Murder, Homicide, Attempted Murder, Manslaughter

The above media file can be found on all pages regarding homicide

Being accused of any homicide is an abysmal feeling at the least. Facing an investigation or being arrested must be addressed immediately with proper counsel. In Florida, charges of a homicide are seriously pursued by the State Attorney’s Office dedicating their major resources to assist law enforcement and their finest prosecutors to investigate and bring these types of cases to trial.

The Fort Lauderdale Law Office of Michael B. Cohen, Esq. has effectively handled many homicide cases over the close to twenty years which the firm has been advocating for the residents of Broward, Dade and Palm Beach Counties as well as the surrounding areas and municipalities who have been accused of homicides of varying degrees.

When the State of Florida initiates an investigation with the pursuit of prosecuting a prospective client, a call to Mr. Cohen’s office immediately starts the fact finding process to give him the basics to form the best strategy to contest the allegations by scrutinizing the evidence police assert they have in their possession, as well as Mr. Cohen contacting acquaintances he’s become familiar with over the years in the state prosecutor’s office.

His primary advice will be to “not say a word” to local law enforcement until he is available to campaign on a client’s behalf. Keep in mind that police may lie to a suspect to support their theory without facing repercussions at trial as well as if a suspect lies to police it is NOT a crime. But a lie to police may be brought up at trial at a later date causing to sway a jury.

The resources of the federal government are greater to that of the individual states. If federal homicide charges are filed, Mr. Cohen’s Fort Lauderdale Law Firm is one of the top leaders in the field for the defense of federal murder, attempted murder and manslaughter charges. Not every Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney is trained and educated in the procedure of federal cases but Mr. Cohen’s practice has a firm grasp of federal homicide law which is the firm’s article of expertise.

As was mentioned above, lying to police is not a crime but the same is not true with federal law enforcement agents. Lying to the FBI or other agents of federal law enforcement can be prosecuted and punished with jail time.

An individual charged with a homicide, whether in the State of Florida or by the federal government risks significant jail time and a conviction can result in significant periods of incarceration and the possibility of never being released from custody.

Capital murder allegations are of course the most serious of all charges which can be filed by the State Attorney’s Offices in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties as well as by federal prosecutors, and in many cases federal prosecuting attorneys will work jointly with state and local authorities.

Florida is one of many states that may impose the death penalty for a variety of Capital Crimes including felonies of premeditated murder and homicides occurring during the commission of a serious felony, armed kidnapping, capital drug trafficking, and some felony cases when there is a sexual component added to a felony charge.

The death penalty was challenged in the Florida Supreme Court in a case known as Hurst v. the State of Florida yet instead of eliminating the practice; the Florida Supreme Court ruled in March 2017 that although the practice violated the state’s constitution, only a new sentencing rule would be adopted which would now require a unanimous jury recommendation for death before the judge could impose such a sentence. So, even though it is now more difficult to sentence a convicted individual to death the possibility still exists.

Since mid-1970 the state has executed close to one hundred convicted felons. More than three hundred more are awaiting execution at Florida State Prison

Homicide is defined as the killing of one human being by another under Florida Law Chapter 782. However there is a distinction of whether a killing was committed unlawfully or if it was lawful circumstance such as self-defense. However murder is distinctly defined as the unlawful taking of a human life of one human being by another. Several types of homicide occur, ranging from involuntary manslaughter to first degree murder.

At The Fort Lauderdale Law Firm of Michael B, Cohen, Esq., we represent clients in all modes of homicide cases, from involuntary manslaughter to the Capital Crime of first degree murder. If you require a committed attorney to represent you or someone close to you in a case that is pending, call Mr. Cohen at 954.928.0059 or contact him online at the earliest possible time. He serves clients in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, the Palm Beaches, and throughout the State of Florida.

Keep in mind that all killings are not criminal, and there is several persuasive homicide defenses provided under Florida Law to fight charges filed by the State as well as charges filed within the federal system.

Below Mr. Cohen will address this subject and share some examples of some of the homicide cases he has personally been involved with:

I have handled many cases over the years concerning the deaths of individuals whom the prosecution has sought to incarcerate.

I have tried cases as complete as federal death penalty cases as well as reckless homicide matters.

In one federal death penalty case we were able to avoid the imposition of the death penalty which the prosecution had considered seeking. In another I spent nearly three months in trial, cross examining nearly 70 witnesses.

In a reckless homicide case involving the death of my client’s stepdaughter in the back of his car which collided with a train ultimately the conviction of my client was reversed by the Court of Appeals

In all of these matters my vast experience was brought to beat to obtain the most favorable result possible, whether at trial or laying the groundwork for a successful appeal.

I always believe in putting the prosecution to the test at trial if it is the client’s stated desire to try his case and this is particular true in homicide prosecutions.

When a person is charged with a crime that results with the death of another individual it can be categorized under various areas of criminal law. Below, and on the following pages I will list many of these categories, their definitions, and penalties of conviction, as well as defenses that can be used to contest them.

To fully understand all of the topics that will be listed in the next few pages it will first be important to be able to distinguish the differences among the crimes of Murder, Homicide and Manslaughter.

In its simplest terms, homicide is the killing of one individual by another. Manslaughter is an act to harm someone that results in death, and murder is exclusively a criminal offense where one individual had intent to kill another person with or without advanced planning.

All three of these categories can be further broken down into sub-classes depending on the circumstances of the act.