Driving Mom’s Car with Her Pills? Conviction Overturned.

By: John Guidry

Yes, the title of this article gives away the ending, but it’s the journey, not the destination.

FACTS: Daniel Shedd is just chilling, drinking a beer, and driving his mom’s car when he is stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). Shedd v. State, 137 So. 3d 456 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).

FHP chats him up, and Daniel reveals to the officer that he has a prescription pill habit. In case you didn’t know, telling a cop you have a drug habit is like a sorority girl announcing to a frat party that she’s looking for trouble—there are going to be shenanigans as a result of this announcement.

So, with Daniel’s announcement comes the obligatory search of the car. Daniel is arrested for:

• Possession of Marijuana
• Possession of Alprazolam (Xanax)
• Possession of Hydrocodone

(It’s also a crime to have an open container of alcohol in the car, but I guess they let that one slide).

Caught holding someone else’s prescription?

You have a legal defense, but only if the jury hears about it. Call John today at (407) 423-1117.

The “NCIS” Investigation (Or Lack Thereof)

It never ceases to amaze me that people drinking a beer and driving, drive horribly. If you’re doing something wrong, can’t you drive like a normal human being?

Daniel takes it a step further. Not only is he driving badly and drinking, but he has a “Golden Corral buffet o’ drugs” in the car.

However, things started looking better for Daniel when he explained to the cop that the Alprazolam and Hydrocodone belonged to his mother. Indeed, the car belonged to mom. More importantly, the pill bottles had mom’s name written on them.

Assuming the FHP officer could read, how hard would it be to verify this? Unfortunately, the old “these drugs belong to my mom” routine requires law enforcement to do a simple investigation. If you think police work resembles NCIS or Angela Lansbury, you are sadly mistaken.

If FHP had taken just a few minutes to contact Mom, we taxpayers would not have paid for two felony drug arrests. But why save money? We can just raise the sales tax another ½ cent, right?

The Trial: Mom Testifies, Prosecutor Ignores Logic

The prosecutor was no better. The State charged Daniel with possession of Alprazolam and Hydrocodone in spite of the fact that the drugs were in mom’s car, with mom’s name on the bottle.

Mom even testified at trial that the prescriptions were hers. Case closed, right?

Wrong. The prosecutor pressed forward, and the jury found Daniel guilty.

The Legal Problem: The jury was never told about the Prescription Defense.

This defense permits citizens to hold onto another person’s pills, so long as they have permission to do so. Once this defense is asserted, the State must overcome it beyond every reasonable doubt—or the jury must find the person not guilty.

The Appeal: The Jury Must Know the Law

Even though Daniel’s attorney presented the evidence (Mom’s testimony), the lawyer didn’t take the extra, crucial step of asking the judge to read the Prescription Defense Jury Instruction.

Without that instruction, the jury was told to find Daniel guilty if:

1. He possessed the substance.
2. The substance was Alprazolam/Hydrocodone.
3. He knew it was there.

Under those rules, the jury had no choice but to convict.

The Ruling: Thankfully, the appellate court overturned the convictions. They held that without a prescription defense instruction, there was no way for the jury to know they had the option to find him not guilty.

John’s Takeaways

• The Prescription Defense is Real: You can legally carry your child’s, spouse’s, or parent’s medication if you are assisting them. But it is an affirmative defense—we have to prove the prescription exists.
• Jury Instructions Matter: You can have the best evidence in the world, but if the judge doesn’t tell the jury how to use it, you will lose. We have to fight for the right instructions.
• Taxpayer Waste: What do taxpayer dollars mean to an officer who can’t make one phone call? Or a prosecutor who ignores the actual owner of the pills? This case represents thousands of dollars wasted that could have gone to schools or roads.

Call me at (407) 423-1117. Let’s make sure the jury gets the full story.

About John Guidry II

John Guidry II is a seasoned criminal defense attorney and founder of the Law Firm of John P. Guidry II, P.A., located in downtown Orlando next to the Orange County Courthouse, where he has practiced for over 30 years. With more than three decades of experience defending clients throughout Central Florida since 1993, Guidry has successfully defended thousands of cases in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard, Lake, and Volusia counties. He has built a reputation for his strategic approach to criminal defense, focusing on pretrial motions and case dismissals rather than jury trials.

Guidry earned both his Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration from St. Louis University in 1993. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. His practice encompasses the full spectrum of Florida state criminal charges, with a particular emphasis on achieving favorable outcomes through thorough pretrial preparation and motion practice.

Beyond the courtroom, Guidry is a prolific legal educator who has authored over 400 articles on criminal defense topics. He shares his legal expertise through his popular YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, where he has built a substantial following of people eager to learn about the law. His educational content breaks down complex legal concepts into accessible information for the general public.

When not practicing law, Guidry enjoys tennis and pickleball, and loves to travel. Drawing from his background as a former recording studio owner and music video producer in the Orlando area, he brings a creative perspective to his legal practice and continues to apply his passion for video production to his educational content.