What You Need To Know If You’ve Been Arrested In Florida

In this article, you can discover:

• The timeline for beginning court proceedings
• The odds of going to trial, having your case reduced, or serving time
• Tips on navigating law enforcement after an arrest

When Will I Have My First Court Date After Being Arrested In Florida?

When someone is arrested, a bond may be set by the law enforcement officer. If so, the arrested person can post bail and be released immediately. If there is no bond initially, the individual will appear before a judge at a preliminary presentation hearing.

If someone accused of a crime does not have the option for a bond, the first court date is normally the arraignment court date. In a normal situation, you could expect your first court date to be about 3 or 4 weeks down the road after an arrest. Of course, some offenses take much longer to investigate, but they rarely take months or years to investigate before you receive a notice for your first court date.

I Wasn’t Read My Miranda Rights After Being Arrested And Charged. Will My Charges Be Dropped?

Although Miranda Rights are not required to be read in order for criminal charges to be upheld, they must be read if the statements made by an accused during a custodial interrogation are to be used. If Miranda warnings were not properly given and waived by the accused, then any statements made during that interview will not be admissible.

When a person is accused of a crime, the law enforcement officers investigating the case may question the accused without reading them their Miranda Rights. This is because statements made during a consensual interview, where the accused feels free to leave at any time, can be used as evidence against them.

However, statements made spontaneously or in response to questions asked by someone other than law enforcement are often not protected by Miranda Rights. Therefore, these statements are admissible without Miranda warnings being read. In general, an expert criminal defense attorney always advises clients not to talk to law enforcement without first talking to an attorney.

A defendant’s statements to law enforcement can often be used against them, but there may be motions to suppress available to defeat or exclude such statements from evidence, depending on the circumstances.

I Was Arrested And Charged With A Felony. Will I Go To Jail If Convicted?

Whether or not a person arrested for a felony in Florida will go to jail or prison depends on many factors. What makes any criminal offense criminal in nature is the fact that incarceration is possible, whether it be jail or prison.

Every felony offense has a maximum possible sentence and an offense level, which will dictate the minimum mandatory amount of time required to be served in prison.

Some offenses require incarceration, even for first-time offenses, while others do not. Sometimes judges have the discretion not to order incarceration. Other times, they do not. It is always essential to hire an attorney with experience in trying criminal cases of all varieties.

I Spoke With Law Enforcement After My Arrest In Florida. Did I Ruin Any Chance Of Winning My Case?

Speaking to the police, although normally not advisable, does not necessarily ruin the defendant’s chance of having their case dismissed or reduced. In some situations, talking to the police may help a case or avoid formal charges from being filed, but that’s not always the case.

I recommend always talking to an attorney before making this decision. There may be situations where they spoke to the police, and their statements are absolutely damning, but they are not admissible. This could be because Miranda Warnings were not read and those laws apply to your situation or because those statements should be suppressed for another reason.

Will My Florida Misdemeanor Or Felony Case Go To Trial?

Whether or not a misdemeanor or a felony case in Florida will go to trial depends on the circumstances. The ultimate decision on whether a case goes to trial or not rests with the defendant, meaning the accused will have the final decision on whether or not they want to accept an offer made by the state.

Although most cases do not end up going to trial, it is essential to prepare every case as if it is going to go to trial. I believe that is the only way to know a case inside and out and to determine if there are any motion issues, pre-trial issues, witness issues, or issues in the case that can be used. If the state attorney makes a reasonable offer and the accused wants to accept it, that case will not go to trial.

If the state offers the absolute maximum on a particular charge, there may be no reason not to take that case to trial. So, the answer to whether or not the case goes to trial really depends on the context surrounding the decision.

For more information on Misdemeanor & Felony Criminal Offenses In FL, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (813) 444-2817 today.