Criminal Defense Practice Areas

DUI & Driving Offenses

Sex Offenses

Drug & Weapon Charges

Questions clients ask about criminal cases

After an arrest

• When someone has just been arrested: what happens in the first 48 hours after an arrest in Palm Beach or Broward County.
• When the arrest was for DUI: what happens after a DUI arrest in Florida.
• When a family needs to get someone out: how bond is set and posted in Florida.
• When the first court date arrives: do I have to go to my arraignment.
• When you were just charged: what to do in the first week after being charged.

Penalties and sentencing

• When a charge is labeled by degree: the maximum penalties for each level of crime.
• When a felony scoresheet comes up: how a felony sentence is calculated in Florida.
• When a plea offer is on the table: what a withhold of adjudication means.

Ending a case early

• When you hope the case ends early: can criminal charges be dropped before trial.
• When it is a first offense: pretrial diversion in Palm Beach and Broward.
• When you want to know how long it will take: speedy trial deadlines in Florida.
• When you acted in self-defense: how stand-your-ground immunity works.

Weapons charges

• When the charge is carrying a gun: concealed carry without a license in Florida.
• When there is a prior felony and a gun: the penalty for a convicted felon found with a gun.

Theft and burglary

• When the value decides the charge: when theft becomes a felony in Florida.
• When a store stops someone at the door: what happens after a shoplifting arrest.
• When the charge is entering a car, building or home: whether burglary is always a felony.

Drug charges

• When the charge is possession: the penalties for drug possession in Florida.
• When the weight is large: how much of a drug makes it trafficking.
• When the drug is marijuana: whether marijuana possession is still a crime in Florida.

Assault and battery

• When it is unclear what was charged: the difference between assault, battery and aggravated battery.

Sex offense and solicitation charges

• When registration is the biggest worry: which convictions require sex offender registration.
• When the charge came from a police operation: the penalties for solicitation in Florida.

Young people

• When a child is in custody: what happens after a juvenile arrest in Palm Beach or Broward.
• When it is a first misdemeanor: whether a child can get a civil citation instead of an arrest.

Probation

• When someone is held on a violation warrant: bond on a probation violation.

Serving Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Martin counties

• The office is in Boca Raton. Local police, courthouse and license-office details are on the Boca Raton DUI and criminal defense page.
• The county courts, jails and local programs: criminal cases in Palm Beach County and criminal cases in Broward County.
• Where someone goes right after an arrest: the Palm Beach County jail and first appearance on Gun Club Road and the Broward Central Courthouse and Main Jail.
• Where south Palm Beach County misdemeanors are heard: the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.
• Palm Beach County cities: Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter.
• Broward County cities: Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs and Hollywood.
• To the south: criminal cases in Miami-Dade County. Bond hearings there are covered in what to expect at the Gerstein Justice Building.
• To the north: criminal cases in Martin County. The jail and courthouse are covered in the Martin County Courthouse and jail in Stuart.