Andrew D. Stine, P.A. - Florida Criminal Defence Attorney

Many people have been following the John Goodman DUI Manslaughter case almost as avidly as they followed the Casey Anthony case. Goodman was convicted in March of killing 23-year-old Scott Wilson in a car crash, he trudged his way through and arduous court process leading to conviction and controversy. Then, Goodman's defense lawyers made several claims that the conviction should be overturned because of jury misconduct. Now, after the hearing and questioning of the jury, the judge may release Goodman while he appeals his conviction.

Jeff George, often discussed in previous posts as a kingpin of pill mills, has finally been ordered to pay financial restitution to the family of 24-year-old Joey Bartolucci who died from overdosing on narcotics in 2009, supplied by the pill mills operated by the George brothers. Pill mills are pain clinics that often prescribed powerful narcotics like Oxycodone without discretion. These operations are under extreme scrutiny and heavy investigation because of the rising number of Oxycodone related overdose deaths. It is simply just too easy for addicts and drug dealers to get their hands on powerful prescription drugs.

Two Sarasota grandparents have been arrested charged with child endangerment, the charges also involve alcohol. Many times, child abuse, child neglect, and child endangerment often involves alcohol or drug abuse. When authorities are called to confront a set of parents or guardians, it's usually because a relative, teacher, or some sort of witness has personally seen the child's parents abuse or neglect the child. Often times the abuse or neglect only happens with alcohol. This can be a very tricky situation because the parents or guardians feel they have not done anything wrong.

John Goodman, founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, was found guilty of DUI Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide in March of this year. While his case seemed to be resolved, his criminal defense attorneys were continuing to attempt to change the fate of Goodman's case by accusing several of the jury members of misconduct. This case continues to complicate, while Goodman still sits in a cell, convicted of drunkenly hitting another person's vehicle, sending that car careening into a canal where the victim drowned.

Animal Services is an organization given the responsibility to care for animals neglected or abused by their owners. It is often heart breaking to hear stories about animal service centers that are under investigations of animal cruelty. For animal lovers, it can be jarring to hear that an organization that is dedicated to helping defenseless animals is actually causing more harm than good. One man was outraged to hear that a dog had been euthanized way too soon - violating policy - and actually made several threatening phone calls to the Hernando County Animal Services, even making a bomb threat.

St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky has been arrested on grand theft charges. He posted a $2,500 bond Monday and is potentially facing time in prison if convicted. Grand theft is actually quite a common crime. Whether the act of theft is determined to be grand theft or petty theft determines on the value of the property or money stolen. If the money or value of the property stolen is greater than $300, it is considered grand theft with a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years or more.

Stalking is not a crime often reported in news headlines but in this case, it caught the attention of reporters because the accused is a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Deputy. The accusations are that the officer used his law enforcement resources to aggressively stalk his ex-girlfriend. Crimes like these are disappointing for any South Florida resident to stomach because our community expects security and a sense of honor and duty from our local law enforcement. Seeing police officers abuse their power and their resources to manipulate other people causes a lack of faith in the justice system put in place to protect our community.

No, this story is not about Trayvon Martin. However, with all the media attention, publicity, and rallies surrounding the Trayvon Martin shooting, other similar cases are garnering a little more attention than they normally would have. In Pompano Beach, an unarmed black male was napping in a vehicle when he was shot multiple times by Broward Sheriff's deputies - one of which was a star on the reality TV show "Police Women of Broward County." It an open investigation and although the story is still unclear, at the end of the day, an unarmed black male was shot by a police officer, giving the case some room in the media spotlight.

The shooting of Trayvon Martin has been floodlighted with media attention with rallies happening in cities from coast to coast and Martin's parents appearing at Capitol Hill. There has been much controversy and debate over the case where experts are questioning the defense of "self-defense," or the stand your ground law. At the end of the day however, an unarmed 17-year-old boy was shot dead by the neighborhood watch crime captain. The debate over the case is likely to escalate as tension increases and supporters demand the arrest of George Zimmerman.

According to an article posted on CNet, a federal judge in Colorado ruled in January that American citizens can be ordered to decrypt their hard drives to allow police room for more thorough investigations when acting on search warrants for cases that involves things like wire fraud or child pornography. This ruling could truly set precedents in terms of privacy and is encouraging people to argue the Fifth Amendment.