Marc L. Stein Law Blog

School yard fights were commonplace when I was growing up.  It was never anything too serious though.  After the smaller guy was pushed to the ground the fight was usually over, and the bully once again had bragging rights.  

But throwing punches as an adult can result in serious legal consequences. Under Florida Statute 784.03, the offense of battery occurs when a person actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other; or... Read More

When an officer pulls someone over who they suspect of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), the driver will be asked to perform a number of very strange field sobriety exercises .  One of these exercises is known as the walk and turn.  In the walk and turn exercise the officer will ask the driver to take nine heel to toe steps, make a turn using a series of small steps, and walk back taking another nine heel to toe steps.  All the while, the driver is supposed to... Read More

Judges wield a tremendous amount of power.  One such power is the ability to issue an arrest warrant for a defendant who does not show up to court.  This warrant is often called a bench warrant or an alias capias.  Once a bench warrant has been issued, a defendant will be taken into custody as soon as he or she comes into contact with a police officer.  Often times, someone will be pulled over for a traffic infraction, and when the officer checks the... Read More