Lakeland Criminal Defense Lawyers

First, I meet with my potential client to make sure that I am the right lawyer for him or her.  A client needs to feel comfortable with her or her lawyer.  This initial meeting is extremely important.  If at this initial meeting a potential client does not have a gut feeling that the lawyer is the right one for the job, then suggest he or she hire a different lawyer.  The relationship must be one of trust.  Once the engagement agreement is signed, then it is time to get down to the business of defending the case. I always begin with reading the statute, even if I have read it hundreds of times and I know it like the back of my hand.   The client needs to understand each and every element that the state has the burden of proving.  If the state cannot prove just one of those elements, then their case is over.  Think of it like a table with four legs.  If one of the legs is cut off, then the table falls.  Therefore, it is important to discuss each element of the alleged charge(s) with

DUI’s have been in the news lately, especially with what seems absurd charges like a DUI on a horse !  One might wonder what qualifies as a vehicle? Can a person get a DUI on a horse? What about a bicycle? What about a golf cart? The Florida DUI statute states that in order for a person to be found guilty of a DUI, the person must be found to be driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle.  We can discuss “actual physical control” in another blog post, as our purposes here are to define “vehicle.”  So what is a “vehicle”.  Florida statute defines a vehicle as “every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except personal delivery devices and devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.”  By this definition a vehicle is any device by which a person or property may be transported.  Devices are manmade.  They are objects.  This definition of a vehicle, which does not include having any sort of m