Category: Self-Defense
No More Excessive Fines or Penalties in Florida
Florida criminal defendants facing excessive penalties or seized property can thank Indiana resident Tyson Timbs for relief via the US Supreme Court. Tyson Timbs struggled with drug addiction. A painkiller prescription had escalated to heroin abuse. In an unfortunate turn he was arrested selling heroin to undercover officers to fund his addiction. Timbs pled guilty…
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Marsy’s Law – The Potential Impact on Domestic Violence Cases
Marsy’s Law can have potential impacts on a defendant’s Domestic Violence case (Domestic Battery, Domestic Assault, and Injunctions for protection against Domestic Violence). It is important to understand the impacts this law can have on your case. What is Marsy’s Law? Marsy’s Law was passed by Florida voters on November 6, 2018 (by…
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Seth Shapiro Wins the 2019 Avvo Clients’ Choice Award
Seth Shapiro, Attorney at Law, Owner at the Morris Law Firm has been awarded the Avvo Clients’ Choice Award for 2019. See Seth Shapiro’s Avvo Profile here. The Avvo Clients’ Choice Award is presented each year to attorneys based on their positive relationships with their clients. Recipients of the Clients’ Choice Award are primarily evaluated…
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Attorney Melinda Morris AGAIN rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Lawyers in St. Petersburg for 2019!
St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay, Florida Attorney Melinda Morris of the Morris Law Firm has AGAIN been rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Petersburg by ThreeBestRated.com for 2019. The ThreeBestRated review team selected Melinda Morris for the accolade using a 50-Point Inspection that includes everything from checking reputation, history, complaints, ratings,…
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Lights, No Camera, Action – Police Body Camera Use In Tampa Bay
Over one year ago we wrote about the use of body cameras by local law enforcement agencies in our blog, “Your Next Interaction With Police May Be Video Recorded.” Today, many of our local law enforcement agencies have still not adopted the technology and are refusing to do so. Today, only the Pasco County Sheriff’s…
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Seth Shapiro Wins the 2017 Avvo Clients’ Choice Award
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – Seth Shapiro, Attorney at Law, Owner at the Morris Law Firm has been awarded the Avvo Clients’ Choice Award for 2017. See Seth Shapiro’s Avvo Profile here. The Avvo Clients’ Choice Award is presented each year to attorneys based on their positive relationships with their clients. Recipients of the Clients’ Choice…
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Melinda Morris Rated 10.0 “Superb” by Avvo.com
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA – Melinda Morris, Attorney at Law, Owner at the Morris Law Firm has been rated a 10.0 – “Superb” by Avvo.com. See Melinda Morris’ Avvo Profile here. The Avvo Rating evaluates a lawyer’s background based on the information available in an attorney’s Avvo profile. Avvo creates the rating using a proprietary model…
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Can You Legally Record the Police in Florida?
We recently reported on the potential rise of body cameras being used by law enforcement in the Tampa Bay Area. While Pasco County utilizes body cameras for every officer, other Tampa Bay law enforcement agencies have yet to implement the technology in any form. Notably, the St. Petersburg Police department has waffled on the issue…
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Your Next Interaction With Police May Be Video Recorded
Recently, Axon the company formerly known as Taser International recognized for their Taser stun guns, has offered a free body camera to every sworn law enforcement officer in the United States. See https://www.axon.com/info/offer . The offer is in fact a free body camera and supporting software for a 1-year trial period. But that may be…
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Stand Your Ground
Expanding the Florida Castle Doctrine The Castle Doctrine is an old common law adage that a “man” has a right to defend his castle. The legal theory behind the Castle Doctrine is that when a person unlawfully enters another’s home, then the homeowner does not have to flee. Before Stand Your Ground (SYG) was enacted…
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