Few people understand the criminal justice process. The purpose of this blog is to provide a general overview of what you can expect if you are
arrested in Florida. If you have a specific legal problem, don’t delay, consult a
criminal defense lawyer who can help protect your good name and reputation.
Posting Bond
In most cases, you are entitled to a reasonable bond set by the court. Generally, this requires that you post a bond with the court. A bond is a binding agreement to pay money to the court in the event that you do not appear for your scheduled court dates. A bond is intended to ensure your appearance in the case. Your bond may either be a cash bond in smaller cases, or a surety bond in larger cases.
To post a surety bond, you will need the assistance of a bondsman who will file a bond with the court on your behalf, guaranteeing your appearance at all scheduled court dates. The bond is a conditional release, therefore, if you are arrested for subsequent offenses while you are out on bond, your original bond may be revoked by the court without notice.
Magistrate Court
Once you are
arrested and have been in custody for twenty-four hours or more, you are entitled to a magistrate hearing for determination of whether probable cause exists for your arrest. Probable cause for an arrest is facts and circumstances which would lead a reasonably prudent person to believe that a crime has been committed. If no probable cause is found for your arrest, you will be released on your own recognizance. In the majority of cases, probable cause is found by the magistrate judge and the bond amount is generally set by the Clerk of Courts, as a standard bond amount.
Tracking Your Case
Within one to two days, the probable cause affidavit, or initial arrest report, on your case will find its way to the Clerk's Office from the booking desk at the jail, and you will be randomly assigned a case number and judge. This information is computerized and viewable online at the Broward County Clerk of Courts Online Search. You can track certain information about your case, including court dates and case status from this web site.
Case Filing Decision
The State Attorney's Office will generally begin to review the case filing package on your case within two weeks of your arrest and, if you are in custody, make a filing decision within 21 days of your arrest. If you are not in custody, the filing decision generally takes about 30 days, or longer. Once the State files what is known as an "Information" in your case, the Clerk's Office will post your charges into the Clerk's computer and you will be noticed with an arraignment date.
Pre-Filing Package
Before your charges are filed, you have an opportunity to provide the case filing Assistant State Attorney with additional materials, such as witness statements, documents, recordings, and papers for his or her consideration in determining what, if any, charges should be filed against you by the state of Florida. Often, supplemental materials filed by you will greatly reduce charges that are in the process of being filed against you. Therefore, the pre-filing package represents the first line of defense.
The Defense Case
After arraignment in your case, you can file a "notice of discovery", which is an official request for the state to file a discovery response listing witnesses, papers, and other specific evidence upon which the state will rely in attempting to prove its case against you. You are entitled to take discovery depositions, at your expense, from all material state's witnesses in the preparation of your defense. The state will also provide you with copies of all relevant papers in your case, which may include witness statements, lab reports, photos, crime scene reports, and all other materials. You may also list defense witnesses and use defense exhibits in your case, provided that you give notice of these witnesses and materials to the state in advance. This is known as reciprocal discovery.
Final Disposition of Your Case
At some point you will need to decide whether you want to resolve your case by agreement with the state, to "plead open" to the mercy of the court, or to proceed to trial. To resolve your case by agreement with the State Attorney's Office, your attorney and the Assistant State Attorney must come to a complete agreement regarding all the terms of an agreement for all of your pending charges. The court can accept or reject the terms of the agreement, but cannot modify the terms without your advance consent.
Sentencing Issues and the Criminal Punishment Code
The Criminal Punishment Code Score Sheet is like a report card that the judge reviews at the time of sentencing. The score sheet tabulates a specific number of points per offense as set by Florida statute and scored at time of sentencing. If your total combined score is less than or equal to 44 points, the judge can impose a non-state prison sanction, which could mean county jail time of one year or less, house arrest, probation, a fine, payment of court costs, or even no punishment at all. If total points are greater than 44 points, the court will impose mandatory state prison time, unless the court finds a legal reason to depart downward, and is willing to depart downward from the minimum prison sentence set by the criminal punishment code.
Attempting to take on the state by yourself can be intimidating and overwhelming.
If you get arrested, make sure you have an
experienced criminal attorney by your side as soon as possible.