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State v. J.M. (sexual battery-victim helpless and fraudulent use of a credit card
Sex Crimes
J.M. was a young man accused of raping a young woman he was dating. He
was also charged with stealing her credit cards and using them on a shopping
spree. (multiple store purchases different days). After taking depositions,
filing motions to exclude evidence and a full investigation of the case,
Raisman & Raisman went to trial. At his first trial, Helene and Steven
Raisman were able to exclude critical evidence which resulted in the State
being unable to prove the fraudulent use of a credit card charge. The
fraudulent credit card charge was dismissed by the judge but the jury
could not reach a verdict and was hung on the sexual battery-victim helpless
charge. After further aggressive litigation contesting the introduction
of incriminating test messages sent by J.M., the case proceeded to trial
for a second time on the sexual battery-victim helpless charge. At the
second trial, the State argued J.M. drugged and raped the alleged victim.
Helene Raisman was able to get the victim to agree with her, during cross-examination,
that she could have consented to having sex with J.M. The jury found J.M.
NOT GUILTY of the rape case despite the damaging text messages. J.M. WALKED
OUT OF THE COURTROOM WITH THE ATTORNEYS!
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State v. J.P. (STAND YOUR GROUND case)
Weapons Charges
Client was charged with discharging a firearm in public after shooting
at multiple people during an altercation outside of his apartment complex.
The case was dismissed with prejudice after we demonstrated that the shooting
was justified under the Stand Your Ground statute.
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State v. B.P. (child abuse investigation)
Violent Crimes
A businessman was investigated for child abuse. Steven successfully convinced
numerous law enforcement agencies NOT to pursue the case and no charges
were ever filed.
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State v. D.J. (domestic violence prosecution)
Domestic Violence
C.C. was investigated for battery involving her husband. Helene Raisman
immediately went to work and discovered that there was no battery at all
but, rather, a jealous husband who lied to the police about his wife hitting
him because he was upset about finding text messages his wife exchanged
with a male co-worker. Helene Raisman interviewed the husband who admitted
his wife did not hit him. Upon obtaining the accuser's statement Helene
successfully convinced the State not to file charges in the case.
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State v. L.W. (domestic violence case)
Domestic Violence
Our client was a long time postal employee near retirement accused of committing
a battery on his ex-wife after an argument about their toddler child in
common. If he was convicted of domestic violence battery he would lose
his job and pension. When the police arrived on scene the victim told
them that L.W. hit her in the face with a closed fist multiple times and
put her in a choke hold to the point where she could not breathe. She
told an officer that she bit our client in order to escape. Based on the
victim's account and visible swelling and redness on her face, the
officer determined that L.W. was the aggressor and arrested him for domestic
violence battery. Helene and Steven Raisman took depositions of the alleged
victim and her teenage daughter who witnessed the incident and were able
to uncover inconsistencies in their accounts of what happened. Additionally,
we were able to demonstrate that our client had injuries as well when
we obtained photographs taken by a crime scene investigator. On the morning
of trial, right before the jury walked into the courtroom, the firm was
able to bring about a favorable resolution to a disorderly conduct charge
where the client paid a small fine. He kept his job and his pension with
the postal service is safe.
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State v. A.V. (domestic violence case).
Domestic Violence
A.V. was a firearms instructor who was arrested and charged with battery
of his spouse. His firearm license was immediately suspended by the Department
of Agriculture. He was also ordered not to possess any firearms, as individuals
simply accused of domestic violence are not allowed to own or possess
firearms predating the case. Steven Raisman began an immediate investigation
which revealed independent witnesses to the incident who directly contradicted
the victim's account. Mr. Raisman also uncovered physical evidence
from the scene that did not match the victim's story. After bringing
all the information to the attention of the prosecutor, the charge was
dropped and A.V.'s license was immediately reinstated.
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State v. L.R. (sexual battery prosecution).
Sex Crimes
L.R. was charged with sexual battery on the word of a very sick woman who
claimed he drugged and violated her while she was helpless. After aggressive
investigation and preparation, Helene Raisman's questioning of the
victim resulted in her recanting her accusations and the very serious
felony charges were dismissed.
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State v. A.D. (armed robbery prosecution- successful sentencing hearing).
Theft Crimes
A.D. was a twenty year old young man who was charged with armed robbery
after he held a shotgun to the head of a jogger and stole her cash. Rasiman
& Raisman recognized the young man suffered from mental health and
substance abuse issues and had him evaluated by a psychologist to bring
the whole story of his past to the attention of the victim and the prosecutor.
A lengthy motion for departure sentence was filed after fully investigating
our client's medical history. A sentence of probation with mental
health treatment in a residential program was ordered and the young man
received the help he needed even though the guidelines called for a lengthy
prison sentence.
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State v. S.S. and P.S. (organized scheme to defraud and grand theft).
Theft Crimes
Clients were arrested and accused of being the ringleaders in a huge fraud
case and of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy victims
while they were acting as Romani psychics. The team obtained a dismissal
of all charges in exchange for paying restitution after demonstrating
the victims were not deprived of any money or property.
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State v. C.D. (battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence).
Assault & Battery
A young man was charged with serious felonies after getting into an argument
with police officers at his apartment complex. One of the officers claimed
that after he placed a handcuff on C.D., he purposely swung his arm and
hit the officer in the head with the handcuff causing a laceration and
bleeding. C.D. was also charged with kicking several other officers on
scene. After taking depositions of all the officers on scene, listing
our own defense witnesses and extensive investigation into the officers
Internal Affairs investigations regarding excessive use of force, the
Firm was able to bring about a favorable resolution to a misdemeanor and
a small fine.
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State v. R.D. (driving under the influence).
DUI
R.D. was stopped for speeding in excess of 100 miles per hour and arrested
for DUI. According to four different police officers he performed poorly
on field sobriety exercises and refused a breath test. After a trial,
a jury found R.D. not guilty.
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State v. W.W. (driving under the influence).
DUI
Client was stopped by police for failure to maintain a single lane and
speeding. The client was given field sobriety exercises and accoding to
the police, he failed all exercises. After Helene Raisman cross-examined
the arresting officer, it took the jury less than ten minutes to return
a verdict of NOT GUILTY!
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State v. G.S. (driving under the influence with accident).
DUI
Client was charged with his third DUI and was involved in a very serious
accident where multiple vehicles were damaged. Client was taken to the
hospital where blood was drawn. Raisman & Raisman successfully argued
that it was illegal to draw the client's blood because having him
take a breath test was not impractical. The Judge agreed and the DUI was
DISMISSED!
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State v. S.R. (grand theft).
Theft Crimes
Client was not a U.S. citizen and could not lose the case or she would
be deported. Raisman & Raisman was able to get the client into a diversion
program and her case was eventually dismissed. Client suffered NO ADVERSE
IMMIGRATION CONSEQUENCES as a result of her arrest and is now a U.S. citizen.
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State v. C.P. (appellate victory- driving under the influence).
DUI
C.G. was arrested for DUI after he was stopped for driving erratically
through an alley late at night where several burglaries had occurred.
We filed a motion to suppress indicating the officer had no legal right
to stop his vehicle. The trial court denied our motion and we filed an
appeal to the Circuit Court. The Circuit Court reversed the ruling and
sent the case down to be dismissed.
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State v. A.G. (driving under the influence with accident and .224 blood test result).
DUI
A college student was involved in a multi-car accident on the turnpike.
He sustained life threatening injuries for which he was air lifted to
the hospital and remained for a month. Troopers had hospital staff obtain
blood samples for them and also obtained blood samples that were taken
by the hospital for medical purposes. We filed motions to suppress indicating
that police did not follow proper procedures in obtaining both the police
blood and the hospital blood. The Judge agreed, granted both motions,
and the case was dismissed.
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State v. A.G. (workers compensation).
White Collar Crimes
A.G. was charged with having no workers compensation insurance for his
employees. In negotiations with several agencies, Raisman & Raisman
was able to get A.G. into a diversion program and three months later all
charges were dismissed. Client was then able to expunge his arrest history.
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State v. M.R. (organized scheme to defraud and grand theft).
Theft Crimes
A young lady was charged with organized scheme to defraud her employer,
a dentist, where she worked as an office manager and bookkeeper. The client
was charged with stealing a large amount of money over a lengthy period
of time. M.R. hired Raisman & Raisman early on in her case. We meticulously
reviewed all of the financial records provided to the State by the employer
to prove the fraud. We successfully convinced the State of Florida that
M.R. was not the only individual who had access to the accounts and pointed
out serious deficiencies in the case. The State agreed ALL CHARGES WERE
DROPPED without the client ever having to attend court!
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State v. V.N. (driving under the influence over .20 breath test).
DUI
Our client was a medical student accused of enhanced DUI because he blew
more than two times the legal limit on the breath test. He was facing
disciplinary action from his medical school and potential inability to
obtain his medical degree if he was convicted of DUI. After depositions
of the officers involved in his arrest, we learned that the arresting
officer had improperly warned V.N. of his rights pertaining to a breath
test. We filed a motion to exclude the breath test which was granted.
The State dropped the charges and the client obtained his medical degree
with no adverse consequences.
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State v. F.R. (sexual exploitation and traveling to meet a minor).
Sex Crimes
Our client owned his own insurance agency and faced losing his business
license and a long prison sentence if convicted. Detectives, posing as
a 13 year old girl, engaged in sexually explicit chats with F.R. over
the internet. He was charged with attempting to induce a minor to engage
in sex when he set up a meeting at a park. The State was seeking a lengthy
prison sentence and wanted F.R. designated a sexual predator with lifetime
monitoring by law enforcement. The Firm filed novel pre-trial motions
raising the defense of entrapment in the internet chat setting. The case
ended up being resolved whereby F.R. was not designated a sexual predator,
the charges were amended to attempted child abuse and F.R. was able to
retain his professional license to sell insurance.
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State v. C.M. (financial exploitation of the elderly- trial and appellate victory).
White Collar Crimes
C.M. charged with two different counts involving stealing money from her
employer who was 73 years old and suffered from dementia while she took
care of her as a home health aide. The victim's family wanted C.M.
prosecuted vigorously and sent to prison for abusing the trust they had
placed in her to care for their mother. An aggressive investigation was
launched into the victim's medical and financial records. After exhaustive
investigation and preparation, Steven Raisman was able to get the victim's
own doctor to agree, on the witness stand at trial, that she had the capacity
to control her own finances. A jury found C.M. not guilty of theft from
one of the victim's bank accounts, but guilty of stealing money from
another account. On appeal, the second conviction was reversed as the
not guilty at trial prevented a finding of theft on the other.
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State v. A.G. (driving under the influence with accident).
DUI
A.G. was a law student studying to take the bar exam when he was charged
with DUI causing a serious accident. After depositions, motions and a
full investigation of the case, Helen Raisman convinced the State to dismiss
all the charges.
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State v. J.F. (purchase of cocaine)
Drug Crimes
Our client, a young man, was charged with purchasing cocaine from an undercover
detective. Despite the fact that the detective testified that J.F. initiated
and negotiated the drug deal with him, J.F. was found not guilty.
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State v. J.D. (indecent assault)
Assault & Battery
J.D. was charged with molesting his step daughter over a lengthy period
of time. After aggressive litigation and investigation. Steven Raisman
secured a not guilty verdict on all charges.
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State v. J.V. (insurance fraud)
White Collar Crimes
Client was arrested and charged with fraud stemming from making a false
claim to an insurance company. If she was convicted of this felony, she
would lose her nursing license, which was immediately suspended. After
researching the case history, taking statements from the alleged victim
and pointing out the weaknesses of their case, Helene Raisman was able
to convince the State Attorney's Office to dismiss the case. Her nursing
license was immediately reinstated. J.V. was extremely happy that we were
also able to expunge her arrest history and she is still working as a
nurse to this day.
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State v. N.R. (driving under the influence).
DUI
N.R. was charged with DUI as a second offender. The client was involved
in an accident in the parking lot of a nightclub. The police officer who
responded to the scene gave him a break and told him to leave his vehicle
parked and not to drive anymore that evening because he believed N.R.
was drunk. Thirty minutes later, N.R. got into his car and began to drive
out of the parking lot as the officer watched and waited. He was immediately
stopped by the same officer and arrested for the DUI. This case was a
clinic on extensive investigation and the use of the pre-trial motion.
After taking depositions and conducting an Internal Affairs check on the
officer involved, Helene Raisman filed over 10 pre-trial motions. After
hearing the motions and Helene's arguments, the Judge granted them
and the case was DISMISSED!
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State v. A.F. (possession of cocaine).
Drug Crimes
Another team win! After filing a motion to suppress due to an illegal stop
and frisk, Raisman & Raisman was able to convince the State of Florida
to drop the charge.
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State v. J.B. (driving under the influence with a .18 breath test)
DUI
J.B. was charged with driving under the influence. He took a breath test
and blew a .18, more than double the legal limit. After a jury trial,
Helene and Steven Raisman were able to convince a jury to find J.B. not guilty.
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State v. A.N. (discharging firearm from vehicle).
Weapons Charges
A.N. was arrested for discharging a firearm from a vehicle in the crowded
parking lot of a nightclub. After discussions with the State Attorney's
Office, Steven Raisman was able to convince the State NOT to file this
serious felony charge which would have cost the client his business license.
A misdemeanor charge was filed and the client's arrest history was
sealed with no revocation of business license.
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State v. R.D. (burglary).
Theft Crimes
A young man with a documented history of mental health issues was charged
with burglary of a home. This charge mandates a prison sentence in the
State of Florida. The Firm worked hard with the family to document that
R.D. had a long history of mental health issues. Although the victim wanted
to see R.D. sent to jail for entering his home and stealing his property,
Helene Raisman was able to convince the State that R.D. was suffering
from his mental illness at the time of the burglary, needed treatment
and did not deserve to be sent to prison. R.D. did not get sent to prison,
received the mental health treatment he needed and was not convicted of a felony.
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State v. R.M. (robbery).
Theft Crimes
R.M. was charged with robbery from a person over 65 years of age. After
a trial with Helene and Steven Raisman, a jury found him not guilty.
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State v. T.D. (burglary).
Theft Crimes
This case turned on the accuracy of identifications. The jury agreed with
Steven Raisman and found T.D. not guilty, even though two police officers
and the victim identified him as the perpetrator who broke into her car.
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State v. A.D. (aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence).
Assault & Battery
Our client was charged with threatening and cutting an officer who was
trying to arrest him at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with a knife. The
incident was witnessed by several hotel employees, other police officers
and captured on surveillance footage which we obtained and played for
the jury at trial. After taking depositions (sworn statements) and a full
investigation of the case, Helene and Steven Raisman were able to convince
the jury to find A.D. NOT GUILTY of all charges.
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State v. J.F. (possession of a firearm by a convicted felon).
Weapons Charges
J.F. was stopped while driving his car without a tag light. After the initial
stop, the officer indicated he smelled the odor of marijuana and held
J.F. at the scene of the traffic stop until the car could be searched
by another officer and a K-9 dog. A search of the vehicle revealed a firearm.
Leaving no stone unturned, the team fully investigated the case and obtained
radio communications between the officers involved in the traffic stop
and search. We filed a motion to suppress indicating that the police had
no lawful reason to stop and search the vehicle. The State fought hard
against the motion. After an evidentiary hearing, the Judge granted the
motion to suppress and the case was dismissed.
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State v. A.Z. (child molestation and sexual battery investigation).
Sex Crimes
An international businessman was charged with molesting and sexually battering
his girlfriend's 12 year old child. The client hired the Firm very
early in the investigation. A.Z. told us that he was rarely alone with
the child who was becoming increasingly jealous of his relationship with
her mother. The client was adamant that he was innocent. We retained a
qualified polygrapher (expert who administers what is commonly referred
to as a lie detector test) for our client. A.Z. passed the test and showed
no signs of deception. After aggressive litigation and investigation,
Helene Raisman presented this and other evidence (mother's testimony)
to the State Attorney's Office and was able to get the case NOT to
be filed by showing that A.Z. was innocent of all charges. The client
was extremely grateful to get his life back after an emotional couple
of months.
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State v. C.J. (driving under the influence with serious accident/injuries).
DUI
C.J. was charged with DUI and causing a motor vehicle accident involving
serious and permanent injuries to the other driver and his passenger.
Helene and Steven Raisman tried this case. After trial, a jury found C.J.
NOT GUILTY!
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State v. M.A. (DUI Manslaughter).
DUI
Female client with six young children was charged with DUI Manslaughter
and DUI property damage. Raisman & Raisman was the third law firm
she hired to represent her. All previous attorneys told M.A. she had no
chance of winning due to the overwhelming evidence against her and that
she should plead guilty and accept the 10 years in Florida State Prison
sentence she was offered by the State. Our Firm went right to work on
the case and started from the beginning by examining the accident scene,
spending hundreds of hours pouring over police reports, witness statements
and hiring experts to challenge every theory of the State's case.
After the Firm filed over 20 pre-trial motions challenging the testimonial,
physical and scientific evidence against M.A., the case proceeded to trial.
After a two week trial, M.D. was found NOT GUILTY of ALL CHARGES!
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State v. M.S. (driving under the influence/the well-publicized no pants case).
DUI
This young female client was at a party where she was thrown into a pool
with all her clothes on. She took off all her wet clothes, borrowed a
t-shirt and drove home. Unfortunately, she was stopped for running a red
light and eventually arrested for DUI. The client blew double the legal
limit on the breath test, a .16. Helene Raisman was able to show the jury
how unprofessional the male officer who arrested M.S. was during the DUI
investigation and arrest. The officer did not permit M.S. to put on her
panties and pants and paraded her into the police station and jail in
only her t-shirt. The jury agreed this unethical conduct violated the
client's rights and found her NOT GUILTY of the DUI despite the very
high breath test results!
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State v. C.C. (regarding alleged domestic violence).
Domestic Violence
C.C. was investigated for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (knife)
and battery involving his wife. Steven Raisman successfully convinced
the State Attorney's Office NOT to pursue the case and no charges
were ever filed.
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State v. J.I. (marijuana "grow house" case).
Drug Crimes
J.I. was a young college student and athlete charged with armed trafficking
in marijuana after police executed a search warrant and found over 2,000
pounds of marijuana and firearm. He was facing i life sentence. After
extensive investigation into the police investigation, the Firm filed
a motion to suppress contesting the validity of the search warrant. We
also had the marijuana re-weighed and it did not meet the threshold required
by the statute for an enhanced penalty. Our exhaustive work also revealed
irregularities and problems in the testing procedures used by the crime
laboratory in evaluating the evidence, some of which was destroyed. We
also filed a motion to dismiss contesting the amount of marijuana used
to prosecute J.I. After a two day evidentiary hearing, the Judge granted
our motions to suppress and dismiss and the State immediately appealed
to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. In this complete victory for our
client, after the case was briefed by Raisman & Raisman, the Fourth
District agreed with us that the motions were properly granted and rejected
the State's appeal. The client's case was dismissed, his arrest
history expunged and he is now the CEO of a successful internet technology firm.
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State v. J.D. (doctor shopping prosecution).
Drug Crimes
In a total victory for our client, Helene and Steven Raisman successfully
obtained the dismissal of all charges against a young man who was charged
with multiple counts of doctor shopping and withholding information from
doctors in order to illegally obtain massive amount of prescription narcotics.
The team filed a unique motion demonstrating that detectives improperly
obtained information from doctors and pharmacies that led to the charges.
The State had no option but to concede the motion to dismiss and all charges
were dropped. Since this case, the Firm is regularly contacted on such
cases and represents clients charged with doctor shopping involving pain
medication such as oxycodone, oxycontin, hydrocodone, etc. The Firm takes
great pride in defending these cases.
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State v L.D. (RICO and organized scheme to defraud prosecution).
White Collar Crimes
L.D. was charged with embezzling an enormous amount of money from her employer
over a three year period. The scheme involved a complex company computer
program and the internet. L.D. insisted that she was completely innocent
and would never plead guilty to charges she did not commit. After working
with L.D. over several months, Raisman & Raisman reviewed over 500
boxes of financial documents supplied by her former employer to detectives
that documented the fraud, including thousands of emails and invoices.
After taking a two day, twenty hour deposition, the Firm was able to demonstrate
that the employer manipulated documentation. After demonstrating all of
the discrepancies in the employer's records and testimony, the State
Attorney's Office DROPPED ALL CHARGES!
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State v. H.A. (maliciously disseminating information of sexually transmitted disease and child abuse).
Sex Crimes
In the first of its kind case to proceed to trial in the State of Florida,
Helene and Steven Raisman obtained a not guilty verdict in the trial of
a of a businessman who was charged with maliciously disseminating information
of a woman's sexually transmitted disease, child abuse, stalking and
battery. The seldom prosecuted charge involved an ex-boyfriend, H.A.,
being accused of making a woman's life a "living hell" while
distributing fliers headlined DISEASE CARRIER and indicating that she
transmitted an STD to him and her other sexual partners. The fliers were
made from a sexually explicit video the couple made during their relationship.
The fliers were distributed at her son's school (the child abuse charges)
and faxed to her workplace. The video was sent to her neighbors and employer.
H.A. was also accused by the woman of stalking and battery. He was found
not guilty of both these charges as well. The case and verdict were extensively
covered by the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and television media outlets.
The case and video are still widely discussed at the courthouse today.
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State v. K.R. (attempted murder of a law enforcement officer).
Violent Crimes
One of the Firm's landmark cases. Helene and Steven Raisman led the
defense to victory - not guilty verdicts across the board on charges of
attempted murder, resisting an officer with violence and trespass. After
a two week long trial, the jury acquitted on attempted murder of a law
enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence charges in
less than half a day. The trespass charge was dismissed on appeal. Raisman
& Raisman was able to show that this was not attempted murder at all.
K.R. was celebrating his birthday with his family at a night club. After
being asked to leave by law enforcement, an argument ensued and K.R. and
his family were escorted from the premises. When the officers believed
that they were not leaving quickly enough, a fight ensued which led to
accusations that K.R. strangled the officer, pulled his firearm from his
holster and fired the weapon at him. The officer identified K.R. at trial
as the person who choked him, pulled his weapon and attempted to kill
him. The jury found K.R. not guilty, and after they announced their verdict,
the jury hugged the lawyers and client.
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