The police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile after a routine traffic stop in Minnesota has been acquitted on all charges. The shooting occurred in July 2016. Officer Jeronimo Yanez had been charged with second-degree manslaughter and endangering safety by discharging a firearm in the shooting. A dash cam video of the incident was released yesterday and frankly it's hard to watch. There are two excellent articles on the incident, one by David French of the conservative National Review … [Read more...]
Defending Yourself In A Criminal Case
Defending yourself in a criminal case is the biggest mistake you can make. A famous man once said, "He who represents himself has a fool for a client." Our 16th President Abraham Lincoln knew something about pro se defense for he was a country lawyer before he became president. Today, we saw Exhibit A in why you never want to defend yourself in court, regardless of the criminal charge. (This also applies to civil cases.) The Tampa Bay Times has released a video of Markeith Loyd's first … [Read more...]
Florida Police Training Less Rigorous Than Barber Training
New Florida police officers are required to undergo 770 hours of training at a police academy while barbers who want to be licensed in the Sunshine State are required to take 1,200 hours of coursework, according to a local media outlet. Now, as the article points out, that is a minimum requirement and some Florida police departments require much more training than the minimum state rule. For instance, the St. Petersburg Police Department puts new recruits through an additional eight-week, … [Read more...]
