Criminal Evidence FAQs
Are blood and urine tests accurate?
The accuracy of blood and urine tests in Florida depends upon whether or not the individual is complying with the government regulations, number one for the collection of those samples, number two for the preservation of those samples, and number three, for the analysis of those samples. Any break in compliance with the rules for those three areas will render that result unreliable.
How can the admissibility of evidence used against me be challenged?
Evidence that is going to be used against you in a DUY case can most certainly be challenged. It can be challenged for violation of constitutional standards, such as a breath test, that is a search, so different constitutional principles apply. It can be challenged for regulatory violations, in Florida a RADAR gun is required to be maintained in certain ways and there’s administrative regulations that require those types of inspections. If an officer has not done that then that RADAR gun or its reading may be thrown out. There may be violations of state law, there’s state laws that control law enforcement activities, there are investigative tools, their video equipment, their car, to breath testing devices, to blood testing devices. It can be challenged under due process principles, but again it’s just not right. Again, there are numerous different categories of challenges that you can attack evidence upon.
How private are my conversations?
Conversations with a defense attorney are completely confidential. Again, that is not something that is going to be disclosed to any other individuals including law enforcement, including state attorneys, including your parents, including other witnesses. Again, your attorney is working with you and those conversations are completely privileged.
What is the DNA registry?
In Florida if you’re convicted of a felony, the court would generally require an individual to submit to a DNA sample. That sample is then given to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement so they can enter that information into the registry. Again, that is a huge data bank of DNA samples. When law enforcement is doing an investigation and they have a DNA sample, they have something of known value to compare their DNA sample against. That is how they match a DNA from a crime scene to a potential individual that maybe in the registry.
Can social media or internet information be used to prove a case against me in court?
Yes, social media can be used against individuals in court. Again, the ultimate admissibility of that type of evidence is going to be a case-by-case decision for trial judges to make. However, law enforcement agencies now have more and more officers with dedicated jobs purely to look at social media and to try to gather evidentiary leads, investigative leads on different types of cases, so yes, what you say or post online can be utilized against you in criminal courts in the State of Florida.
