Riviera Beach Criminal Defense Attorney

Riviera Beach Defense Lawyer Against Racial Profiling

• Have you been stopped by the police and subsequently arrested for possession of Drugs, Guns or some other weapon even though you were doing nothing wrong at the time?
• Did the police tell you why they stopped you?
• Did the police tell you they were suspicious of you?
• Did the Police tell you what caused them to be suspicious?
• Did the police tell you it was an anonymous tip?
• Did they police tell you that they were going to do a “pat-down” search on you?

If you feel the police unjustly targeted you; please Call Attorney Steven M. Logan so that we can discuss your Criminal Defense.

Race and Ethnicity by themselves cannot be the basis for “Reasonable Suspicion” U.S. v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873 (1975)

If the police have reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot that they can articulate, they may stop you briefly to dispel that suspicion. This is not considered an arrest or a “custodial interrogation” so “Miranda Warnings” do not apply. The police may conduct a pat-down search (“stop and Frisk”) to feel for hard objects that could be considered weapons for their protection. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968). The cops can then take the gun and arrest you for a gun charge if you are not authorized to carry the gun. “Plain Feel”- if the police during a lawful pat-down search under “Terry” feel a soft object (cocaine), the cops can’t pull the object out of your pocket and charge you with drug possession, unless the search is lawful under the “Terry – stop and frisk” and the police can demonstrate through sense of touch that the object through its contour and mass that its identity is immediately apparent. Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U.S. 366 (1993)

Do Any of the Following Examples Sound Like Your Case?

Case Law Update

• An anonymous tip stating that a black male with a white shirt and dark shorts had brandished a handgun is insufficient to justify a Terry stop. Where the person stopped does not meet the description, the court errs in failing to suppress evidence found during the stop. Stinson v. State, _ So. 3d , 38 F.L.W. D1530 (4th DCA 7/17/2013)
• Because Florida does not provide a mechanism for the owner of a motor vehicle to report a change in the vehicle’s color, the fact that a vehicle’s color does not match the color specified in DHSMV’s database does not provide an LEO probable cause to stop the vehicle, the Fifth DCA ruled December 12. Van Teamer v. State, So. 3d , 38 F.L.W. D50 (5th DCA 12/21/2012).
• Police Officer was dispatched to an apartment complex based on an anonymous call reporting juveniles loitering and possible drug activity. He saw defendant and another person standing around, and he asked them why they were there. They said they were visiting a friend, and the officer pointing out a No Trespassing sign. He told the persons to stay where they were, he went to the friend’s apartment, and no one answered the door. The officer saw defendant drop something, and it turned out to be cocaine. The trial court denied a motion to suppress. Held: By telling the defendant to remain, the incident became a Terry stop, and the officer had insufficient suspicion to detain defendant. The court erred in failing to suppress. The mere fact that a person is present on a property is insufficient to give rise to a reasonable suspicion that the person is trespassing and it cannot be the basis for an investigatory stop. Collins v. State, So. 3d _, 38 F.L.W. D1217 (4th DCA 6/5/2013)

Call attorney Steven M. Logan, for your Riviera Criminal Defense at (561) 791-1882.

Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, U.S.A. Because of where its eastern boundary lies, it is also the easternmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. The population of Riviera Beach is predominantly an African American city and it is on the List of U.S. cities with African American majority populations. It is home to the Port of Palm Beach and a United States Coast Guard station, and has its own marina.