The Fourth Amendment only applies residences when a police officer conducts a "search" of that residence. A common tactic that police officers use to get around the Amendment's protections is to use a technique called a "knock-and-talk." During these encounters,...
Month: December 2016
Pennsylvania Court Recognizes Sexual-Orientation Harassment Claim Under Title VII
In August of this year, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission succeeded on a Title VII claim on behalf of an employee who was discriminated against due to sexual orientation. We wrote about that opinion in a previous blog post. Last month, they achieved a...
Eleventh Circuit OKs Gay-Straight Alliance’s Equal Access Act Challenge
The Equal Access Act is a federal law passed in 1984 to ensure that federally funded schools give extra-curricular clubs equal access. The law was originally lobbied for by Christian groups who wanted to ensure that Christian students could conduct Bible study...
Florida Supreme Court Issues New Juvenile Re-Sentencing Decision
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court decided Kelsey v. State, the latest case to guarantee juvenile defendants serving long prison terms a chance at a new sentence. To understand the opinion, some background on juvenile resentencing in Florida is required. In the...
What Evidence of Prior Criminal History Can the Government Introduce Against Defendants Charged with Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm?
Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Government generally cannot use evidence of a defendant's prior bad acts to prove that a defendant committed the crime charged. Under Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence states that evidence of crimes, wrongs or other...
Are BB Guns “Deadly Weapons” under Florida Law?
One issue with which criminal defense attorneys must often grapple is what constitutes a "weapon" under Florida's criminal code. A recent decision out of the Second District Court of Appeal, C.W. v. State, has added some additional clarification as to whether, and...