by Eric Roper | Aug 9, 2017 | Uncategorized
Members of the military who are convicted by a court-martial have rights even after the conviction that can affect how much time they actually serve as well as the type of discharge they receive from the service. Clemency is generally defined as anything that reduces...
by Eric Roper | Jun 22, 2016 | Criminal Defense, Uncategorized
The Florida legislature has enacted several laws over the last decade that provide for enhanced penalties for individuals with criminal records who are convicted of new felony offenses. While there are a total of six different potential classifications, two are...
by Eric Roper | Jun 21, 2016 | Criminal Defense, Uncategorized
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a setback to the Fourth Amendment’s right against unreasonable searches and seizures by law enforcement when it decided the case of Utah v. Strieff. Generally, the Fourth Amendment prohibits the introduction of evidence in a...
by Eric Roper | Jun 20, 2016 | Criminal Defense, Military Law, Uncategorized
Unlike a civilian jury, where potential jurors are selected at random from the community based on DMV records, members of a military jury (known as a panel) in a court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) are personally selected by the...
by Eric Roper | Jun 14, 2016 | Military Law, Uncategorized
Earlier this year, the President signed into effect changes to the Manual for Courts-Martial (“MCM”). The MCM is an Executive Order that generally governs how trials by courts-martial operate. It includes the Military Rules of Evidence, the Rules for Courts-Martial,...
by Eric Roper | Jun 14, 2016 | Criminal Defense, Uncategorized
Florida law requires that certain prison sentences are mandatory for defendants who are found to have possessed, carried, displayed, or used a firearm during the commission of a qualifying felony. The qualifying felonies include murder, sexual battery, robbery,...
by Eric Roper | Nov 16, 2015 | Criminal Defense, Military Law, Uncategorized
It is a familiar scenario to anyone involved in defending a military member accused of committing a sexual assault. Following a night of heavy drinking, a female confides to a friend or co-worker that she was sexually assaulted by a military member at some point...
by Eric Roper | Nov 12, 2015 | Criminal Defense, Military Law, Uncategorized
A Florida appeals court recently held that a police officer’s trial testimony that he remembered the defendant “didn’t want to speak with me” was an improper comment on the defendant’s exercise of his right to remain silent. The case serves as an important reminder of...
by Eric Roper | Apr 22, 2015 | Criminal Defense, Uncategorized
A police officer with a K-9 drug sniffing dog in Nebraska pulled over a motorist for driving on the shoulder of the highway. The driver answered all of the officer’s questions and received a warning for the traffic offense. The officer then requested the driver’s...
by Eric Roper | Sep 11, 2013 | Uncategorized
In a recent opinion by the 5th District Court of Appeals, the court reaffirmed the rule that police must have a reasonable suspicion that a person has committed a crime before detaining the person to conduct further investigation. The defendant in the case was seen...
