Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Criminal Defense Lawyers Care More About Your Case Than You Realize
Members of many professions can cite a least favorite comment that they hear too often during cocktail party small talk. Doctors don’t like being asked to look at a stranger’s possibly worrisome rash or mole in the middle of a cocktail party. Translators and foreign language teachers are tired of hearing, “I can barely… Read More »
Sarasota County Defendants Face Drug Trafficking Charges After Drug Bust At Home
All over Central Florida, people have illegal drugs in their houses; police do not know where these drugs are and in what quantities, and they have little way of finding out. This is because the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unlawful search and seizure of private property. Many arrests for drug… Read More »
Is Ketamine The Next Great Hope For Addiction Treatment?
Ketamine is a Schedule III controlled substance, but the schedule number of a drug does not tell you much about it. Except for Schedule I drugs, all controlled substances are legal for medical use at least sometimes, and the law considers all controlled substances dangerous enough that it does not allow manufacturers to offer… Read More »
Can You Get Your Criminal Charges Dropped?
What is better than getting acquitted at trial? Getting the prosecution to drop the charges against you before your case even gets to trial is even better. When the state drops your charges, it means that they are already sure that you are innocent, or at least sure that there is reasonable doubt about… Read More »
Criminal Defense Lawyers Help Teens Avoid Adult Sentences In Criminal Court
Juvenile courts do not convict young defendants; they only adjudicate them delinquent. Likewise, they do not order teens to stay in jail or prison for a certain period, only juvenile detention. Anyone with direct experience with the juvenile justice system can tell you that the differences are only a matter of terminology. Kids who… Read More »
P2P Is Like Methamphetamine But Much More Potent
Those “just say no” slogans from the 1980s and the “your brain on drugs” public service announcements from the 1990s may be laughable, but old folks are onto something when they say that the drugs they messed around with when they were not as dangerous as the drugs on the street today. No, Grandpa,… Read More »
Doctor Who Supervised Dozens Of Substance Abuse Treatment Centers Gets 20-Year Prison Sentence For Healthcare Fraud
If you start talking to people who have come to Florida for substance abuse treatment, you will hear plenty of stories about a cure that is worse than the disease. The fact that it takes most people more than one attempt to achieve long-term sobriety is not the issue; many addiction treatment centers and… Read More »
Are Plea Deals Just Another Injustice?
Everyone likes a deal. How many times have you gone to a dollar store and bought bags full of stuff you didn’t need just because it was for sale at a lower price than you might find elsewhere? The purveyors of deals are counting on you not to think much about what you are… Read More »
Getting A Criminal Record Expunged In Florida
Bending the rules might seem like the usual way of doing things in Florida. People obey and disobey traffic laws on a whim, and the lines between the definitions of a pet, a zoo animal, or a wild beast or reptile that might show up in your backyard at any time are notoriously blurry. … Read More »
It’s Easier Than You Think For Florida To Send Defendants To Prison For Life Without Parole
As scary as it is when a judge pronounces your sentence at a sentencing hearing, especially when that sentence involves prison time, the sentence is not set in stone. Defendants convicted in criminal court have the right to appeal their sentences and their convictions. During your sentence, you have the right to move your… Read More »