What to do after being arrested in Tampa: first appearance within 24 hours, bond, the 30-day charging window, and diversion programs for first offenders.
Continue reading ›From First DUI to Death Penalty
What to do after being arrested in Tampa: first appearance within 24 hours, bond, the 30-day charging window, and diversion programs for first offenders.
Continue reading ›What happens after a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County: jail, the 10-day license deadline, refusal and CDL rules, RIDR diversion, and each court date.
Continue reading ›Rewrite/update date: November 2, 2026. Originally published in January 2025. Florida’s 21-day rule gives a person arrested on a felony the right to an adversarial preliminary hearing if the State has not filed an information or indictment within 21 days of the arrest. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.133(b), the State must then prove…
Continue reading ›Updated November 8, 2026 Yes. Since October 1, 2026, willfully violating a no-contact order that a judge set as a bond condition after an arrest for a violent crime such as battery, assault, robbery, stalking, kidnapping, or sexual battery is a separate crime in Florida under section 903.0472. A first violation is a first-degree misdemeanor…
Continue reading ›Arrested on a cruise ship in Tampa for marijuana or hemp? Learn state vs. federal charges, what to do on board, and how to get a lawyer to first appearance.
Continue reading ›Your right to pretrial release in Florida, Hillsborough’s 2026 bond schedule, the factors judges weigh, the new Rule 3.131 reconsideration, detention hearings, Arthur hearings, and Missy’s Law.
Continue reading ›A step-by-step timeline of a Hillsborough County criminal case, from booking at Orient Road Jail and first appearance through the filing decision, arraignment, discovery, plea or trial, and sentencing, updated for Florida’s July 2025 speedy trial and charging-deadline rules.
Continue reading ›A domestic violence lethality assessment is a 12-question checklist that Florida law requires officers to read to the alleged victim at every intimate-partner domestic violence call, whether or not anyone is arrested. One “yes” to any of the first four questions marks the alleged victim as being in a “potentially lethal situation.” The tool was…
Continue reading ›How to find someone in Hillsborough County Jail with the HCSO Arrest Inquiry, what the record means, and what happens next at first appearance, bond, and pretrial release in 2026.
Continue reading ›Updated November 8, 2026 Yes, inside their own jurisdiction. An off-duty Florida officer keeps full arrest power within the agency’s territory, including while working a paid security detail. Outside it, past the city limit for a police officer or the county line for a sheriff’s deputy, the officer can arrest only through fresh pursuit, a…
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