Criminal Law (State & Federal)

From our attorneys on this topic

Naturalization and a Criminal Record in Florida: What "Good Moral Character" Requires
A Florida arrest or conviction does not automatically block citizenship, but U.S. citizenship applications require proof of 'good moral character', and some convictions bar it permanently. What counts, what USCIS's 2025 policy shift changed, and how a Florida case can affect an N-400.

Immigration Bond Hearings in Florida: When Mandatory Detention Applies and How to Fight for Release
Posting a Florida criminal bond does not free someone ICE has a detainer on. How federal immigration custody splits into discretionary bond hearings and mandatory detention, what Florida's own detainer law changes, and how a Joseph hearing can challenge mandatory detention.

Aggravated Felonies Under Immigration Law: Which Florida Convictions Trigger Mandatory Removal
"Aggravated felony" is a federal immigration classification, not a Florida charge, and it can apply to convictions that are neither aggravated nor felonies under state law. What it means and which Florida charges are commonly analyzed this way.

Stalking and Aggravated Stalking Charges in Florida: Elements, Penalties, and the Injunction Overlap
Florida stalking starts as a first-degree misdemeanor, but a credible threat, a violated injunction, or a victim under 16 turns it into aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony. What the state has to prove, how a criminal charge differs from a civil stalking injunction, and where the two overlap.

Reckless Driving Charges in Florida: Penalties, Points, and How It Differs from Careless Driving
Reckless driving in Florida is a criminal charge, not a traffic ticket: willful or wanton disregard for safety, not a simple mistake. The penalties by offense and injury level, how it differs from careless driving, and how it connects to a DUI case.

Robbery Charges in Florida: How Force Turns Theft Into a Much More Serious Felony
Robbery is theft plus force, violence, or fear, and that one added element turns even a low-value taking into a felony that can mean life. How § 812.13 grades robbery, how it differs from theft and burglary, and where sudden snatching, carjacking, and home-invasion robbery fit in.

Padilla Advisals: Why Your Criminal Defense Lawyer Must Address Immigration Consequences in Florida
Florida criminal defense counsel has a Sixth Amendment duty under Padilla v. Kentucky to advise noncitizen clients about a plea's immigration consequences, a separate duty from the court's own deportation warning. What each requires, when it applies, and how a Florida plea can be challenged when neither was met.

You Have an Active Warrant in Florida: What to Do Next
How to confirm an active Florida arrest warrant, why it doesn't expire on its own, and how a voluntary surrender differs from waiting to be arrested.

The Florida Bail and Bond Process: How Pretrial Release Works After an Arrest
How bail is set after a Florida arrest, the difference between a cash bond, a surety bond, and release on your own recognizance, and when the law lets a judge deny bond entirely.

Drug Trafficking vs. Simple Possession in Florida: How Weight Changes the Charge
In Florida, the weight of the drugs found, not intent to sell, is what can turn a possession charge into trafficking with a mandatory prison sentence. How the thresholds work by substance.

Florida's Criminal Punishment Code: How the Sentencing Scoresheet Works
Every Florida felony sentence starts with a scoresheet: a point total built from the charge, any additional counts, injury to a victim, and criminal history. How the Criminal Punishment Code scores a case, what 44 points means, and when a judge can go below it.

Fleeing and Eluding a Law Enforcement Officer in Florida: Charges and Penalties
Florida's fleeing-and-eluding law has no misdemeanor tier: the baseline charge is a felony, and a 2025 law change made every level harsher. How § 316.1935 grades the offense, what changed, and how it differs from reckless driving, resisting arrest, and hit-and-run.

Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer in Florida: Charges and Penalties
Touching or striking a Florida officer turns a misdemeanor into a felony under § 784.07, but only if the State can prove you knew the victim was a covered official. How the reclassification works, who it covers, and when it doesn't apply.

Assault and Aggravated Assault Charges in Florida: Simple vs. Aggravated, Penalties, and Defenses
Florida assault charges range from a 60-day second-degree misdemeanor to a 5-year felony depending on whether a deadly weapon or felonious intent was involved, and who the alleged victim was. What §§ 784.011 and 784.021 actually require, and when self-defense applies.

Can You Get a Green Card With a Criminal Record?
A criminal record doesn't automatically block a green card, but specific convictions trigger inadmissibility grounds with limited waivers, and a 2026 USCIS policy memo makes even eligible cases more discretionary. What actually stops an application, what can be waived, and how the process works.

Battery and Aggravated Battery Charges in Florida: Degrees, Penalties, and Defenses
Florida battery charges range from a 1-year misdemeanor to a 30-year first-degree felony depending on injury, weapon use, and who the alleged victim is. What §§ 784.03, 784.041, and 784.045 actually require, and when self-defense applies.

Resisting Arrest in Florida: The Line Between a Misdemeanor and a Felony
Florida charges resisting an officer two ways, without violence (a first-degree misdemeanor) and with violence (a third-degree felony). Where the line falls, what the State must prove, and why the lawfulness of the officer's conduct matters.

Burglary Charges in Florida: Why What You Entered, and Who Was Inside, Matters More Than What You Took
Burglary is always a felony in Florida: 5 years to life depending on the place, who was present, and what happened inside. How § 810.02 grades it, and where the real fights are.

Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude: Which Florida Charges Threaten Your Green Card or Visa
What a 'crime involving moral turpitude' means under federal immigration law, which common Florida charges are analyzed this way, and how it can affect a green card, visa, or naturalization case.

Violation of Probation in Florida: How a VOP Case Works, and Why the Rules Are Different
No bond, no jury, and a lower burden of proof. What a Florida VOP hearing involves, and the technical violation off ramps in section 948.06.

Withhold of Adjudication in Florida: What It Is, Who Qualifies, and What It Does Not Erase
A withhold of adjudication lets a Florida judge accept a plea without convicting you, probation instead of a conviction under § 948.01. But it is not an eraser: the record stays public, immigration law still counts it, and some charges can never receive one. Who qualifies under § 775.08435, what a withhold protects, and where it falls short.

Criminal Charges for Exploitation of the Elderly in Florida: Why Every Case Is a Felony
Financial exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult is charged under § 825.103, Florida Statutes: a felony at any dollar amount, with thresholds that climb to a first-degree felony at $50,000. Who the statute protects, the six ways it defines exploitation, the transfer presumption, and why these cases so often involve family members and caregivers.

Grand Theft Charges in Florida: Where the Felony Lines Fall, and Why the State's Number Is Not the Last Word
Grand theft in Florida starts at $750 and climbs to a 30-year felony at $100,000, and some property, like cars and firearms, is grand theft at any value. How § 812.014 grades the charge, how value is actually proven, and where the defense fights.

Criminal Charges for Fraud in Florida: Why There Is No 'Small' Organized Fraud
How Florida grades fraud charges, what the State has to prove about intent, and why the dollar amount decides whether you are facing a felony.

What Do Pending Criminal Charges Mean in Florida? The Timeline From Arrest to Resolution
An arrest is not a charge. How long the State Attorney has to file, what happens at arraignment, and when the speedy trial clock starts in Florida.

How to Get Criminal Charges Dropped in Florida: Who Can Do It, and the Paths That Actually Exist
Only the State Attorney can drop a charge in Florida. Six paths that end a case early, including diversion, self-defense immunity and speedy trial.

Identity Theft Criminal Charges in Florida: Why the Base Charge Is Already a Felony
Identity theft in Florida is charged as criminal use of personal identification information under § 817.568: a felony from the very first offense, with mandatory minimum prison terms as the dollar amounts and victim counts climb, and a federal system that adds a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence. How the charges are graded and what actually matters in the defense.

Criminal Charges for Embezzlement in Florida: Why the Dollar Amount Decides Almost Everything
Florida has no separate crime called embezzlement. It is prosecuted as theft under § 812.014, and the dollar amount decides whether that means a misdemeanor or a 30-year felony. How the charges are graded, when the case turns federal, and what actually matters in the defense.

Misdemeanor Criminal Charges in Florida: Degrees, Penalties, and What “Minor” Really Means
First degree misdemeanors carry up to 1 year in county jail, second degree up to 60 days. The common charges, and when a misdemeanor becomes a felony.

Criminal Conspiracy Charges in Florida: When an Agreement Becomes a Crime
In Florida, agreeing with someone to commit a crime is itself a crime, even if the planned offense never happens. How conspiracy charges are ranked and punished under state and federal law, what prosecutors must prove, and the defenses that apply.

No-Contact Orders in Florida: How They Work and How to Get One Lifted
A no-contact order in a Florida criminal case can only be changed by the judge, not by the alleged victim, and not by private agreement. What the order prohibits, how to ask the court to modify it, and how it differs from a civil injunction.

Criminal Charges for Domestic Violence in Florida: What the Label Actually Changes
Domestic violence is not a single crime in Florida: it's a designation that changes arrest, bond, jail minimums, probation, record sealing, and gun rights. What the accused and the accuser both need to know.

Hit-and-Run Criminal Charges in Florida: What Leaving the Scene Really Costs
Leaving the scene is the crime, whether or not you caused the crash. Penalties at each level, the license revocation, and what to do if you are accused.

What Are Federal Criminal Charges, and How Are They Different From State Charges in Florida?
What makes a criminal charge federal instead of state, who prosecutes federal cases in South Florida, and how federal court differs on bail, grand juries, sentencing, and time served.

If Your Charges Are Dismissed, Do You Still Have a Criminal Record in Florida?
Yes, the arrest stays visible after a dismissal. Florida's automatic sealing covers some cases and expungement covers others. See which applies to you.

Can a Victim Drop Criminal Charges in Florida?
Why the State Attorney, not the alleged victim, controls criminal charges in Florida, what a victim's wishes can actually change, and what both sides should avoid while a case is pending.

How Criminal Charges Can Affect Immigration Status in Florida
What Florida arrests, pleas, and convictions can mean for green cards, visas, and removal, and why a plea that looks favorable in state court may not be immigration-safe.

You're Getting Pulled Over and There's Weed in the Car? Whatever You Do, Don't Do This!
Pulled over in Florida with marijuana in the car? The split-second move most people make can turn a citation into a felony. A Fort Lauderdale lawyer explains.

Prescribed Xanax, Percocet, or Another Controlled Substance? Keep Your Prescription Nearby
Carrying Xanax or Percocet without the bottle can mean a Florida drug arrest. MK Law's Fort Lauderdale attorneys explain how to protect yourself.