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Category archives for: Fifth Amendment

5th Amendment Extends to iPhone Passcode, Court Rules, Denying Police Access to Defendant’s Phone

FlaglerLive | June 20, 2019

The ruling by a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal in a 2018 Alachua County robbery case came after two other state appellate courts came to different conclusions about forcing defendants to supply passcodes to unlock cell phones.

Saint Kavanaugh

Pierre Tristam | October 4, 2018

Whether Kavanaugh was confirmed or not is irrelevant: whoever’s next might be less personally sleazy, more temperamentally amoebic, but judicially? Same shill, different name.

Cops’ Dash-Cam Video Evidence Gets Big Boost in 5-2 Ruling By Florida Supreme Court

FlaglerLive | February 1, 2017

“We cannot expect officers to retain information as if he or she were a computer,” the court ruled, granting power to judges to review video evidence when available.

Cops Aren’t Under Siege.
Civilians and Liberties Are.

Pierre Tristam | December 9, 2016

It’s a widely accepted but dangerous myth: that cops are under siege, handcuffed by “new restrictions.” The reality is the opposite, with more unbridled and brutal policing than we care to admit.

Profiling By Computer in Florida: What Algorithmic Injustice Looks Like in Broward

FlaglerLive | May 26, 2016

Courtrooms are using computer programs to predict who will be a future criminal, informing decisions from bail to sentencing. Meant to be fairer than human biases, one such program in Florida is particularly likely to falsely flag black defendants as future criminals, wrongly labeling them this way at almost twice the rate as white defendants.

Florida Justices: Cops May Not Keep Lawyer From Client Even in Voluntary Interviews

FlaglerLive | April 22, 2016

While a murder suspect was being voluntarily interrogated before he confessed, his lawyer appeared at the sheriff’s office but cops wouldn’t let the lawyer see his client.

Islam’s Contempt for Self-Criticism: From Salman Rushdie to Kamel Daoud

FlaglerLive | April 13, 2016

When the Algerian journalist Kamel Daoud linked rapes in Germany on New Year’s Eve to Muslims’ extreme sexual deprivation and “unhealthy relationship with women, their body, and desire,” he was vilified, and silenced.

Against Mayor’s Opposition, Palm Coast Council Discovers Public Input at Workshops

FlaglerLive | February 16, 2016

For the first time in 17 years the Palm Coast City Council will join other local governments in allowing public participation at council workshops, where most of the decisions are made, not just at “regular” meetings.

Jews Then, Muslims Now: How Imprudent Judgments Desecrate Western Values

FlaglerLive | July 9, 2015

To assume that all Muslims think alike because of their religious background, that they have “a mind” rather than individual thoughts, is as big a mistake as to assume to know the minds of Jews, Christians, or anyone else.

The FBI’s Hairy Evidence Sends Floridians to Prison on Unscientific Testimony

FlaglerLive | April 29, 2015

At least 42 Floridians have gone to prison on tainted FBI evidence, including one who was executed and as many as nine who remain on death row, after trials in which FBI “experts” gave testimony that the agency concedes to have been unscientific.

Kimberle Weeks Calls County’s Campaign Sign Rules “Interference”; Administrator Craig Coffey Responds

FlaglerLive | August 12, 2014

Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks says the county’s political-sign rules “may create an unpleasant and dangerous environment” for voters and campaigners at the public library. County Administrator Craig Coffey disagrees.

Florida’s “Docs vs. Glocks” Bill Wins Federal Appeals Court Approval in 2-1 Ruling

FlaglerLive | July 25, 2014

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the state Legislature had the right to pass the NRA-backed law, which includes provisions restricting doctors and other medical providers from asking questions about gun ownership during medical visits.

Federal Order Formalizes Agreement Between Flagler Sheriff and ACLU Ending Postcard-Only Mail at Jail

FlaglerLive | May 2, 2014

Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre had nothing to do with a sadistic postcard-only mail policy at the Flagler County jail when he was targeted by an ACLU lawsuit charging First Amendment violations. A federal judge formalized the final settlement of that lawsuit on Thursday.

Deemed “Grossly Offensive,” Satanic Display Is Barred from Florida Capitol’s Christmas Gallery

FlaglerLive | December 19, 2013

The state Department of Management Services on Wednesday denied an attempt by “Satanists” to put up a display in the Florida Capitol, which currently showcases a Nativity scene, a Festivus pole made of beer cans, posters from atheists, and a crudely-made Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Rebecca Sedwick Suicide: Two Middle School Girls, 12 and 14, Arrested on Aggravated Stalking Charges

FlaglerLive | October 15, 2013

12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick’s suicide in Lakeland on Sept. 10 was the latest of a growing list of children taking their own life after being maligned, threatened and taunted online, mostly through a new collection of texting and photo-sharing cellphone applications.

Should Cops Have Power to Track You in Real Time Through Cell Phones? Court Will Decide.

FlaglerLive | October 7, 2013

Grappling with privacy rights amid fast-changing technology, the Florida Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a challenge to police using “real-time” cell-phone information to track a suspect in a drug case.

In Florida Case, U.S. Supremes Strike Down Drug-Sniffing Cop Dogs Outside of Home

FlaglerLive | March 26, 2013

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Florida v. Jardines is the second out of the state dealing with how search and seizure limits under the U.S. Constitution affect the ability of police to use sniffer dogs to find drugs.

Flagler Sheriff Tallies DUI Catch as Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Blood-Test Case

FlaglerLive | September 28, 2012

Flagler County deputies arrested 11 drunk drivers and many others on charges unrelated to DUI. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether forcing a DUI suspect to submit to a blood test is constitutional.

Florida’s High Court Affirms Guilty Until Proven Innocent Standard in Drug Possessions

FlaglerLive | July 12, 2012

In not requiring “knowledge” of the illegality of whatever they were carrying, the law puts Florida at odds with at least 48 other states that require prosecutors to convince a jury that defendants knew they were carrying illegal drugs.

Palm Coast’s Pre-2010 Red-Light Camera Fines in Question Following Latest Court Decision

FlaglerLive | July 10, 2012

The 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach on Friday found Orlando’s red-light traffic cameras illegal before they were standardized by a state law in 2010. Palm Coast’s set up was similar to Orlando’s. But the decision does not affect the current camera set up or the fine structure.

FHP’s Crackdown and the Prohibitionist Politics of Drunk Driving: A Dissent

FlaglerLive | July 6, 2012

Taking aim at today’s deployment of 40 FHP troopers on I-95, Darrell Smith calls the targeting of people who drink–as opposed to drunk drivers–a brown-shirted example of a police state mentality too readily embraced by the public.

Stop and Frisk Follies

FlaglerLive | June 14, 2012

Stop and frisk is a constitutionally suspect police tactic that entails stopping and searching an individual for weapons arbitrarily. The practice disproportionately targets blacks and Latinos while yielding a minimal number of weapons–usually on whites.