Articles Posted in Breaking News

A Coral Gables father who decided not to “spare the rod, spoil the child” said he felt vindicated Wednesday after state prosecutors officially dropped a child abuse charge that they had leveled against him.

In October 2007, Loscar Rodriguez was arrested for allegedly beating his then 8-year-old son with a belt. Rodriguez reportedly hit the boy so hard he raised welts on the child’s backside. He said he did it as punishment after getting a note from the boy’s teacher that he had been goofing around in school and getting poor grades. He was charged with felony child abuse, which prompted debate across South Florida over how parents should be able to discipline their children.

Rodriguez attended counseling and parenting classes as his lawyers worked to have the charge dismissed. After two years of extensive litigation, the state has agreed to drop criminal charges against him. Rodriguez’s ex-wife, who was in the courtroom, was outraged that the charge being dropped.

Suit filed by fired officer who declined shock draws divided reactions

Should a sheriff be able to reassign an officer to a different, less desirable position if the officer refuses to undergo a training exercise?

What if that training exercise required the officer to receive a shock from a Taser?

I’ve been saying for more than a decade now, “The fish who kept his mouth shut never got caught.” Apparently, Joran Van der Sloot didn’t learn that lesson. Van der Sloot is one of the suspects who is alleged to have played a key role in Natalee Holloway’s disappearance from an Aruba beach back in 2005. ABC has obtained a “taped video confession” of Van der Sloot confessing to his friend that he was with Holloway when she died. He Should have remembered his good ole Miranda Rights. He explains on the videotape that Holloway was drunk and that she began shaking and slumped down on the beach as they were kissing. If you haven’t already done so, please view the video below.

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And now conclusive proof that judges don’t always automatically do whatever government prosecutors ask of them. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke rejected the government’s passionate request that Jose Padilla and two other fellas who were convicted of terrorism charges be sentenced to life. Cooke sentenced Padilla to 17 years and four months in prison after jurors found that he participated in a South Florida based conspiracy to assist Muslims in “violent Jihad.” Cooke rejected the government’s argument that Padilla’s actions were comparable to the Oklahoma City bombing and/or the September 11th , terrorist attacks. Cooke stated, ”There was never a plot to harm individuals in the United States, ” Also, Cooke found that “There was never a plot to overthrow the U.S. government.”
What is most significant to me is that Padilla was facing 30 years to life under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Judge Cooke had the courage, in today’s conservative climate, to exercise her discretion and to punish Padilla as she deemed appropriate. A rare act in today’s justice system.

There’s a lot of misconception concerning the arrest of my client Jeff Weinsier, a “problem solver” reporter for ABC affiliate WPLG. Instead of telling you what really happened, why don’t you simply see for yourself and make your own decision. You can view the piece that ran on the local10 and also view the unedited raw footage.

Let me know you’re thoughts.

Maybe he should have just kept driving when chased in his white Ford Bronco. That way, perhaps we would have avoided the latest O.J. controversy. Unfortunately, Miami’s very own, O.J. Simpson finds himself at the center of yet another criminal case. This time, he’s accused of barging into a Las Vegas casino hotel room Thursday and taking a number of items that he believed were his. O.J. allegedly brought with him four friends, some armed with guns, in what Simpson has described as a self organized sting operation. O.J. is now facing decades in prison if convicted of any of the serious offenses for which he is charged: two counts each of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, and burglary with a deadly weapon.

No doubt, it will be O.J.’s initial comments to the media that will be highlighted in his pending case. There’s a reason why I instruct my clients to keep their mouths shut. O.J., apparently thinks he knows better. Now he’s locked into whatever he spewed to reporters prior to his arrest.

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