Civil Cases
GEICO Insurance Fortune
Dohn represented the only living heir to the GEICO insurance fortune. She was a child born out of wedlock to the grandson of the founder of GEICO. If there were no blood heirs, Nova Southeastern Law School inherited all the money. Dohn, a criminal lawyer, represented her, because established probate lawyers did not want to battle a law school, GEICO, and the Riggs National Bank in Washington, D.C. After a 10-year legal battle, she received her multi-million-dollar inheritance.
Whistleblower Action
Dohn represented a medical provider in a “whistleblower action” brought by a former employee. The pretrial dismissal of the “whistleblower action” was affirmed on appeal. United States ex rel. Sanchez v. Lymphatx, Inc., 596 F.3d 1300, 1303 (11th Cir. 2010).
Criminal Cases
Male Porn Star Murder Case
John Snavely, a male porn star, was charged with the murder of a prominent Washington D.C. businessman. The businessman led a double life. To his Washington D.C. Republican clients, he was heterosexual with a live-in girlfriend. When in Fort Lauderdale, he lived a gay lifestyle with his young protegee. They lived on the beach in an opulent townhouse and drove his-and-his sports cars. On the night of his murder, he picked up Snavely for private dances. Snavely admitted being at the townhouse where the murder occurred. His fingerprint was on a soda can. Snavely hired a Miami lawyer who for over a year did no substantial legal work on his case. Eventually, Dohn took over the case. The case was dismissed because the evidence showed an unidentified male’s DNA was on the murder weapon and a marijuana cigarette found near the body. Extensive articles about the case appeared in the newspapers – New Times, Sun Sentinel, and Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2017/02/17/judge-throws-out-murder-case-in-slaying-of-va-man-who-led-secret-double-life-in-fla/?utm_term=.105ebb4df75a
Stand Your Ground
Nour Jarkas, a Syrian Muslim, was charged with the first-degree murder of his estranged wife’s Irish Catholic boyfriend. It was not a good time to be a Muslim charged with murdering a white Protestant. Jarkas pled self-defense. Dohn’s stand your ground motion to dismiss was granted. It was the first, first-degree murder case in Broward County dismissed under the “stand your ground” statute.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2011-12-12-fl-jarkas-stand-your-ground-20111212-story.html
Don Aronow Murder
Dohn defended Robert Young, the “hitman,” who killed the famed speedboat builder Don Aronow. Aronow developed Donzi boats, Cigarette boats, and USA Racing boats for U.S. Customs. Aronow built speedboats for President Bush and the King of Jordan. The case is chronicled in the books Blue Thunder and Speed Kills. Based on motions filed by Dohn, the State abandoned its death penalty prosecution of Young. Dohn negotiated a plea whereby Young pled guilty to the second-degree murders of Aronow and an unrelated drug dealer for two 17-year concurrent, coterminous sentences. The “hitman” was released from prison. See State v. Young, 654 So.2d 962 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (key witness’ testimony excluded).
https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1932705.html
Miami Subs – Sun Cruz Casino Murder
Anthony “Big Tony” Moscatiello, Anthony “Little Tony” Ferrari, and James “Pudgy” Fiorello were charged with the ambush murder of Gus Boulis, the founder of Miami Subs and the Sun Cruz Casino Lines. The murder of Boulis made national headlines,. It caused the downfall of one of Washington, D.C.’s, most influential lobbyists. It inspired a Kevin Spacey movie – Casino Jack. Dohn represented James “Pudgy” Fiorello, who the police believed was the triggerman that shot Boulis. After six years of extensive pretrial discovery, Dohn convinced the prosecution that Fiorello was not the “hitman.” He was released from jail and testified for the prosecution.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-boulis-pudgy-sentenced-20150717-story.html
Death Penalty Reversed
Dohn wrote and argued the following appeals before the Florida Supreme Court. Hegwood v. State, 575 So.2d 170 (Fla. 1991) (triple death sentence reversed); Burch v. State, 522 So.2d 810 (Fla. 1988) (death sentence reversed); Holsworth v. State, 522 So.2d 348 (Fla. 1988)(death sentence reversed).
Healthcare & Insurance Fraud – Dohn regularly defends clients accused of fraud, including disciplinary matters relating thereto. See, State v. Mark Marks, P.A., 698 So. 2d 533 (Fla. 1997) (insurance fraud statute declared partially unconstitutional); State v. Mark Marks P.A., 758 So.2d 1131 (Fla. 4 th DCA 2000) (criminal charges dismissed because of prosecutor misconduct); Mark Marks P.A. v. State, 833 So.2d 249 (Fla. 4 th DCA 2002) (recantation defense in perjury cases expanded).
Vehicular Homicide
On-duty Miami-Dade police officer’s vehicular homicide conviction reversed. Gensler v. State, 868 So.2d 557 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
Murder Trials – Not Guilty or Acquittal
Barry Oberholtzer (indicted for murdering his estranged wife; Dohn established her new boyfriend was the likely killer); Jeffrey Hock (indicted for murdering a foster child; Dohn’s cross-examination of his wife established she killed the child); Marcel Cardenas (indicted for a drug deal gone bad murder; Dohn established a reasonable doubt the State’s key witness committed the murder); Francisco Acosta (indicted for with robbery/murder; Dohn established a friend of Acosta committed the robbery/murder); David Diehlman (indicted for murdering his daughter’s boyfriend who stole $100,000 from Dielhman during the trial prosecution, the prosecution agreed to a judgment of acquittal).
Pretrial Bond in First-Degree Murder Cases
Pretrial bond is unusual in Capital Murder Cases in Broward County. The following clients, charged with First-Degree Murder, were granted pretrial bond: James Haag, David Dielhman, James Fiorello, John Pacchiana, Richard DelGaudio, and Barry Oberholtzer.
Reverse Williams Rule
Rivera v. State, 561 So.2d 536 (Fla.1990), established the legal principle that a similar method of committing a crime committed by an unknown perpetrator can be used to establish an alibi or the S.O.D.D.I. defense or some other dude did it.
Cell Phone Tracking
Dohn argued the pretrial motions to suppress that a search warrant is needed to obtain “historical” cell site location information and to engage in “real-time” tracking of cell phones. The appellate courts agreed.
See. Tracey v. State, 152 So.3d 504(Fla.201) and Ferrari v. State, 260 So.3d 295(Fla. 4th DCA 2018)