Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Beyond Prison: The Collateral Consequences of Being An Ex-Offender
For many defendants who have broken the law, been convicted and sentenced for the offense, and then sent to jail, they believe that after they have served their time, they are free to return to their normal lives. However, it becomes increasingly obvious that even if one has served time in prison or jail,… Read More »
Trust and the Law III: Journalist Privilege and Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Advocate
There have been a couple recent blog entries – Trust and the Law and Trust and the Law II, which have outlined the role that trust within our relationships with other people is protected by the law. The purpose is to protect specific relationships from the scrutiny of the court system because our society… Read More »
The Felony Murder Doctrine: Florida’s Harsh Sentencing Rules
A recent Florida case of a young man requesting clemency from his life sentence is bringing to the forefront an important legal doctrine that put him there in the first place. The young man is serving a life sentence for lending his car to group of his friends; while the young man slept in… Read More »
Florida Judges Further Restrict Jury Access to Electronic Devices
The court system has been completely revolutionized by burgeoning technology. With the use of new forensic methods, a defendant’s innocence or guilt can be more readily established; with new technology, new evidentiary standards may be used to show whether or not the defendant is responsible for the crime; and with new technology, props and… Read More »
Body Cameras on Police Officers: A Workable Solution in the Aftermath?
With the last week, the country has been up-in-arms over the events that occurred in Missouri and, to add fuel to the fire, the “no indictment” ruling for a police officer who used a banned choke-hold maneuver that ended the life of a man. With so much in turmoil and the citizens taking to… Read More »
The Limelight on the Grand Jury System in Florida
Recently in the news, there has been constant discussion about grand juries and their ability to indict. Grand juries serve an extremely important role in our justice system, as we have witnessed in the last month, but how they work still remains a mystery to the general public. The grand jury system in Florida,… Read More »
Ignition Interlock Devices: Florida’s Solution to DUIs
Many changes have been made federally and on a state-by-state basis, strengthening drunk driving legislation. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) has been petitioning Congress by publishing such statistics about drunk driving in our country, including those showing that each year, 10,000 people are killed as a result of a drunk driver, with a price… Read More »
Trust and the Law II: Psychotherapist and Clergy Privileges
In a recent blog entry, Trust and the Law, trust and its role that it has in our relationship and our lives was examined through a legal lens. As discussed, there are several relationships in our lives where we share with another person information that we would like to protect or would like to… Read More »
U.S. Marshals Use Cellphone Tracking Drone to Collect Data, Locate Criminal Suspects
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the U.S. Marshals Service has been utilizing new technology in an effort to find criminal suspects. The technology being used is more sophisticated than the StingRay devices that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been using, which collects serial numbers of cellphones so as to locate the… Read More »
Florida’s New License Suspension Law and its effect on DUI/DUBAL cases
Florida has been one of the many states to strengthen DUI laws within the last couple years. Within the last year, more traffic and DUI laws have been broadened and instituted with harsher punishments. The most recent law that was put into effect, which will have a significant impact on drivers arrested for a… Read More »