Pumphrey Law Blog

December 13, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Juvenile Offenses Social Share

The average age for a first alcoholic drink in the United States is 13 years old. One may be thinking: “Why so young?” As a senior at Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida, I will attempt to answer that troubling question. For a high school student, the need to feel accepted is fundamental in our everyday lives. This helps us …

December 2, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense Social Share

“Man is not man, but a wolf to those he does not know.” – Plautus As a trial lawyer one of your most important goals is to “persuade juries,” (Berg, 2006). In order to do so this requires a certain level of confidence and bravado that some attorneys are natural born with and others are not. Effective trial lawyers must …

November 2, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Drug Charges Social Share

The video above is an advertisement paid for by People United for Medical Marijuana, a Florida-based political action committee (PAC) seeking to legalize medical marijuana. It makes a number of important points that voters should keep in mind when they head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the fate of the Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, or Amendment 2: …

October 7, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Drunk Driving/DUI Social Share

With football season in full swing at major educational institutions in Tallahassee such as Florida State University and Florida A&M, the Tallahassee Police Department and Florida Highway Patrol are seeking out intoxicated drivers, willing and ready to make driving under the influence (DUI) arrests. If you have been arrested for DUI after leaving a tailgate, a football watch party, a local …

September 30, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Sex Crimes Social Share

The good news to come out of data jointly released the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) was that violent crime was for the first six months of 2016 was 13 percent lower than it was for the same time period in 2015. The bad news was that the Tallahassee Democrat reported on August 21 …

September 26, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Violent Crimes Social Share

The Tallahassee Democrat reported on September 17 that a 55-year-old man was being held in the Leon County Jail without bond after being charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of a 33-year-old woman on August 28. MLive Media Group reported on August 31 that the man was arrested in Jackson County, Michigan, by Blackman-Leoni Department of Public Safety Officers …

September 23, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Sex Crimes Social Share

The Pensacola News Journal reported on September 17 that an undercover sting operation involving multiple local law enforcement agencies throughout the Florida Panhandle resulted in the arrest of 22 people. During a press conference at the Pensacola Police Department (PPD) on September 14, authorities announced that the sting targeting adults using the internet to solicit sex with children–dubbed “Operation Undertow”–was …

September 20, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Violent Crimes Social Share

More than two years after Florida State University law professor Dan Markel was murdered at his home in Tallahassee, recent developments have revealed increasing tension between Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) investigators and the prosecutor, State Attorney Willie Meggs. Sigfredo Garcia was arrested on May 26, 2016, for first-degree murder and Luis Rivera was charged as a co-conspirator a few days …

September 8, 2016 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Bench Warrants/Warrants, Domestic Violence Social Share

Limitations on the Community Caretaking Exception to the Warrant Requirement in Florida The Fourth Amendment provides: “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to …