Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

As West Palm Beach spousal abuse criminal defense attorneys, we thought a recent news report was a good illustration of some of the protections and pitfalls of the jury system. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported May 9 that jurors in the trial of a former Davie police officer regret acquitting him of assault on his pregnant wife. As the jury in that trial was finding him not guilty, Vally Getejanc was fleeing the country, first to Rome and then likely to relatives in his native Serbia or in Switzerland. He may have been fleeing his second trial, which was another assault case involving the same woman, who has since given birth to a son and divorced Getejanc. Jurors told the newspaper that if they had known about the second charge and that Getejanc would flee the country, they would have changed their decision.

In the first trial, Getejanc was accused of holding his service weapon to his pregnant wife’s head and threatening to kill her. Juror John Morgan said the jury thought Getejanc was guilty, but felt it didn’t have the evidence to vote for a guilty verdict. That was before Morgan and other jurors found out about the second charge, in which Getejanc was accused of pushing his wife onto the ground while she was five months pregnant. They also regretted not knowing that Getejanc’s former girlfriend sought a restraining order against him in 2008, although that request was not granted. Morgan and another juror, who asked not to be named, said they felt this information was necessary to help them make their decision. It’s not clear whether prosecutors knew Getejanc had fled the country at the time of the trial, but Morgan said knowing that would have influenced his decision as well.

Our Fort Lauderdale spousal abuse criminal defense lawyers understand that jurors are frustrated, particularly since the article suggests Getejanc will not be sought in Europe. But we’re glad the system worked as intended in this case, because there are good reasons not to share this kind of extra information with a jury. In criminal trials, prosecutors usually may not tell jurors about other charges against the accused, or other background information not relevant to the charges. The goal is to keep from prejudicing a jury, allowing them to make decisions solely about whether this particular charge was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. This helps preserve the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. It also limits prosecutors’ ability to bring up information about irrelevant or very old past convictions, or introduce personal information intended only to make the accused unpopular.

Continue reading "Jurors Say They Regret Acquitting Man Who Fled County With More Charges Pending" »

An unusual Valentine’s Day story caught the attention of our Miami assault and battery criminal defense attorneys. A Feb. 16 article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel says a man was arrested Sunday for attacking a couple celebrating Valentine’s Day. The unidentified man and woman said Larry Bert Sexton, 37, broke into their house and attacked both of them with his fists. Sexton and an unnamed acquaintance said they saw the man beating up the woman and tried to help. Law enforcement in St. Lucie County apparently sided with the couple, charging Sexton with two counts of battery, impersonating an officer and burglary of an occupied dwelling.

The incident happened around 4 a.m. early on Feb. 14. According to the newspaper, the man said he arrived at the home with flowers and carried the woman inside. About ten minutes later, he said, Sexton kicked down the door and announced that he was a sheriff’s deputy. Sexton then threw a punch that missed, followed the man into a bedroom and began punching him. The woman tried to pull Sexton away from the fight, but Sexton turned and began strangling her. After the fight, Sexton went into a house across the street. Sexton told police he and a resident had been watching the couple from that house. He said he saw them in an argument that turned violent; his companion said they saw a man beating up a woman. Police found no evidence to support that, the article said.

As West Palm Beach battery criminal defense lawyers, we are not so sure. The article doesn’t have enough detail to show who was telling the truth, but it’s easy to see another side to the story. For one thing, it’s a sad truth, and well-known to law enforcement, that victims of domestic violence often side with their abusers. If the man truly was beating the woman, it’s not unlikely that she would try to help cover it up after the fact, and even try to defend him from Sexton. The police said they found no evidence of a fight, but the fight with Sexton may have covered up evidence of a previous fight. While it was illegal for Sexton to lie about being a sheriff’s deputy, he may have been trying to scare the man. And if there was no intent to batter the couple or commit any other crime, the burglary charge is legally bogus and must be dropped.

Continue reading "Treasure Coast Man Arrested for Assault in Alleged ‘Good Samaritan’ Incident" »

The recent arrest of Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel highlights issues we believe are important in any case of alleged domestic abuse. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Feb. 7 that McDaniel, 25, was arrested the day before and charged with misdemeanor battery of his girlfriend. The arrest report said McDaniel and Alaina Smith had an argument outside their Davie home Saturday morning that turned into a shoving match. The two have different accounts of the reasons for the fight as well as the physical part of the confrontation. This he-said, she-said problem is one of the most common situations affecting our practice as Fort Lauderdale domestic violence criminal defense attorneys.

According to the article, Smith was returning to the house with food around 8:30 a.m., around the same time McDaniel was coming home from a night out. Smith said McDaniel confronted her about not answering the phone the night before, then grabbed her purse. During their struggle for the purse, she said she fell and hit her head. She ran into the house, she said, asked her guests to call 911 and ran out to find McDaniel smashing her phone on the ground. McDaniel told police Smith was upset at him for staying out all night and started scratching and slapping him. Police found scratches on both parties, but no head injury on Smith, who declined medical treatment. The houseguests said they saw the argument, Smith’s fall and McDaniel smashing the phone. He was arrested and released on $3,500 bail the next day.

As Miami-Dade spousal abuse criminal defense lawyers, we see stories like this time and time again. Each person claims the other started the fight; the physical evidence doesn’t say much; and there are few, if any, witnesses. This means the police are forced to choose the story they think fits the situation better. More often than not, police choose to believe the woman and arrest the man, following outdated gender stereotypes. The truth is that people of both genders can be guilty of domestic violence, and Florida law recognizes that either spouse can be a victim. Arresting the husband or boyfriend at the first sign of trouble may stop the fight, but it can also unfairly and unnecessarily get him into major, life-changing legal trouble.

Continue reading "Miami Dolphins Player Arrested for Domestic Violence After Fight With Girlfriend" »