From our attorneys
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.