Criminal Attorney Lawyer Sarasota FL

Defense Attorney Sarasota FL

The Smith & Eulo Law Firm: Orlando Criminal Defense Lawyers has defended thousands of criminal cases, including felonies and misdemeanors from initial appearance to resolution. There is no criminal case we cannot handle… Our attorneys at the Smith & Eulo Law Firm provide a full-service criminal defense firm. The Firm has lawyers who have worked in all aspects of the criminal justice system, including violations of probation, juvenile cases, high-profile murder cases, sexual battery cases, county court cases, DUI’s, domestic violence cases and more (read our reviews). Contact us today. We are experienced criminal defense lawyers ready to talk to you serving Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, Ocala, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Sanford, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Miami and the adjacent areas. Call 407-930-8912  for our main office and when you contact us, we’ll walk through your case, discuss your options, give you a case overview, and even set up an office conference nearest to you, free of charge.

We have two locations in Orlando Florida, one located minutes away from the Orange County Jail, and a second one located minutes from the Orange County Courthouse in Downtown Orlando. Below, you can see a non-exclusive list of some of the types of criminal law charges that our firm has defended in the past and will handle for our clients in the future. The list is not exclusive; if you have a question please do not hesitate to call us at the Smith & Eulo Law Firm, Orlando, FL. The Smith and Eulo Law Firm offers you experienced criminal defense lawyers who will fight for your justice. Thousands of cases litigated, trial experience, violations of probation, major felonies, minor thefts…the Smith & Eulo Law Firm offers you the best criminal defense lawyers for a reasonable price. Call us now and talk to an Orlando Attorney about your criminal defense case.

Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers in Florida

If you or your loved one has been charged with a federal crime in Florida, you need to contact a Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer immediately. Our lawyers are members of the Middle District of Florida and are ready to hear your side of the story to come up with the best defense strategy and legal advice for your specific situation. We are open 24/7, give us a call today. The Middle District of Florida comprises the counties of Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, De Soto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, St. Johns, Sarasota, Seminole, Sumter, Suwannee, Union, and Volusia. Court for the Middle District is held in Tampa, Fernandina, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Live Oak, Ocala, Orlando, and St. Petersburg. Before a Federal Court can hear a case, certain conditions must be met:

• Under the Constitution, federal courts exercise only judicial powers. Meaning the federal judges should only interpret the law through the resolution of actual legal disputes, referred to Article III of the Constitution as “Cases of Controversies”. A court can’t attempt to fix a problem by its own initiative or answer a hypothetical legal question.
• In an actual case or controversy, the plaintiff must have been unfairly treated, in distress, have suffered from the denial of legal rights or legally harmed in some way by the defendant.
• The case must present a level of dispute the law in question was designed to examine, and it must be a complaint the court has the power to resolve.
• Lastly, the case must present an ongoing problem for the case to be uncertain or highly debatable. It must present a clear ongoing problem for the courts to decide on and resolve. Hence, the federal courts are courts of “limited” jurisdiction, because they may only decide certain types of cases as provided by Congress or as identified in the Constitution.

What can you expect in a federal court case?

In the judicial process of a criminal case the main characters at the beginning are the prosecutor, which in this case is the U.S. attorney and the grand jury. The prosecutor represents the United States in most court cases and the jury reviews the evidence and decides whether there is sufficient evidence to require the defendant to stand trial. After the person is arrested a pretrial services or probation officer of the court immediately interviews the defendant and investigates of the defendant’s background. This information will be used to help determine whether to release the defendant before trial and impose conditions of release. A person accused of a crime is entitled to release before trial, unless the judge decides otherwise if he/she/they think the accused poses a danger to the community and/or is likely to commit other crimes.

At the initial appearance the judge informs the defendant of the charges filed against him/her/them and considers whether the defendant should be held in jail or release with conditions until a date is set for trial. Defendants who are released may have to follow certain conditions such as drug testing, meeting with or reporting to pre-trial services officer and electronic monitoring. Then the arraignment takes place, which is a court hearing where the defendant enters a plea to the charges bought by the U.S. attorney. Most defendants (more than 90% according to Federal Court data) plead guilty in return for the government to drop certain charges or to recommend a more lenient sentence. If the defendant pleads guilty, the judge may impose a sentence at that time, however, a later date will more than likely be scheduled for a sentence hearing.

For most federal cases, judges usually wait for the results of the presentence report, prepared by the court’s probation officer before imposing a sentence. If the defendant pleads “not guilty”, the judge will then proceed to schedule a trial date. In a criminal trial, the burden of proof is on the government, defendants don’t have to prove their innocence, instead the government must provide evidence to convince the jury the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. If the defendant is found “not guilty”, he/she/they is released and the government may not appeal, as the U.S. Constitution prohibits “double jeopardy”, in other words someone found “not guilty” may not be tried for the same crime twice. If the verdict is guilty, then the judge will determine the appropriate sentence.