Criminal Defense

Since October 1, 2026, Florida makes it a separate third-degree felony for an adult to commit aggravated animal cruelty in the presence of a minor, or to cause or entice a minor to commit it. The 2026 laws also expanded FDLE’s public animal cruelty website. What the statute punishes, who...

Since October 1, 2026, Florida’s checklist for labeling someone a criminal gang member has 13 criteria, including admissions and gang-related language on social media, a live-in spouse’s word, and two sightings with known members instead of four. What changed in section 874.03, what the label does to a sentence, and...

Since October 1, 2026, Florida requires the marking “775.261, F.S.” on the front of the driver license or ID card of every designated career offender. Who counts as a career offender, when the marked card is due, the felony for not getting it, and where the defense is....

Some drugstore nasal inhalers contain levmetamfetamine, a form of methamphetamine, and a routine lab confirmation can’t tell it from the street drug. A chiral test can. What the science shows, the federal 80 percent line, and what Florida requires before probation can be revoked....

A 2023 study had six veterinary students run horse ultrasounds with 90 percent ethanol in a closed room, then blow into an evidential Dräger breath machine. Most tested positive, up to 0.087. What the study shows, what it doesn’t show about Florida’s Intoxilyzer, and where the defense is....

Since October 1, 2026, Florida makes it a third-degree felony to expose yourself or perform a non-contact sexual act while watching a child under 16 for sexual gratification, when the child could see you. The child doesn’t have to notice. What the law says, how it answers State v. Werner,...

Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial ended in a hung jury on September 4, 2026, over whether she was criminally responsible. Why a retrial is allowed, the one Massachusetts rule that can stop it, who has to prove her state of mind, and what could happen at the September 29 hearing....

Starting October 1, 2026, getting into a Florida rental with a fake paystub, bank statement, or ID, a false identity statement, or by impersonating the applicant is a third-degree felony. What the new law covers, what it doesn’t, and the seven-day lease termination that comes with it....

Meg’s Law makes it a third-degree felony for a store licensed to sell tobacco or nicotine, or its clerks and employees, to have nitrous oxide on the premises starting October 1, 2026, with no minimum amount. What it covers, what was already illegal for buyers, and where the defense is....

Starting October 1, 2026, willfully violating a no-contact pretrial release condition is a crime after an arrest for battery, assault, stalking, and other violent charges, not only domestic violence. What counts as contact, what happens if the other person reaches out, and how the order can be changed....