Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Perpetrator charged with crime,spends 7 months in jail. Cell phone is taken as evidence, after seven months the case is dismissed by prosecutor, the phone was not related to the actual charge dropped, but it was alleged the phone contained evidence relative to the accusations, one year after "perpetrator" is released upon dismissal of the charges, a new allegation is made, detectives question the "victim" but the perp refuses to speak. No charges yet filed, the detectives then investigate said cell phone from the original dismissed allegation, as it was never retrieved by the perp from evidence, the detectives now say they have evidence on the phone that could substantiate the newest allegation.

The question at hand, being that the phone was listed as evidence in the first charge that was dismissed, would the LEO need to apply for a warrant to access the phone again? If yes, could a new allegation generate probable cause for a search warrant on said phone if the phone was not in perps possession since the original allegation dismissed. Would the rules of evidence preclude the evidence of a dismissed case being used in a new investigation?


Asked on 10/03/17, 3:09 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Craig Epifanio Craig Epifanio, P.A.

You have a lot going on in your question and it would be difficult if not impossible for an attorney to answer this without more information. It sounds like you need to talk to the police and or the prosecutor involved in this case. They should be able to provide you with the answer you're looking for.

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Answered on 10/04/17, 8:15 am


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