Contempt

Judges have the unique power to put people in jail for misconduct in courtrooms. It’s called contempt, and without a lawyer you can find yourself facing a judge who is acting as prosecutor, jury, and executioner. As anyone who has been held in contempt can tell you, this is not a good position to be in.

A judge can hold a person in contempt for many things: speaking out of turn in the courtroom, being disrespectful when asked a question, and refusing to comply with a judge’s request. All of these things can lead to open contempt hearings – and all of these things can lead to you being jailed for months at a time.

In Florida, contempt is defined as any refusal to obey a legal order or any conduct which prevents the court from conducting its business. As straightforward as that may sound, it can often be interpreted as punishing outbursts in court after harsh sentences. Many times I have seen it used to punish belligerence from a defendant during a disputed case. In giving the judiciary this power, the legislature’s goal was to give judges absolute authority over their courtrooms. And it worked.

However, people unfamiliar with the criminal justice system, particularly in hotly contested proceedings, can find themselves running afoul of a judge’s idiosyncracies. This is why self-representation is so dangerous. While a person has a constitutional right to represent themselves in court, that same person also has a constitutional right to an attorney.

If you are facing a criminal case, your freedom is at stake – in more ways than you know. The government will have an attorney there, working for the State’s interests. You should have one too. If you need representation in any criminal matter, visit my website at www.shafercriminallaw.com or call me at (904)350-9333 for a free consultation.

Regards,

Robert Shafer

Flores-Figeroa v. United States

Immigrants who have come to the United States illegally face a unique dilemma. To remain in this country and afford basic necessities, you must work. To work, you must have a social security number. To have a social security number, you must be a legal immigrant to this country. Often times, immigrants seeking to work make the risky choice of obtaining identification through unofficial means. When people get fraudulent identification documents from illegal sources, they face the potential charge of identity theft, a felony in Florida and the federal justice system.

However, identity theft is a very specific charge. In order to commit this crime on must knowingly obtain the identity of another person and use it without their permission. What happens when you use a social security number that does not belong to anyone at all? Do you commit this crime? Has anyone’s identity been stolen?

This is the question the United States Supreme Court recently faced in the case of Flores-Figeroa v. United States. Ths Supreme Court delivered a crippling blow to the onslaught of prosecution against hard-working, non-criminal immigrants in this country. Prior to this decision, the government sought years of prison time for immigrants whose only crime was making up a social security number and putting it on a job application so that they could earn an honest living. These people would be charged, prosecuted, and sentenced to years in prison for identity theft, even though no actual identity was stolen.

Under Flores-Figeroa, the government has the burden of establishing that the identifying information used belonged to an actual person. This ruling changed the face of the prosecution of immigrants, and continues to effect clients I currently represent. If you are under investigation or charged with a crime like this, don’t settle for a sentence that could lead to your deportation. You have rights that may have been effected by this ruling, and I would be happy to speak with you about them.

Regards,

Robert Shafer, Esq.