Arrested, Now What?


You've been arrested in Florida, now what?


Investigation:


Law enforcement is in charge of investigating crime. They don't choose what you get charged with, with the exception of some criminal traffic charges, or whether you are formally charged with a crime. After the initial investigation, which may or may not involve an arrest, if law enforcement believe they have probable cause to believe you committed a crime, the case package is forwarded to the prosecuting authority, usually the local Office of the State Attorney, for a formal charging decision. 


Prosecution:


After the initial investigation, the prosecuting authority, usually the local Office of the State Attorney, will make a formal charging decision. Trained prosecutors will make the decision as to what you are charged with if anything. Sometimes this happens immediately after you are arrested or investigated, but sometimes this process can take weeks or even months. 


 Should you hire an attorney now?


You should definitely speak to an attorney. If you can't afford to hire a private attorney, then you are entitled to have an attorney appointed, usually a public defender. Public defenders are often experienced competent attorneys. However, you will likely not be able to choose your public defender and they are often spread thin to the extent that they can't communicate as often as a private attorney may be. If you haven't been formally charged, you may have a difficult time discussing your case with a public defender.

 
If you have been charged or may be charged with a crime, you should immediately schedule a consultation with a criminal defense attorney to discuss your case and your options. Most criminal defense attorneys allow a free of charge initial consultation. There may be ways to resolve your case that result in your case never being formally charged, dismissed, or to have adjudication of guilty withheld.

Once you hire an attorney, you may not be required to attend many of the court dates and pretrial hearings. You and your attorney will discuss a strategy to best handle your particular case.  



How Much Does a Criminal Lawyer Cost?



The price of a criminal defense lawyer is dependent on many different factors, including the experience of the lawyer, the crime charged, the complexity of the case, the goals of the client, and the overhead of the attorney. 


For example, if you are charged with a misdemeanor and your goal is to simply resolve the case quickly with a plea that gives you the best possible plea deal, you may be able to find an experienced attorney with great relationships with the prosecutors who will handle the case for relatively little money. 

If however, if you have a complex case and you believe you are innocent, you may want your attorney to take depositions of potential witnesses, to file multiple pre-trial motions, conduct evidentiary hearings, and potentially take the case to trial to be tried by a jury of your peers. Even if the case was merely a misdemeanor, not a felony, the case would require an extensive time commitment from your attorney.  

An experienced attorney could require a large fee for such a case. 

As a result of the complexities each individual case presents, and the unique goals of each client, most attorneys do not have set rates, but usually have a general amount they use as a guide based on the severity of the crimes. You should decide what amount you have the ability to pay and then find the best attorney within your range. Depending on the severity and the importance good representation is to you, you may need to ask for help from relatives, sell property, or take out loans. To give you some idea though what an attorney with a moderate amount of experience may charge, the following may be a reasonably accurate guide as to what to expect. Note, out of pocket cost are usually extra and passed on to the client and some attorneys do not include certain aspects of a defense in their base fee, including a jury trial. You should take into account whether the price include pretrial motions, trial, ect.


Minor Criminal Traffic: $500 - $3000

DUI No Prior Offense: $1000 - $5,000

Non-traffic Criminal Misdemeanor: $1,000 - $4,000

3rd Degree Felony, Non-Violent: $2,000 - $5,000

3rd Degree Violent Felony: $3,500 - $10,000

2nd Degree Felony: $5,000 - $20,000

1st Degree Felony: $10,000 - $50,000​


These prices reflect the general range  of how much criminal lawyer costs in Florida from my experience only. This isn't to say that you can not find adequate representation for less or that an attorney who charges more is not worth the price. ​


 ​

DUI, How Do I Get My Driver's License Back?

If you have been arrested for DUI, your driver's license will be suspended.  You have 10 days from the date of arrest to challenge the suspension in an administrative review hearing. By filing a request for an administrative review hearing, you may be able to keep you driving privileges until your hearing. If you win the hearing, you suspension will be lifted. If you lose the hearing, your suspension will be effective, but you may be able to obtain a business purpose only license. 

When you are arrested for DUI, you have 3 options related to your driver's license:

  • Do Nothing

  • Request a Formal or Informal Review Hearing

  • ​Waive a Formal Hearing a Request a Review for Immediate Reinstatement of Driving Privileges with a Business Purpose Only License (Hardship License). 


All of my DUI cases are based on agreed flat fees, and include requested administrative review hearings if applicable, as well as other pretrial hearing designed around suppressing evidence and seeking dismissals of the case. 

You should talk to an experienced attorney about these options to plan the best way for you to get your driver's license back. 

Attorney Advertising. The material and information contained on these pages and on any pages linked from these pages is intended to provide general information only and not legal advice. You should consult with an attorney licensed to practice in your jurisdiction before relying upon any of the information presented here. You are advised that the acts of sending email to or viewing information from this website does not create an attorney-client relationship.


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"If you are looking for an attorney who is committed to his work, will truly fight for you and give his all for a positive outcome then Josh Adams is the attorney you want!

I went to Mr. Adams in search of an attorney who was personable and truly cared about his clients; promptly answers phone calls and emails; he's an attorney who will not give up.  He'll challenge prosecution plea deals and not take the easy way out.  He fights for you!    
 
My son had some pretty heavy charges against him and Mr. Adams worked diligently to get the best possible deal for my son's release from jail.  He arranged a conference with the judge and prosecution and after an hour my son was being released from jail, no prison time, no adjudications.  Not that there weren't consequences, but they were ones that could be dealt with.

My son, aged 19, now has the chance to review his future and head in the right direction which would not have been possible without Mr. Adams.   In the beginning it was thought this could take up to six months, from the start of representation to the end it took less than three.

Thank you Mr. Adams for your hard work, dedication and commitment to our case; for the assistance you gave my son I would highly recommend you to anyone in need of an attorney. 
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Written by: Jana K. 
Date Published: 10/14/2013
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