrest without violence, 1
year maximum. The child scored 22 months prison.
That's what the State of Florida offered to resolve
the case. I convinced a Palm Beach County Judge to
give the child juvenile sanctions. As a result, the
child does not have a felony conviction on his
record. He also got his GED. Also, the child did not
do any prison time for this offense.
MISCELLANEOUS WINS
RACING ON A HIGHWAY - All
charges dropped.
The client was facing up to one
year in jail and a mandatory drivers license
suspension. Client still has a valid license because
all charges were dropped. The appellate courts have
held the racing statute to be unconstitutional.
PUBLIC ASSISTANCE FRAUD - All
charges dropped.
I negotiated a pre-trial
diversion program for my client. She completed all
the conditions successfully. All charges were
dropped.
AGGRAVATED BATTERY - All
charges dropped.
The allegation was that my
client intentionally rammed his vehicle into another
car. This was a road-rage incident. I convinced the
State to file only misdemeanor charges. About three
months later, all charges were dropped. No felony
conviction for my client.
RESISTING AN OFFICER WITHOUT
VIOLENCE - Not Guilty after Jury Trial.
The police were called out to
my client's house in reference to a fight.
Allegedly, two brothers were fighting over a 6-pack
of beer. When the police went to arrest my client,
they said he resisted arrest without violence. He
did not comply with "clear, loud, lawful orders."
The successful defense strategy was that the client
did not know at the time the officer was in fact, an
officer. My client was sleeping when the police
tried to wake him up. His face was away from the
officers when they tried to handcuff him. He didn't
know who was trying to wake him up. He did resist
arrest, but the state failed to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that my client knew they were
police officers at the time of arrest.
DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND BATTERY
- Not Guilty after Jury Trial.
The client got beat up by her
boyfriend. She was drunk, but she was actually the
victim. We proved this to the jury. Although the
defense has no burden of proof, we proved she was
the victim. We got pictures of her injuries shortly
after she was arrested. Not Guilty verdict in only
three minutes of deliberation.
GIVING A FALSE NAME TO LAW
ENFORCEMENT - Motion to suppress GRANTED.
I filed a motion to suppress
saying the initial stop of my client was a bad stop.
The judge agreed and granted the motion to suppress.
As a result, the State of Florida nolle prossed, or
dropped, all charges.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF - Not Guilty
after Jury Trial.
The client was crossing a
street. A car came towards him and almost hit him.
The accuser said that my client intentionally hit
his right side mirror, knocking it off the car. On
cross, the accuser was confronted with lying and
violating a court order. He spoke with other
witnesses about the case so their stories would
match. After a brutal cross-examination, he had
absolutely no credibility with the jury. Not guilty
after one hour of deliberation by the jury.
TRESPASS AND UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY
- Not Guilty after Trial.
The client was accused of
protesting the FPL (Florida Power and Light) plant
that was being built off Southern Blvd. in western
Palm Beach County. The issue was free speech - the
damage to the Everglades, water system, and the
Everglades. She was stopped just in front of a "No
Trespassing" sign and told to leave. She ignored the
order. She was arrested. When she was arrested, she
went limp, making it hard for the officer to carry
her to the transport vehicle. Through
cross-examination, we proved that the area where she
was stopped was not FPL property. Also, she didn't
quite get to the area where the others were
protesting because she was stopped first. We also
beat the unlawful assembly charge.
