How to fight an aggravated battery charge in Florida: what the State must prove, prison scoresheet math, 10-20-Life, and the defenses our Tampa attorneys use.
Continue reading ›From First DUI to Death Penalty
How to fight an aggravated battery charge in Florida: what the State must prove, prison scoresheet math, 10-20-Life, and the defenses our Tampa attorneys use.
Continue reading ›Updated November 8, 2026 Key Takeaway If your child was arrested at a “teen takeover” in Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco County, the most common charge is affray, a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida law (§870.01). But these events are far more dangerous than a misdemeanor suggests. A teen was shot at the Clearwater Beach takeover, and…
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 ›Updated November 8, 2026 Yes, it can now count. Since October 1, 2026, Florida’s definition of a “criminal gang member” in section 874.03(3) includes admitting gang membership online, using gang-related language on social media in furtherance of gang activity, and authoring any communication that indicates gang affiliation. A person meets the definition by satisfying any…
Continue reading ›Fully rewritten and updated October 25, 2026. Charter captain Brock Horner was arrested by the Punta Gorda Police Department in April 2025 and charged with burglary with assault or battery after a viral video showed him climbing onto a young fisherman’s boat in Charlotte County. Under Florida law a boat is a “conveyance,” so entering…
Continue reading ›The elements of robbery in Florida, the three degrees, sudden snatching and carjacking, 10-20-Life and the 2025 consecutive-term change, Dale on BB guns, the mask statute, and local arrest data.
Continue reading ›The elements of assault and aggravated assault in Florida, Hillsborough cases on fear and deadly weapons, penalties and enhancements, the 2016 10-20-Life change, and how charges get dropped.
Continue reading ›When Florida law justifies non-deadly and deadly force, no duty to retreat, the home and vehicle presumption, the aggressor rule, Oquendo (2025), Cordell (2026), and the new resisting-officer law.
Continue reading ›A step-by-step guide to Florida’s pretrial Stand Your Ground immunity hearing: the sworn motion, the State’s clear and convincing burden, recent decisions, and review by prohibition.
Continue reading ›In Florida, Stand Your Ground is part of the self-defense law in Chapter 776 of the Florida Statutes. Stand Your Ground adds the rule that you have no duty to retreat, which means you do not have to try to get away before you defend yourself. Stand Your Ground also gives you a chance to…
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