The Brancato Law Firm defends criminal cases in Spanish, Haitian Creole, French, and English. Interpreter rights under Rule 2.560, Miranda warnings in Spanish, and immigration consequences.
Continue reading ›From First DUI to Death Penalty
Welcome to The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. blog, where our expert insights, updates, and strategies on criminal law help you understand your rights and defense options in Tampa Bay and beyond.
The Brancato Law Firm defends criminal cases in Spanish, Haitian Creole, French, and English. Interpreter rights under Rule 2.560, Miranda warnings in Spanish, and immigration consequences.
Continue reading ›Your lawyer is not returning calls or is pushing a plea you do not understand? How to switch criminal defense lawyers in Florida, the six warning signs, fee refunds, and timing.
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 ›Florida’s open carry ban fell in McDaniels v. State. Where you still cannot carry a gun, who is still prohibited, the under-21 rules after Eubanks, and how our attorneys defend gun charges.
Continue reading ›How retrograde extrapolation estimates BAC at the time of driving, what Florida courts say about it, and how a toxicologist and a reconstructionist won a DUI manslaughter acquittal.
Continue reading ›How Florida’s Intoxilyzer inspection and repair rules work, what State v. Kilburn held, what changed on July 1, 2026, and how our attorneys challenge breath test results.
Continue reading ›How Florida courts treat field sobriety exercises, when an officer can ask for them, what refusing means, and how our attorneys challenge roadside DUI evidence in Tampa.
Continue reading ›Speed alone often is not reckless driving in Florida. What the State must prove, the penalties, and how our attorneys fight and reduce reckless driving charges in Hillsborough County.
Continue reading ›Not on their own. In Florida, the State Attorney’s Office makes the final decision, and Florida Statute 741.2901, the domestic violence pro-prosecution law, lets prosecutors proceed “over the objection of the victim, if necessary.” In practice, the alleged victim carries great weight. Without the victim’s testimony, a domestic violence case is hard to prove unless…
Continue reading ›Updated November 6, 2026 A drug recognition expert (DRE) is a police officer trained to decide whether a driver is impaired by drugs rather than alcohol, and which of seven drug categories is most likely responsible. In Florida, officers are certified through a program run by the Institute of Police Technology and Management at the…
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