No. During a traffic stop the police are conducting an investigation. Your sixth amendment right to counsel doesn’t come in until you have been officially charged or arrested for a crime. Additionally, it would not be practical for the police to have to wait a few hours for an attorney to show up for each person they pull over. Because of this, it is in your best interest to give as little information as you can to the police. Not giving consent to a search is not an admission of guilt.

Yes, if you want to keep your driver’s license. Florida has an implied consent law to which you agreed when you were issued your driver’s license. The law states that if you refuse a breathalyzer test from a police officer, you license will automatically be suspended for at least 12 months. However, if the DUI arrest is ruled unlawful at an administrative hearing, you may be entitled to a reinstatement of your driving privileges.

No. Your license will not be automatically suspended if you refuse the field sobriety exercises but the officer can consider your refusal in making his arrest decision. Furthermore, the refusal can be disclosed to the jury during your DUI trial. The tests can be very confusing and are highly subjective so it might be in your best interest to refuse them.

No. Even if you are asleep and the car is off, a Florida court has ruled that you still have the potential to wake up and drive. If you are in “actual physical control” of your vehicle while under the influence you can be charged with a DUI. The location of the keys to the vehicle play a major role in whether the State can prove if you were in “actual physical control.”

Yes. The Driver License Compact is an interstate agreement to share information regarding license suspensions and traffic violations signed by 44 states. There are other agreements along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that makes sure each state knows about your traffic violations and license suspensions.

The State Attorney will take the victim’s desire not to press charges into consideration when making a filing decision. The State Attorney has the sole discretion to decide whether to close the case or file charges. The victim alone cannot dismiss the charges. The State Attorney can file the charges even if the victim does not want to press charges.  

If you are a victim in a Battery Domestic Violence case and you do not want to press charges you may contact our office and we can further assist you and the accused with this process. You may also contact the State Attorney’s Office and let them know that you do not wish to press charges or have charges filed. Oftentimes, victims advise the law enforcement officer who arrived at the scene that they do not wish to press charges and refuse to complete paperwork. The law enforcement officer submits their report along with any refusal to the State Attorney’s Office.

Yes. Most people believe their charge for theft should be dismissed because they never left the store. Often, people are stopped for theft before they exit the doors of the store. A theft is complete once you concealed the item(s), have not paid for the item(s), and have passed what is considered the “point of sale.” This means that you have passed all registers and are headed towards the doors to the exit. 

Yes. Oftentimes, when a theft has occurred, the items are recovered or returned by the loss prevention officer. A theft is complete once you have concealed the item(s), have not paid for the item(s), you had the intent to temporarily or permanently deprive the store of the item(s), and you have passed what is considered the “point of sale.” This means that you have passed all registers and are headed towards the doors to the exit.

You are not entitled to a bond when you violate probation, thus your bond will be set at ‘None.’ It is possible you may remain in jail until your violation of probation case has been resolved. However, the Florida Rules do not prevent an Attorney from filing a Bond Motion and making arguments to the Court for a bond if you violate probation. Things that will be taken into consideration at a Bond Motion are a flight risk, length of time on supervised probation, the manner in which the violation occurred, and ties to the community, among other things. If your violation of probation is solely financial, the Court may issue a Notice to Appear instead of an arrest warrant.

If you violate probation for the first time you can be given a warning by your probation officer or you can be violated by your probation officer. This depends on the type of violation that has occurred and the type of charge for which you are under supervision. If you are violated by your probation officer for the first time and a warrant is issued for your arrest, most likely you will not be allowed to post a bond to get out of jail. 

It depends. Upon the filing of a Petition for a restraining order, the Judge may issue a temporary restraining order pending the hearing time on the Petition. The issuance of the temporary restraining order will depend on the facts alleged in the Petition and whether the Judge considers those facts to clearly show immediate and irreparable injury or harm is likely to result prior to the hearing. This is the quickest form of relief that the Court is able to provide when a Petition has been filed.

If it is alleged that you violated the conditions of a restraining order, the Judge will call you back into Court to explain why you shouldn’t be held in contempt. If the Judge finds that you did violate, the Judge can sentence you to jail. Additionally, a violation of a restraining order can be charged as a criminal matter. A violation of an injunction is a misdemeanor of the first degree and is punishable by a maximum of one year in jail, 12 months of probation, and/or $1,000 fine.

Although restraining orders are civil matters, these matters are viewable by the public once the parties are served and a case number is generated. The resolution or disposition on the restraining order will also be viewable by the public. Furthermore, if you violate the injunction that is a criminal offense and may appear on your criminal record as well.

If the Judge issues an Order for Temporary Restraining Order, this order will last for 15 days. If a Permanent Restraining Order is issued, this order is in place for a term set by the Judge or until further orders or modifications by the Judge. Either party may move to modify or terminate the Restraining Order at any time.

The police must read Miranda warnings when they are questioning a suspect who is in custody. If you were in custody and were not read your Miranda rights, any statements or evidence that was obtained may not be admissible as evidence against you in trial. Many people believe that because they were not read their Miranda rights, their case should be dismissed automatically. Unfortunately, this is not typically the case.

The maximum punishment for a second-degree misdemeanor is 60 days of jail, 6 months of probation, and/or a $500 fine. The punishment can be a combination of jail and probation, not to exceed the limits above.

The maximum punishment for a first-degree misdemeanor is 1 year of jail, 1 year of probation, and/or a $1,000 fine. The punishment can be a combination of jail and probation, not to exceed 1 year.

The maximum punishment for a third-degree felony is 5 years of prison, 5 years of probation, and/or a $5,000 fine. The punishment can be a combination of jail and probation, not to exceed 5 years.

The maximum punishment for a second-degree felony is 15 years of prison, 15 years of probation, and/or a $10,000 fine. The punishment can be a combination of jail and probation, not to exceed 15 years. There are some felony cases that have minimum mandatory sentences according to Florida Statute.

The maximum punishment for a first-degree felony is 30 years of prison, 30 years of probation, and/or a $10,000 fine. The punishment can be a combination of jail and probation, not to exceed 30 years. There are some felony cases that have minimum mandatory sentences and are considered punishable by a term of life. The punishment for these felonies will be controlled by Florida Statute.