The Criminal Arrest Process in Hillsborough County, Tampa Florida
This portion of our website is intended to help people understand the Criminal Arrest Process in Hillsborough County, Tampa Florida and how our criminal defense lawyers can immediately begin to help make the outcome much better.
We protect defendants throughout the entire process, starting with the investigation – where we speak to the officers for you on your behalf.
If an arrest is made, we help find out exactly what’s going on in the case, what the charges are, and what to do next.
We help protect the rights of defendants and assist with the First Appearance Hearing. Between that hearing and the arraignment, we can speak to the prosecutor and often reduce charges or have them dismissed. We can also help reduce bail amounts.
If there is a Disposition hearing, charges have been brought against a defendant have been filed, but we will find out what the weaknesses are in their case and help you best defend against them.
With the assistance of an attorney, and under certain circumstances it may be possible to convince the prosecutor to let a defendant’s case go into a Misdemeanor Intervention Program and/or a Pre-Trial Intervention. We can help defendants successfully enter and complete these programs to help get their charges dropped and have done that for 100’s of clients.
If a trial occurs, there are several pre-trial motions such as a Motion to Suppress Evidence that we can file which are extremely beneficial to defendants. And for those who may have pled guilty to certain charges, under certain circumstances we are also able to help defendants seal criminal charges or expunge a criminal record to make them disappear.
Below is a quick summary with a few key points outlining the criminal arrest process in Hillsborough County, which is different than other counties in Florida – particularly in regard to the First Appearance Hearing which usually occurs within 24 hours of an arrest or on the following morning in Tampa. Each section has more information as well as a video, and can be found by clicking the link in the heading or the “learn more” section.
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Investigation
What the police officer expects you to do is call them yourself and set up a meeting where they can speak to you. In most cases, they’re not on your side, it’s not their job – their job is to make arrests and get convictions.
A criminal defense attorney can take that information and find out from the officer exactly what they’re looking at, what they want and what they need. This is why it is recommended that your defense attorney speaks for you.
CALL US TODAY AT 813-489-3222, USE OUR CONTACT FORM, EMAIL OR TEXT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION.
Arrest
A criminal defense lawyer can find out exactly what is going on with your loved one’s case, where it happened, which agency made the arrest, what the charges are, and what to do next most importantly.
A defense lawyer also has the ability to save you money when getting a bond for your loved one.
CALL US TODAY AT 813-489-3222, USE OUR CONTACT FORM, EMAIL OR TEXT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION.
First Appearance Hearing
Just because there has been an arrest doesn’t mean that there will be charges filed.
The State Attorney’s Office is ultimately who decides if the case is strong enough to file the charges after reviewing the evidence such as the arrest report and statements from witnesses.
Whenever someone is arrested in Florida, they have to appear before a judge in person or via live video within 24 hours. This hearing is called the “First Appearance”.
CALL US TODAY AT 813-489-3222, USE OUR CONTACT FORM, EMAIL OR TEXT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION.
Arraignment
In between the First Appearance and the Arraignment is when a criminal defense lawyer can really begin to help make the overall outcome much better for a defendant. A criminal defense lawyer will be able to speak to the prosecutor and persuade them not to file charges or file less serious charges, or fewer charges.
At the Arraignment, a defendant will find out what charges are being brought against them, whether or not the charges have been or will be filed and if the prosecutor is seeking a certain type of punishment or sentence.
CALL US TODAY AT 813-489-3222, USE OUR CONTACT FORM, EMAIL OR TEXT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION.
Disposition
If there is a Disposition hearing, this means that the State Attorney has filed the charges brought against a defendant.
By this point we’ve talked to the prosecutor, we know what they are – we’ve either gotten the charges reduced, some of them dropped – this is what’s left.
Your criminal defense lawyer will find out what the weaknesses are in the State’s case and tell you about them.
CALL US TODAY AT 813-489-3222, USE OUR CONTACT FORM, EMAIL OR TEXT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION.
MISDEMEANOR INTERVENTION PROGRAM
If you’ve been charged with a misdemeanor in Hillsborough County, you may have heard of a program called MIP which is a Misdemeanor Intervention Program.
With the assistance of an attorney, and under certain circumstances it may be possible to convince the prosecutor to let a defendant’s case go into this program. If you successfully complete this program, we can get your charges dropped.
Our law firm has helped 100’s of defendants get into and complete this program to get their charges dropped in Tampa, Hillsborough and Pinellas County.
CALL US TODAY AT 813-489-3222, USE OUR CONTACT FORM, EMAIL OR TEXT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION.
PRE-TRIAL INTERVENTION
In Hillsborough County, Pinellas County and most of the counties in Florida, if you have a criminal charge leveled against you, you may possibly be eligible for a program called PTI or Pre-Trial Intervention.
With an attorney’s assistance in many cases we can convince the prosecutor for certain charges, to let you enter this program.
If the program is completed successfully, all charges may be dropped.
That’s something that we’ve been able to do for 100’s of clients of the Fernandez Law Group.
CALL US TODAY AT 813-489-3222, USE OUR CONTACT FORM, EMAIL OR TEXT US FOR A FREE CONSULTATION AND CASE EVALUATION.
Trial
A Trial may be set after several Disposition hearings.
Your criminal defense lawyer could explore Pre-Trial Motions, such as a Motion to Suppress Evidence used against you – if for example your loved one was charged with possession of a controlled substance, your lawyer could file a legal Motion so that the judge can keep that from ever being heard in a courtroom. This is a very important motion.
Another type of Motion is a Motion to Dismiss – where your case may be dismissed before trial.