Florida Supreme Court makes it risky for a defendant to tell a judge ‘I’m innocent’

The Florida Supreme Court is sending this message to criminal defendants: If you think you were wrongly convicted, keep it to yourself. Ignoring long-standing law, the justices decided that when defendants dare to dispute their guilt instead of owning the crime, state trial judges may pile on extra prison time. With that, the justices normalized a penalty for defendants who

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NC: Phone scam targeting persons required to register as sex offenders

[FAC NOTE: We will keep sharing these as a reminder]   A phone scam in Orange County has been targeting registered sex offenders, prompting the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to warn the community about the risks of these calls. On Nov. 17, the sheriff’s office received two calls alerting them about the scam. “The person would answer the phone and

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TN: Huge win as Tennessee District Court slams the state for it’s registry violating ex post facto provisions.

Even though it had the benefit of relying on 6th circuit precedent, a Tennessee Middle District Court judge yesterday slammed the state for violating the Ex Post Facto provision of the Constitution by applying registry restrictions and conditions to people whose offenses predate those restrictions and conditions. In the Order, the Court stated, “Under the Constitution, a backward-looking sexual offender

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Plantation man arrested on charges of extorting, harassing state Sen. Lauren Book

Florida police have arrested 19-year-old XXXX of Plantation on cyber stalking and extortion charges after he allegedly faked sexually-explicit photos of state Sen. Lauren Book and threatened to distribute them to news media outlets. Book, a Plantation Democrat who chairs the Senate Democratic Caucus, is a widely known advocate for victims of child abuse and sexual abuse. According to the

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Compensation denied for man wrongfully incarcerated for 37 years

A man who spent 37 years in state prison for a rape and murder he didn’t commit is also being barred from being compensated for his wrongful conviction. Efforts are underway to eliminate or bypass the so-called “clean hands” provision that bars compensation if there had been previous convictions. Robert Duboise, 55, has been walking the halls of the state

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