From our attorneys
"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.
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 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.
What a Florida DUI charge actually carries (jail, fines, license revocation, and when it becomes a felony) plus the implied consent rules for refusing a breath test.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.