Much of the evidence that damages a first arrest case in Tampa is created after the handcuffs go on: in the back of the patrol car, on recorded jail calls, and on social media. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I have watched that pattern for more than 25 years in Hillsborough County, including as former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, overseeing a staff of over 100 attorneys. Our attorneys step in at first appearance, argue bond, and contact the State Attorney’s Office before charges are filed, while the outcome is still open.

What should you do in the first 48 hours after an arrest in Tampa?

In the first 48 hours, your job is to protect your rights, get released, and get a lawyer working before first appearance. These six steps cover most first arrests in Hillsborough County.

1. Ask for a lawyer out loud, then stop talking. In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), the U.S. Supreme Court held that police must warn a person in custody of the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer, and that questioning must stop once the person asks for one. Silence alone is not always enough. In Salinas v. Texas, 570 U.S. 178 (2013), a man who simply went quiet during a voluntary police interview could not keep prosecutors from using that silence, because he never said he was invoking his rights. Say the words: “I want a lawyer, and I am not answering questions.”
2. Do not resist, argue, or explain. Explaining your side to an officer gives the State a recorded statement and rarely ends the arrest. Body cameras and patrol-car cameras keep recording.
3. Treat every jail call as a call with the prosecutor listening. Hillsborough County jail calls are recorded, and prosecutors listen to them. In Jackson v. State, 18 So. 3d 1016 (Fla. 2009), the Florida Supreme Court upheld the use of a recorded jail call because the automated warning told the inmate the call was monitored, so he had no protected expectation of privacy.
4. Have family call a defense lawyer right away. A lawyer who is retained before first appearance can argue bond and release conditions at that hearing. Family can find you through the Hillsborough County jail inmate search, which shows booking number, charges, and bond.
5. Stay off social media, and do not delete anything. Posts, messages, and photos are evidence. Deleting them after an arrest can create a new felony charge for tampering with evidence under section 918.13, Florida Statutes.
6. Write down what happened, for your lawyer only. Note times, names, witnesses, and where cameras were. Give the notes to your attorney and to no one else.

Our firm’s practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, and you can call us at any hour at (813) 727-7159.

Which mistakes after an arrest hurt a Tampa case the most?

The mistakes that hurt most are talking, contacting the alleged victim, and missing court. The table below sums up what our attorneys tell clients after a first arrest.

What happens at first appearance in Hillsborough County?

First appearance is a short hearing, held within 24 hours of arrest, where a judge reviews the charges and sets bond and release conditions. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130, every arrested person who has not already been lawfully released must be taken before a judge within 24 hours, in person or by audio-video technology. For people arrested in Hillsborough County, the arrested person is booked at the Orient Road Jail and appears by video from the jail, while the judge and the lawyers appear from downtown.

At the hearing, the judge must tell you the charges, advise you that you do not have to speak, and set pretrial release or detention. A prosecutor and an assistant public defender are usually present. If you have hired a private lawyer, the judge must give reasonable time to reach that lawyer. You can read the current rules on The Florida Bar’s rules page.

A separate federal deadline applies to warrantless arrests. In County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991), the Supreme Court held that a person arrested without a warrant generally must receive a judicial probable cause determination within 48 hours. Florida’s Rule 3.133(a) requires a judge’s probable cause review within 48 hours for anyone held in custody, unless a judge already found probable cause when issuing an arrest warrant.

First appearance moves fast. A lawyer who has already talked with the family can tell the judge about your job, your ties to Tampa, and your lack of a record before bond is set. In one of our firm’s August 2026 cases, a domestic violence battery by strangulation count was dismissed at first appearance, and the State later declined to file charges at all. Our office at 620 E. Twiggs Street is two blocks from the courthouse, and our Hillsborough County criminal defense lawyers handle first appearance and bond hearings as a routine part of the practice.

How do bond and pretrial release work in Hillsborough County?

In Hillsborough County, release usually comes through a cash bond, a surety bond posted through a bail bond agent, or release on recognizance, meaning release on your promise to return. Hillsborough County does not offer pretrial services supervision as a release option, though some neighboring counties do. That makes the first bond argument more important here, because there is no supervised-release middle ground for the judge to fall back on.

Some people can bond out before first appearance using the statewide bond schedule. Since January 1, 2024, section 903.011, Florida Statutes has required the Florida Supreme Court to adopt a uniform statewide bond schedule. The same statute bars release before first appearance for people arrested on capital, life, first-degree, or second-degree felonies and certain other listed offenses, so those defendants wait for a judge.

When the judge sets bond, section 903.046, Florida Statutes lists what the court considers: the charge, the strength of the evidence, family ties, length of residence, employment, past record, and danger to the community. For charges the law defines as “dangerous crimes,” section 907.041, Florida Statutes bars nonmonetary release at first appearance and lets the State move to hold the person without bond.

Getting out early matters for the whole case, and research backs that up. In a 2017 study of misdemeanor cases in Harris County, Texas, published as The Downstream Consequences of Misdemeanor Pretrial Detention, 69 Stan. L. Rev. 711, Paul Heaton, Sandra Mayson, and Megan Stevenson found that detained defendants were 25% more likely to plead guilty and 43% more likely to be sentenced to jail than similar defendants who were released. Our firm’s walkthrough of the Hillsborough County bond process explains self-surrender on a warrant that already has a bond set.

What happens in the first 30 days while the State Attorney decides on charges?

During the first 30 days, a prosecutor at the State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit reviews the arrest report and decides whether to file formal charges, file reduced charges, or decline the case. The arrest itself is the officer’s decision. The charge is the prosecutor’s.

Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.134 sets the clock. If you are in custody, the State must file formal charges within 30 days of arrest. If it has not, the court on day 30 orders release on your own recognizance on day 33, or on day 40 if the State shows good cause, and no one may be held more than 40 days without a formal charge. If you are out on bond, the State has 60 days, and the court can release you from all bond conditions on day 63 unless charges are filed or the State shows good cause for up to 30 more days. For felony arrests, Rule 3.133(b) also gives a right to an adversary preliminary hearing if no information or indictment is filed within 21 days.

The filing window is busy. From October 2024 through September 2025, the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court opened 21,053 new circuit criminal (felony) cases and 17,651 new county criminal (misdemeanor) cases, according to the Clerk’s monthly outputs report for county fiscal year 2024-25. In our experience, an intake prosecutor working that volume decides most cases on the police report unless the defense supplies more.

That is what pre-file advocacy is. Our attorneys contact the assigned prosecutor, send video, witness statements, receipts, or a signed affidavit from the alleged victim, and explain the legal problems in the case before a decision is made. When it works, the State files a “no information,” meaning it declines to prosecute, or files a lesser charge, or offers diversion. The next section walks through what that early work looks like.

What does a defense lawyer do in the first two weeks after an arrest?

In the first two weeks, a defense lawyer preserves evidence that is about to disappear, finds witnesses, and looks for legal problems with the stop, search, or arrest. That work happens while the State Attorney is still deciding what to file, so it can change the charge as well as the trial.

1. Preserve video before it is recorded over. Many businesses and homes keep surveillance footage for only days or weeks before the system writes over it. Our attorneys send preservation letters, request body camera and patrol-car video from the arresting agency, and subpoena records once a case number exists.
2. Interview witnesses while memories are fresh. Witnesses forget details, move, and change phone numbers. Our firm finds and interviews the people police never spoke to and records what they saw.
3. Review the stop and search for a motion to suppress. The Fourth Amendment bars unreasonable searches and seizures. In Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961), the U.S. Supreme Court held that evidence police obtain through an unconstitutional search cannot be used in a state criminal trial. In Florida, the defense raises that issue with a motion to suppress under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190(g).
4. Bring in experts early. Toxicology, fingerprint, and digital evidence experts need time, and an early review often decides whether a lab result or phone extraction will hold up.

Fast action has changed outcomes for our clients. In one Hillsborough County case, a client was arrested for cocaine possession and possession of a firearm during a felony. Our firm argued for low bonds at first appearance and then contacted the intake prosecutor, and within days the State decided not to file any charges. In a driving while license suspended case, our firm requested the body camera video the same day we met the client in jail; the video showed that the actual driver had given police false identification, and the prosecutor dismissed the charge the next day in court. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

How long does each step take after a Tampa arrest?

Most first arrests in Hillsborough County follow the timeline below. The deadlines come from the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. The local details come from our firm’s daily practice in the 13th Circuit.

What happens at arraignment in Hillsborough County?

Arraignment is the hearing where you are formally told the charge and enter a plea. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.160, it follows the filing of formal charges. When you have a lawyer, the lawyer usually files a written plea of not guilty before the arraignment date, which waives your appearance at that hearing.

After arraignment, the case moves into discovery, depositions, motions, and pretrial hearings. Our firm’s guide to the steps in a Hillsborough County criminal case covers that stage in detail. Felony cases are heard at the George Edgecomb Courthouse at 800 E. Twiggs Street, two blocks from our office.

Is a first arrest in Tampa a misdemeanor or felony case?

The answer depends on the charge, and the track matters because it decides the court, the maximum penalty, and which diversion programs are open. Misdemeanors are heard in county court and felonies in circuit court. The maximums below come from section 775.082, Florida Statutes and section 775.083, Florida Statutes.

If you need a lawyer for a felony charge in Tampa, the stakes run beyond the sentence. A felony conviction can affect gun rights, professional licenses, and immigration status. Felony sentencing runs through a Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet, the point system that sets the lowest permissible sentence, so the charge the State files in the first 30 days often sets the range for the whole case. Our attorneys defend everything from first-time misdemeanors to capital cases, and I meet the Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.112 qualifications for death penalty cases.

Are there diversion programs for first offenders in Hillsborough County?

Yes. The State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit runs several diversion programs, and most require the prosecutor’s consent. The programs below are listed on the office’s programs page.

Felony pretrial intervention is governed by section 948.08, Florida Statutes. It is open to first offenders, or people with no more than one prior nonviolent misdemeanor, charged with a misdemeanor or third-degree felony, and it requires consent from the program administrator, the victim, the State Attorney, and the judge. Misdemeanor drug court, veterans court, and mental health court programs are governed by section 948.16, Florida Statutes, and successful completion requires the court to dismiss the charges.

Eligibility is not automatic. A prosecutor decides whether to offer diversion, and the best time to ask is before the charging decision, with the reasons laid out in writing. Our firm has closed drug possession and driving while license suspended cases through diversion with no conviction. For a DUI arrest, our post on what happens after a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County explains RIDR and the separate 10-day license deadline.

How do I choose a criminal defense lawyer after a first arrest in Tampa?

Choose a lawyer who handles criminal cases every day in the county where you were charged, who can start before first appearance, and who will tell you plainly what the case is worth. Our complete guide to choosing a criminal defense attorney in Tampa and our list of six red flags to avoid go deeper. These are the questions to ask, with our firm’s answers.

• How much trial experience does the firm have? I have tried more than 150 jury trials to verdict. I came out of the Major Crimes Unit, handling homicide, sex crime, and child abuse cases, and I am a former police academy instructor and a member of the National College for DUI Defense and the DUI Defense Lawyers Association. I hold an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, have been selected to Super Lawyers, and have been named to The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. I also wrote How to Choose a Major Crimes Attorney – or Any Criminal Defense Attorney for That Matter.
• Does the firm only do criminal defense? Yes. Our practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, from first-offense misdemeanors to homicide. See our full list of practice areas.
• Where does the firm practice? We serve Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, including Pinellas County criminal cases and Pasco County criminal cases.
• Can I reach the firm? Call us at any hour. Clients get case updates through a client portal, and we return calls within 24 hours. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.
• What will it cost? Our firm charges a flat fee that covers the whole case, including trial, quoted on the facts and the intricacy of the case. At least half is due up front, with a payment plan for the balance while the case is pending. We are neither the most nor the least expensive firm in Tampa, and the consultation is free. A flat fee that includes trial matters because a separate trial fee gives a lawyer a financial incentive to settle before trial preparation begins. Our article on what a criminal defense attorney costs in Tampa explains the fee factors.

What results has our firm obtained early in a case?

Some of our firm’s best outcomes came in the first weeks after arrest, before a charge was filed or soon after. These are published results from our firm’s case results page.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Why should you call a lawyer before first appearance and the filing decision?

Call before first appearance because bond is set at that hearing, and call before the filing decision because that is the fastest point to change the charge. Once the State files an information, the prosecutor has committed to a charge, and changing it takes motions, depositions, and months of court dates. Before filing, a phone call and a packet of evidence can end the case.

The first 30 days also shape your record. A case that is never filed, or that ends through diversion, leaves you in a far better position to seal or expunge the arrest than a case that ends in a plea. For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

Frequently asked questions

I was arrested in Tampa for the first time and I’m terrified. Can a defense attorney help with a first-offense case?

Yes, and a first offense is often the case where a lawyer can do the most, because first offenders are the main candidates for no-file decisions and diversion. The Brancato Law Firm handles first-offense cases from first appearance through the State Attorney’s filing decision, presenting evidence and mitigation before a charge is set. Our Hillsborough County defense team has closed cases with no charges filed and through diversion.

I need a lawyer for a felony charge in Tampa. What should I look for?

Look for felony trial experience in the 13th Circuit and a firm that will act before the State files its information. At The Brancato Law Firm, felony clients get attorneys who have tried felony cases to verdict in Hillsborough County, led by a founder with more than 150 jury trials. If the State has not filed yet, representation before charges are filed can shape the charge itself.

Can you recommend a good criminal defense attorney in Tampa, Florida?

A good Tampa criminal defense attorney practices criminal law full time, has real trial experience, appears in Hillsborough County courtrooms regularly, and explains fees in writing. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. meets each of those tests: our practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, our founder has tried more than 150 jury trials to verdict, and we quote a flat fee that includes trial. Our breakdown of criminal defense fees in Tampa shows how that fee is set.

I need a criminal defense lawyer in Tampa Bay. Do you handle cases outside Hillsborough County?

Yes. The Brancato Law Firm represents clients in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, and our attorneys know the first appearance and bond practices that differ among those courthouses. For a St. Petersburg or Clearwater arrest, see our Pinellas County criminal defense page.

I was charged with a crime in Tampa and my previous attorney didn’t do anything. Can I switch lawyers?

Yes, you can hire a new lawyer at any stage, and the new lawyer enters the case by filing a notice with the court. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm take over cases mid-stream, review the discovery that has been produced, and look for missed motions, deadlines, and depositions. Our comparison of a public defender and a private attorney in Tampa covers what to expect from each.

Can I get out of jail before first appearance in Hillsborough County?

Often yes, if the charge is eligible for release on the statewide bond schedule and you can post the scheduled amount. The Brancato Law Firm advises families whether to post the scheduled bond or wait for first appearance, where our attorneys can argue for a lower amount or release on recognizance. People arrested on first- or second-degree felonies and other offenses listed in section 903.011, Florida Statutes must wait for a judge.

Are Hillsborough County jail calls really recorded, and can they be used against me?

Yes. The Brancato Law Firm sees recorded jail calls offered as evidence in Hillsborough cases regularly, and we tell every client in custody to discuss nothing about the facts on the phone. Under Jackson v. State, 18 So. 3d 1016 (Fla. 2009), the automated warning that the call is monitored defeats any claim of privacy.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our stage-by-stage guide to the Florida criminal case process.

Call us before your first court date

Call us before your first appearance if you can, and before the State Attorney’s filing decision if you cannot, because those two deadlines decide bond and the charge. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. was founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, and our attorneys can start on your case today. Call (813) 727-7159 at any hour for a free consultation.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If you were arrested for DUI in Hillsborough County, you have 10 days to protect your driver’s license, and that clock started the day the officer issued the notice of suspension. As a former police academy instructor and a member of both the National College for DUI Defense and the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, I know how officers are trained to build a DUI arrest report and where those reports come apart. I founded The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, after more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms and more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Our Tampa DUI defense attorneys start every case by filing the license review request, ordering the video, and screening the client for diversion, all inside that first 10-day window.

What is the timeline after a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County?

A Hillsborough County DUI case runs on two tracks at once: an administrative license case with the state motor vehicle department and a criminal case in county court. The license track moves fastest, with a 10-day deadline and a hearing within 30 days of the request. The criminal track usually takes months. Our attorneys work both tracks from the first week, and the table shows the major steps on each.

What happens in the first 24 hours after a DUI arrest in Tampa?

The first 24 hours cover the arrest, the chemical test request, booking, and release, and each step creates evidence our attorneys later obtain.

Arrest and the breath or urine test

After an arrest for DUI, the officer asks the driver to take a breath test. Under Florida’s implied consent law, section 316.1932, a person who drives in Florida is deemed to have consented to a breath test, and to a urine test for drugs, when lawfully arrested for DUI. Florida’s approved breath instrument is the Intoxilyzer 8000. When drugs are suspected, the officer may request urine or call a drug recognition expert. A warrantless blood draw is generally limited to drivers at a hospital or medical facility where a breath or urine test is impractical.

Booking and the 8-hour DUI hold

A person arrested for DUI in Hillsborough County is booked at the Orient Road Jail. Florida law bars release until one of three things happens: the person is no longer impaired, the breath- or blood-alcohol level drops below 0.05, or 8 hours have passed since the arrest, under section 316.193(9). Bond cannot speed up release while this hold is running.

Bond and first appearance

For most misdemeanor DUI arrests, the person can post a bond set by the statewide uniform bond schedule once the DUI hold ends, without waiting for a judge. Section 903.011 requires a judge to decide bail first in certain cases, including any second-degree felony such as DUI manslaughter and any arrest of a person already on pretrial release or probation for a felony. Anyone not released sees a judge at first appearance within 24 hours of arrest.

In Hillsborough County, the arrested person appears at first appearance by video from the jail while the judge and lawyers appear from downtown, and Hillsborough County does not offer pretrial services supervision as a release option, even though nearby counties do. That makes the bond and conditions set at first appearance the whole release decision, so our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorneys appear at that hearing to argue for reasonable terms. Our post on bond hearings in Tampa covers what happens when bond is set too high.

If the officer drew blood after a crash and did not make an arrest, charges may come weeks later, once the lab results return. That gap is the time for representation before charges are filed, when our attorneys can present the defense’s side to the State Attorney’s Office before a filing decision.

What is the 10-day deadline after a Florida DUI arrest?

The 10-day deadline is the time a driver has to challenge the administrative license suspension that the officer imposed at the arrest. Under section 322.2615, the driver may request a formal or informal review within 10 days after the notice of suspension is issued, and the temporary driving permit expires at midnight on the 10th day. The suspension runs 6 months for a first breath result of 0.08 or higher and 1 year for a first refusal.

The driver has three choices inside those 10 days:

1. Request a formal review hearing. A hearing officer from the Bureau of Administrative Reviews decides whether the officer had probable cause and whether the test result or refusal is valid. The defense can subpoena the arresting officer and the breath technician, and if either fails to appear under subpoena, the department must invalidate the suspension.
2. Request an informal review. The hearing officer reviews the paperwork without live witnesses.
3. Apply for a restricted license instead. Under section 322.271(7), a driver with no prior DUI conviction, no prior administrative suspension, and no prior CDL disqualification can seek a business-purposes license for the length of the suspension. Accepting it waives the formal and informal review.

The formal review hearing matters for more than the license. In Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Hernandez, 74 So. 3d 1070 (Fla. 2011), William Hernandez refused a breath test and lost his license, but the hearing officer would not consider his argument that the test request was not tied to a lawful arrest. The Florida Supreme Court held that the department cannot suspend a license for refusing a breath test unless the refusal followed a lawful arrest, and that the driver must be allowed to raise that issue. The lesson today: the license hearing is often the first place the stop and arrest get tested under oath, months before a criminal judge hears a motion to suppress.

These hearings are high volume. From July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024, the Bureau of Administrative Reviews conducted 26,052 hearings and reviews from eight offices statewide while operating with a vacancy rate of about 50%, according to the department’s December 2024 Inspector General audit. Our firm subpoenas the officer, obtains the breath records, and uses the officer’s sworn answers later in the criminal case. Our post on protecting your Florida driver’s license after a DUI arrest explains how to weigh the hearing against the restricted license.

The license case and the criminal case do not control each other. The department’s DUI and administrative suspension guidance states that the outcome of the criminal case does not affect the suspension, so a later reduction or dismissal will not automatically restore the license.

What happens if you refused the breath or urine test?

Refusing a lawful breath or urine test in Florida now triggers both a license suspension and a separate criminal charge. Since Trenton’s Law took effect on October 1, 2025, a first refusal is a second-degree misdemeanor under section 316.1939, and a refusal by someone whose license was previously suspended for refusal is a first-degree misdemeanor. Section 316.1932 also makes the refusal admissible as evidence in the DUI trial.

The refusal crime covers breath and urine tests only. That line tracks Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. 438 (2016), where the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed three cases from North Dakota and Minnesota testing laws that make refusing a chemical test a crime. The Court held that police may require a breath test without a warrant after a DUI arrest, but a blood test needs a warrant or valid consent, so a state cannot make refusing a warrantless blood test a crime.

The refusal crime requires a lawful arrest, probable cause, and correct warnings about both the suspension and the misdemeanor, so our attorneys check the body camera video for each warning. Our post on refusing a breathalyzer in Florida covers the charge in more detail.

I got a DUI in Tampa and I have a commercial driver’s license. What happens now?

A commercial driver’s license holder arrested for DUI in Tampa is disqualified from driving a commercial vehicle on the spot, even if the arrest happened in a personal car. Under section 322.64, the officer disqualifies a CDL holder who is arrested with a 0.08 or higher result in any motor vehicle, or who refuses a test, and issues a 10-day permit for noncommercial vehicles only. The same 10-day window applies to request a review of the disqualification.

The disqualification periods come from federal law, 49 C.F.R. § 383.51, which Florida adopts in section 322.61 and section 322.64.

A hardship license never covers commercial driving: section 322.64(10) allows a business-purposes license for personal vehicles only. For a truck or bus driver, the review hearing and the criminal case decide whether the career survives. In September 2025, after a hearing officer upheld a client’s suspension, our firm petitioned the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit for certiorari review and the court reinstated both his regular license and his CDL, a case we describe in our post on this Florida CDL suspension appeal.

What happens at arraignment, discovery, and trial in a Hillsborough DUI case?

The criminal DUI case is prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Hillsborough County Court. Our office at 620 E. Twiggs Street is two blocks from the courthouse in downtown Tampa.

1. Arraignment. The arraignment is the first court date on the charge. When a lawyer files a written plea of not guilty before that date under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.160, the client usually does not have to attend.
2. Discovery. After the defense files a notice of discovery, the prosecutor must disclose its evidence within 15 days under Rule 3.220. In a DUI case that includes the arrest report, body camera and dash camera video, the breath test affidavit and Intoxilyzer records, and any drug recognition or toxicology report.
3. Speedy trial. A misdemeanor must be tried within 90 days and a felony within 175 days unless the defense waives the time. Since July 1, 2025, those periods run from the date formal charges are filed rather than from the arrest, under In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191, 411 So. 3d 385 (Fla. 2025), the Florida Supreme Court’s March 2025 order rewriting the speedy trial rule, which also extended the State’s recapture window after a notice of expiration from 10 days to 30 days.
4. Pretrial hearings. Motions to suppress, depositions of officers, and plea negotiations happen here. The defenses themselves (the stop, the field sobriety exercises, the breath machine) are covered in our companion post on how to fight a DUI charge in Hillsborough County.
5. Trial. A misdemeanor DUI is tried to a six-person jury in county court. If the case ends in a conviction, the sentencing ranges in our post on DUI penalties in Hillsborough County apply.

Is there a DUI diversion program in Hillsborough County?

Yes. The State Attorney’s Office for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit runs Reducing Impaired Driving Recidivism (RIDR), a program for first-time, non-aggravated misdemeanor DUI cases that ends with a plea to reckless driving and a withhold of adjudication instead of a DUI conviction. The State Attorney’s Office states in its published RIDR guidelines that “Hillsborough County has consistently been ranked the worst or near the worst in Florida for DUI crashes,” and that eligibility is decided at the State Attorney’s sole discretion.

A case is ineligible if it involved a minor in the vehicle, a BAC of .20 or higher, or a crash. Prior DUIs, prior diversion, certain prior felonies, a pending license suspension, and current probation can also disqualify a driver.

Every RIDR plea also carries 12 months of probation, a 10-day vehicle immobilization, and DUI school. Before the plea, the client registers for DUI school, attends the MADD victim impact panel, completes 10 community service hours, and at Levels 1 and 2 installs an interlock or alcohol monitor. At arraignment the defense waives speedy trial, and the case is set for disposition about 60 days later.

The monitoring piece has research behind it. A Community Guide systematic review published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2011 (Elder et al.) found that ignition interlocks cut re-arrest rates for impaired driving by a median of 67% across 13 studies while the device was installed, and that rates returned to comparison levels once it came off, as summarized in the Community Preventive Services Task Force finding. Our attorneys explain that requirement before a client chooses the program.

RIDR does not stop the administrative license suspension, which still has to be handled within the 10 days. A disqualifier does not end negotiations either. In July 2026, a client of ours charged with DUI, leaving the scene, and refusal did not qualify for RIDR because of a crash; after our firm prepared a mitigation report and treatment plan, the charges were reduced to reckless driving with adjudication withheld.

I was arrested for DUI in Hillsborough County and need a lawyer. What should I look for?

Look for a lawyer who handles the license hearing and the criminal case together, has tried DUI cases to juries in Hillsborough County, and knows how breath testing and police DUI training work. The Brancato Law Firm’s practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, from first-offense misdemeanors to capital cases, and our attorneys handle both the license case and the criminal case from the first week.

Here is what our firm brings to a DUI case:

• DUI training. I am a member of the National College for DUI Defense and the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, and a former police academy instructor.
• Trial experience. More than 150 jury trials to verdict and 25+ years in Hillsborough County, including as former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, overseeing a staff of over 100 attorneys, and in its Major Crimes Unit.
• Recognition. AV Preeminent (Martindale-Hubbell), Super Lawyers, and National Trial Lawyers Top 100. I also wrote How to Choose a Major Crimes Attorney – or Any Criminal Defense Attorney for That Matter.
• Availability. Call us at any hour. Clients get updates through our client portal, and our attorneys return calls within 24 hours. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.
• Coverage. We defend DUI cases in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties, from an office two blocks from the Hillsborough County courthouse.

On cost, our flat fee covers the whole case, including trial and the formal review hearing. It is quoted on the facts and intricacy of the case, realistically and fairly, with at least half up front and a payment plan for the balance while the case is pending. We are neither the most nor the least expensive firm in Tampa, and consultations are free. A lower quote with a separate trial fee creates a financial incentive to settle before trial preparation begins. Our post on what a criminal defense attorney costs in Tampa explains how fees are set.

What results has The Brancato Law Firm obtained in DUI cases?

Our firm’s published DUI results include jury verdicts, license reinstatements, and reductions to reckless driving.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

What mistakes should you avoid after a DUI arrest in Tampa?

The most damaging mistakes after a DUI arrest happen in the first weeks, before the defense has the video and the breath records. These are the ones our attorneys see most often in Hillsborough County cases:

1. Missing the 10-day license deadline. The suspension stays in place without a hearing, and the outcome of the criminal case will not undo it.
2. Explaining your side to the officer or the prosecutor. Anything you say can be used as evidence, and you have the right to remain silent. Let your lawyer do the talking.
3. Talking about the arrest on jail calls, text messages, or social media. Jail calls are recorded, and posts and messages can be obtained and shown to a jury.
4. Missing a court date or breaking a release condition. A judge can issue a warrant and revoke bond, and under section 843.15, Florida Statutes, willfully failing to appear after release on a misdemeanor charge is a separate first-degree misdemeanor; on a felony DUI it is a third-degree felony.
5. Assuming a first DUI is minor. A conviction brings a license revocation, probation, a 10-day vehicle impoundment, and in many cases higher insurance requirements explained in our guide to FR44 insurance after a DUI. It can also affect professional licenses and, for noncitizens, immigration status.
6. Waiting to hire a lawyer. Surveillance video from businesses near the stop is often recorded over within days, and the license review must be requested within 10 days.

Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm send preservation requests for video in the first week and route every question about the case through counsel.

What should you do before the 10-day deadline runs out?

The most important step after a Hillsborough DUI arrest is acting on the license before day 10, because a missed deadline leaves the suspension in place without a hearing. Use the time this way:

1. Find the notice of suspension. Its issue date starts the 10-day count.
2. Choose between a formal review and a restricted license with a lawyer, since the restricted license waives the review.
3. Write down what happened that night and share it only with your lawyer.
4. Do not post about the arrest or discuss it on recorded jail calls.
5. Tell your lawyer right away if you hold a CDL. The disqualification starts on the notice date.

Our overview of what counts as DUI in Florida covers the elements of the charge. For more about our defense strategies, visit our Tampa DUI lawyer page.

Frequently asked questions about the DUI process in Hillsborough County

Can I drive after a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County?

You can drive on the temporary permit until midnight of the 10th day after the notice of suspension, as long as you were otherwise eligible to drive. The Brancato Law Firm files the review request or the restricted-license application inside that window, because a review request does not by itself stop the suspension.

Should I request a formal review hearing or waive it for a hardship license after my first DUI?

It depends on the strength of the arrest and how much the client needs to drive during the suspension. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm weigh the video and the officer’s report against the client’s work needs before choosing, because a restricted license under section 322.271(7) waives the formal review. A driver with a prior DUI or prior administrative suspension does not qualify.

Is refusing a breath test a crime in Florida after October 2025?

Yes. A first refusal of a lawful breath or urine test is now a second-degree misdemeanor, and a refusal after a prior refusal suspension is a first-degree misdemeanor. The Brancato Law Firm defends refusal charges by testing whether the arrest was lawful and whether the officer gave every warning the statute requires, as our post on breathalyzer refusal in Florida explains.

Can a first-time DUI be reduced to reckless driving in Hillsborough County?

Yes. Through the State Attorney’s RIDR program, an eligible first-time misdemeanor DUI can end with a plea to reckless driving and a withhold of adjudication after the client completes the pre-plea sanctions. The Brancato Law Firm screens every first-time client for RIDR at the first meeting and negotiates reductions for clients who do not qualify, as our DUI defense attorneys in Tampa did in a 2026 case involving a crash and a refusal.

Will a DUI arrest in my personal car affect my CDL in Florida?

Yes. A CDL holder arrested with a 0.08 or higher result, or who refuses a test, in any vehicle is disqualified from commercial driving, and a first DUI conviction brings a 1-year disqualification under federal rules. The Brancato Law Firm treats CDL cases as two fights, the disqualification review and the criminal charge, and our post on a Florida CDL suspension appeal shows how a reinstatement was won in circuit court.

Can you recommend a DUI defense attorney in Tampa, Florida?

Choose a Tampa DUI lawyer whose practice is devoted to criminal defense, who has tried DUI cases to juries in Hillsborough County, and who handles the license hearing as part of the case. The Brancato Law Firm was founded by a former police academy instructor who belongs to the National College for DUI Defense and the DUI Defense Lawyers Association and has tried more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Consultations are free, and you can call us at any hour about DUI defense in Tampa.

Talk to our firm about a Hillsborough County DUI arrest

The 10-day clock on your license started at the arrest, and the video and breath records our attorneys need are easiest to secure in that same window. Call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, at (813) 727-7159. We will request your license review, order the evidence, and tell you whether RIDR is on the table.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If your child is facing a sex charge in Hillsborough County juvenile court, the first question is usually whether the case can end without registration. I’m the founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I handled sex crimes and child abuse cases in the Major Crimes Unit during more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms. Our attorneys negotiate Rehabilitation Plans when they are available and work with therapists, probation officers, and the court to help children complete them.

What is a Rehabilitation Plan?

A Rehabilitation Plan is an agreement between the defense, the State, and the court in a juvenile sex case. The child enters a plea of guilty or no contest, but the plea is held in abeyance, meaning the court does not act on it, while the child completes treatment and follows strict conditions.

This all-or-nothing structure is why the plea terms, the treatment provider, and the conditions need careful attention from the start. Our Tampa sex crimes defense attorney page explains how our firm approaches sex charges at every stage.

How long does a Rehabilitation Plan last?

Most Rehabilitation Plans last 9 to 12 months in practice, but they have no fixed end date. A plan ends only when treatment is complete and the supervising therapist confirms progress, so the therapist’s evaluation carries great weight. Florida law lets the juvenile court keep jurisdiction over a juvenile sexual offender placed in a community-based treatment program until age 21, specifically so the child can finish the program, under section 985.0301, Florida Statutes.

What conditions come with a Rehabilitation Plan?

The conditions vary with the case, but they usually include:

• Active participation in sex-offender-specific counseling and treatment
• No contact with the alleged victim or other vulnerable people
• Restrictions on internet use, pornography, and social media
• Random device checks by probation officers
• Community service or restitution in some cases
• Curfews and school or work requirements

Every plan is tailored to the child and the allegations. Treatment research gives families a reason for hope: a 2010 meta-analysis of 63 studies covering 11,219 juveniles who committed sexual offenses found a weighted mean sexual recidivism rate of 7 percent over an average follow-up of 59 months, according to the U.S. Department of Justice SMART Office’s Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative. The same report states that most juveniles do not go on to commit future sexual offenses.

How does a Rehabilitation Plan help avoid sex offender registration?

A Rehabilitation Plan helps because registration for juveniles depends on an adjudication of delinquency, and a completed plan ends in dismissal instead. Under section 943.0435, Florida Statutes, a juvenile must register as a sexual offender if adjudicated delinquent for certain offenses committed when he or she was 14 or older, and the court must make a written finding of the child’s age at the time of the offense.

Registration brings lasting restrictions on housing, work, school, and family life. Completing the plan avoids the adjudication, so registration is avoided. If the plan is violated and the child is adjudicated on a qualifying offense, registration can still apply. Our post on sexual offender and predator designation explains what registration involves.

Can the record be expunged after a Rehabilitation Plan?

Sometimes. Like other diversion outcomes, a completed plan can open the door to juvenile expungement, which removes the record from public view. Some sex offenses are not eligible for expunction under Florida law even after a successful plan, so eligibility depends on the offense and must be reviewed before applying. Our post on juvenile expungement in Florida walks through the process.

Why does experienced counsel matter in a Rehabilitation Plan case?

Experienced counsel matters because a Rehabilitation Plan is treatment-focused, open-ended, and closely monitored, and one violation can lead to sentencing. Availability depends on the charge, the child’s age, and the facts, and the plan is negotiated with the State Attorney’s Office in the 13th Judicial Circuit. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorneys practice two blocks from the courthouse and know how these plans are structured locally.

When a child is under investigation and has not yet been charged, our attorneys can step in early through representation before charges are filed, before statements are made or a petition is filed.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a Hillsborough County Rehabilitation Plan usually take?

Most plans last 9 to 12 months, but they stay open until treatment is complete. The Brancato Law Firm stays in contact with the treating therapist so the court has the progress reports it needs to close the plan.

Who decides when a Rehabilitation Plan ends?

The court ends the plan, and it usually will not do so without the treating therapist’s recommendation. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm present that recommendation to the court and ask for dismissal once treatment is done.

What happens if my child violates a Rehabilitation Plan?

The court can enter the plea held in abeyance, adjudicate the child delinquent, and impose a sentence. The Brancato Law Firm defends violation allegations and works to keep the plan in place when a violation is minor, as described on our Tampa sex crimes lawyer page.

Does a Rehabilitation Plan guarantee my child will not have to register?

No. Registration is avoided only if the plan is completed, and a violation followed by an adjudication on a qualifying offense can still require registration under section 943.0435. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm review the registration rules for the specific charge before any plea is entered.

Is every juvenile eligible for a Rehabilitation Plan?

No. Eligibility depends on the charges, the child’s age, and the circumstances, and the State must agree. The Brancato Law Firm builds the case for a plan with treatment evaluations and school and family records, and our juvenile expungement guide covers what can happen to the record afterward.

Talk to our attorneys about a Rehabilitation Plan

What your family does in the first weeks after a juvenile sex charge often decides whether a Rehabilitation Plan is still on the table. Call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, at (813) 727-7159 at any hour for a confidential consultation; our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. For more about our defense strategies, visit our Sex Crimes page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

The call usually comes after midnight. Your son or daughter has been booked into the Orient Road Jail, every jail call is recorded, and you may be hours away trying to learn what happens next. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I have practiced in Hillsborough County courtrooms for more than 25 years, including as Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, overseeing a staff of over 100 attorneys. Our attorneys defend USF, University of Tampa, and Hillsborough Community College students on both tracks at once: the criminal case in the 13th Judicial Circuit and the student conduct case on campus.

Is a college student charged as an adult in Florida?

Yes. A student who is 18 or older is charged as an adult, because section 743.07, Florida Statutes, removes the “disability of nonage” for every person 18 and older. The case goes to adult county court (misdemeanors) or circuit court (felonies), and the arrest record is public. A 17-year-old dual-enrollment or early-admission student starts in the juvenile system instead, which our guides on teen takeover arrests and juvenile expungement in Florida explain.

Age still matters after 18. A student who commits a felony before turning 21 may be sentenced as a youthful offender under section 958.04, which caps the combined sanction at six years, and our parent’s guide to youthful offender sentencing explains who qualifies. At The Brancato Law Firm, we raise youthful offender eligibility during plea negotiations, not only at sentencing.

What happens in the first 48 hours after a student is arrested in Tampa?

The student is booked, sees a judge at first appearance within 24 hours, and is either released or held. In Hillsborough County, the student appears by video from the jail while the judge and lawyers appear from downtown. Hillsborough County does not offer pretrial services supervision as a release option, even though neighboring counties do, so release turns on the bond amount and conditions such as a no-contact order. Students arrested near USF St. Petersburg or Eckerd College go through Pinellas County, and students arrested near Saint Leo University go through Pasco County, where the procedures differ.

After first appearance, the State Attorney’s Office reviews the arrest report and decides what to file, a process that can take weeks. That window is when representation before charges are filed can change the outcome. In January 2026, a mother called our firm because her college-age son had an active warrant for domestic violence battery after the family called police only to get him mental health help. Our firm prepared affidavits from both parents and presented them to the intake prosecutor, and the State ended the prosecution within 24 hours of her call, before he was ever arrested. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney page explains each later stage of a local case.

What are the most common charges against college students in Tampa?

Most student arrests in Tampa involve alcohol, fake IDs, marijuana or THC products, DUI, battery after a bar or party fight, and trespass. The table shows the statute, the maximum penalty, and the paths our attorneys usually pursue for a first offense. Every diversion program requires the State Attorney’s consent, so none is automatic.

Alcohol and fake ID charges

A fake ID is the charge that most often surprises parents, because possessing a counterfeit license is a third-degree felony under section 322.212, even when it was only used to get into a bar. Our firm works to keep a felony finding off the record, for the scholarship reasons covered below, and our post on Florida alcohol offenses covers the related charges in more detail.

Florida’s overdose protection has a gap. Under section 893.21, a person who calls for help during an alcohol or drug overdose cannot be prosecuted for drug possession discovered because of that call, but the statute does not cover the underage alcohol charge itself.

Marijuana, THC, and drug charges

Florida treats marijuana flower and THC concentrates differently. Twenty grams or less of flower is a misdemeanor, but section 893.13(6)(b) excludes resin and its derivatives, so a THC vape cartridge or wax can be charged as a felony. Whether a product is illegal cannabis or legal hemp often turns on lab testing, and our Tampa drug crimes attorney page explains how our attorneys challenge that testing.

DUI and under-21 drivers

A student under 21 can face two separate cases from one traffic stop: a criminal DUI at .08 under section 316.193, and an administrative suspension at .02 under section 322.2616. The license review must be requested within 10 days after the notice of suspension, so that deadline comes before almost anything else in the case. Our Tampa DUI lawyer page explains how our attorneys challenge the stop and the testing. Our post on what happens after a DUI arrest in Hillsborough County walks through each deadline and court date.

Battery and fights

Bar and party fights are usually charged as simple battery, a first-degree misdemeanor, and video is often the deciding evidence. Our Tampa violent crime lawyer page covers aggravated battery and self-defense cases. Our post on battery charges in Florida explains when a fight becomes aggravated battery.

Which diversion programs can keep a first arrest off a student’s record in Hillsborough County?

The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office runs several diversion programs that end in no charges or a dismissal for eligible first-time offenders. According to the State Attorney’s Office program list, the programs a student is most likely to see are:

• Adult Pre-Arrest Diversion Program (APAD): for people with minimal or no criminal history who commit an eligible misdemeanor. No charges are filed on completion.
• Misdemeanor Intervention Program (MIP): for first-time offenders, only with the State Attorney’s consent, requested by defense counsel through the assigned prosecutor.
• Drug Education and Treatment Reducing Recidivism (DETRR): for low-risk people charged only with drug possession. The charge is dismissed after treatment or education and six months without a new arrest.
• Pretrial Intervention: for certain first-time felony offenders, supervised by the Department of Corrections, under section 948.08.

The DUI program, Reducing Impaired Driving Recidivism (RIDR), adds sanctions such as alcohol monitoring and is not a dismissal program.

Diversion matters for students because of what comes after it. A dismissed case can usually be expunged under section 943.0585, and a withhold of adjudication can be sealed under section 943.059 if the student has never been adjudicated guilty. Even an expunged arrest must still be disclosed to The Florida Bar, to education licensing agencies, and to several health care agencies under section 943.0585(6)(b). Future lawyers, teachers, and nurses benefit most from a case that is never filed, which is why our firm pushes for a no-file outcome first.

Can parents get information about an adult student’s arrest or school records?

Parents can see the criminal case, because Florida court records are public, but the school’s disciplinary file belongs to the student. Under the federal privacy law known as FERPA, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, rights over education records transfer to the student once the student turns 18 or attends a college. The Brancato Law Firm keeps parents informed within those limits, with the student’s written consent.

There are two exceptions parents should know. A school may share records with the parents of a student who is their tax dependent, under 34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a)(8). A college may also tell parents when a student under 21 has committed a disciplinary violation involving alcohol or drugs, under section 1232g(i). Both are permissions, not requirements, so the simplest path is for your student to sign the school’s release form.

Who is the client when parents pay for the lawyer?

The student is the client, even when parents sign the fee agreement and write the check. Florida’s ethics rule on third-party payment, Rule 4-1.8(f) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, allows a lawyer to accept payment from someone other than the client only if the client gives informed consent, the payer does not interfere with the lawyer’s judgment, and the client’s information stays confidential.

Privilege is the second issue. Under section 90.502, a lawyer-client communication stays confidential only if third persons present are furthering the legal services or are reasonably necessary to transmit it. In Gerheiser v. Stephens, 712 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998), a mother met with a lawyer to hire him for her jailed son, and the court held that conversation privileged because she was acting as her son’s agent. In Witte v. Witte, 126 So. 3d 1076 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012), the appeals court reversed a ruling that a client waived privilege by talking with her lawyer in front of her daughter, holding that a family member’s presence does not decide waiver by itself.

Your first call to find a lawyer is protected, but a parent who sits in on every fact discussion invites a fight over privilege. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm meet with the student alone about the facts and bring parents in for strategy, cost, and scheduling, with the student’s consent. Anything your student tells you directly, outside a meeting with the lawyer, is not covered by the attorney-client privilege.

How does the campus conduct case work, and can it hurt the criminal case?

The school runs its own disciplinary case on its own timeline, and what your student says there can reach the prosecutor. USF’s Student Code of Conduct, Regulation USF6.0021, applies to student behavior “regardless of location or forum,” and it states that the conduct process “may be carried out prior to, concurrently with, or following civil or criminal proceedings.” USF can also impose an interim suspension, an immediate temporary separation from the university, while the case is pending.

Florida law gives students at public institutions such as USF and HCC specific rights. Under section 1006.60(3), the student gets written notice at least 7 business days before a proceeding, a witness list and the known evidence at least 5 business days before it, a presumption of no violation, the right to remain silent, and an advisor or lawyer who may directly participate and question witnesses. The University of Tampa is a private university, so section 1006.60 does not govern it, and its own Student Code of Conduct sets the procedure.

In Gabrilowitz v. Newman, 582 F.2d 100 (1st Cir. 1978), a University of Rhode Island senior charged with assault with intent to commit rape faced a campus hearing on the same facts. The federal appeals court held that his testimony at the hearing would be “entirely voluntary and subsequently admissible at the criminal case,” and it ruled that due process required letting a lawyer advise him during the hearing. Florida’s statute now guarantees that help at public colleges.

For many students, the campus case is the more likely one. In 2024, the University of Tampa reported 380 liquor-law disciplinary referrals and zero liquor-law arrests on campus, plus 58 drug-law referrals and zero drug arrests, in its federally required Clery Act crime statistics. In May 2025, a parent hired our firm for a USF student facing a conduct hearing after an off-campus arrest. Our firm prepared the student with written materials and a mock hearing, and USF resolved the matter informally with no disciplinary record.

My son was accused of a sex offense at college in Tampa. What happens next?

A sexual misconduct accusation at college usually starts two cases at once: a Title IX or conduct case at the school and a criminal investigation by campus or city police, often weeks before any arrest. The detective may try to interview your son, or ask the accuser to make a recorded call to him, before he knows he is a suspect. That pre-arrest stage is where pre-file advocacy matters most. In January 2026, our firm represented a client in a lewd or lascivious conduct investigation that closed with no arrest and no charges.

On the school side, the U.S. Department of Education formally restored the 2020 Title IX regulations on September 29, 2026. Under 34 C.F.R. § 106.45, a college’s grievance process must presume the respondent is not responsible, and a postsecondary school must hold a live hearing where each party’s advisor can cross-examine the other party and witnesses. USF handles these cases under its Sex Discrimination Policy 0-004.

Our firm’s sex crime defense draws on my years in the Major Crimes Unit, where I handled homicide, sex crime, and child abuse cases. Our attorneys coordinate the Title IX advisor role with the criminal defense, so the student does not hand the prosecutor evidence at the campus hearing. Your son should not contact the accuser or delete any messages, and our post on what to do if falsely accused of a sex crime lists the mistakes to avoid, and our Tampa sex crimes lawyer page explains how we defend these charges. For a student under 18, see our parent’s guide to juvenile sex offender registration.

How can an arrest affect financial aid, Bright Futures, and graduate school?

A drug conviction no longer affects federal student aid, but a felony can cost a Bright Futures award, and any record can follow a student into graduate school applications. The Brancato Law Firm weighs every plea offer against the student’s scholarship and career plans.

Federal aid. The FAFSA Simplification Act removed the drug-conviction penalty. The U.S. Department of Education announced in a June 17, 2021 Federal Register notice that a drug conviction would “no longer impact a student’s Title IV aid eligibility” and that the drug conviction question would be removed from the FAFSA starting with the 2023-2024 form.

Bright Futures. To be eligible for an initial Bright Futures award, a student must not have been found guilty of, or pleaded no contest to, a felony, under section 1009.531(1)(e). A no contest plea counts even when the judge withholds adjudication. The renewal statute, section 1009.532, does not mention criminal charges, but it requires at least 24 semester hours a year, so a suspension or jail time can cost the award indirectly.

Graduate and professional school. In a study published in Criminology in 2020, Robert Stewart and Christopher Uggen found that about 72% of colleges ask about criminal history and that applicants who disclosed a felony were rejected at nearly 2.5 times the rate of matched applicants. Earlier research by David Kirk and Robert Sampson in Sociology of Education (2013) found that arrested youth enrolled in four-year colleges at significantly lower rates than otherwise similar youth.

What if my child is an international student?

An international student should get advice from an immigration lawyer before accepting any plea or diversion offer, because immigration law counts some Florida outcomes as convictions. The USCIS Policy Manual states that a conviction exists for immigration purposes when adjudication is withheld, if the person pleaded guilty or no contest and the judge imposed some penalty. Drug offenses carry the most risk, because 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) makes a noncitizen inadmissible for a controlled substance violation, even one the person only admits.

The Brancato Law Firm does not practice immigration law, so our attorneys coordinate with the student’s immigration counsel before any plea. In September 2026, our firm obtained diversion for a client charged with possessing a short-barreled rifle, cannabis, and paraphernalia, and deportation was avoided.

How do parents choose a criminal defense lawyer for a college student in Tampa?

Choose a lawyer who practices only criminal defense, appears in the Hillsborough County courthouse every week, and will handle the campus conduct case alongside the criminal case. I wrote a book on this question, “How to Choose a Major Crimes Attorney – or Any Criminal Defense Attorney for That Matter,” and its checklist applies to a student case:

1. A practice devoted entirely to criminal defense. The Brancato Law Firm handles only criminal cases, from misdemeanors to capital cases, in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.
2. Local knowledge. Diversion depends on knowing how the State Attorney’s Office decides. Our office is two blocks from the Hillsborough County Courthouse.
3. A trial record. I have tried more than 150 jury trials to verdict.
4. Conduct-hearing experience. Ask whether the lawyer will prepare your student and attend the campus hearing as the advisor.
5. Communication. You can call us at any hour. Clients get case updates through our client portal, and we return calls within 24 hours.
6. A clear fee. We quote a flat fee based on the facts and how involved the case is, and it covers the whole case including trial. A separate trial fee gives a lawyer a financial incentive to settle before trial preparation. We ask for at least half up front, with a payment plan for the balance while the case is pending. We are neither the most nor the least expensive firm in Tampa, consultations are free, and our post on how much a criminal defense attorney costs in Tampa explains the range.

What should parents do in the first 72 hours?

Act before the school schedules a meeting and before the State Attorney makes a filing decision:

1. Tell your student to stop talking about the facts with police, school officials, roommates, group chats, and social media. Jail calls are recorded.
2. Do not let your student attend a conduct meeting alone. Read the notice for the date and the deadline to respond.
3. Do not contact the alleged victim or witnesses, directly or through friends.
4. Preserve evidence: texts, photos, rideshare receipts, bank records, and the names of any bar or apartment with security cameras, before video is overwritten.
5. Write a timeline of the night while memories are fresh, and give it only to the lawyer.
6. Follow every release condition, including no-contact orders and any curfew.
7. For a DUI or under-21 stop, mark the 10-day deadline to request a license review.
8. Call a defense lawyer before the filing decision, while diversion and a no-file outcome are still on the table.

Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm can begin on the conduct notice, evidence preservation, and the State Attorney’s filing review the same day you call.

Recent results for students and young adults

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case depends on its own facts.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our overview of how a Florida criminal case moves from investigation to appeal.

Frequently asked questions

My college-age son was arrested in Tampa. Can you recommend a criminal defense lawyer?

Look for a lawyer whose practice is entirely criminal defense, who works in the Hillsborough County courthouse every week, and who will handle the campus conduct case along with the criminal charge. The Brancato Law Firm defends college students in both forums, and our founder has tried more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Our page on defending cases in Hillsborough County courts describes how we handle local cases from first appearance through trial.

What lawyers handle sex offense accusations against college students in Tampa?

Criminal defense lawyers with sex crime trial experience handle these cases, ideally ones who can also serve as the student’s advisor in the Title IX hearing. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm defend sex crime accusations at the investigation stage, in Title IX proceedings, and at trial. Our sex crimes defense page explains how we approach these cases.

Can a fake ID charge be dropped in Florida?

Yes, a fake ID charge can be dropped, reduced to a misdemeanor, or resolved through diversion, depending on the facts and the student’s record. The Brancato Law Firm asks the State Attorney’s Office for Pretrial Intervention or a reduction in first-offense fake ID cases so the student avoids a felony finding. Avoiding that finding protects Bright Futures eligibility under section 1009.531.

Will USF tell me if my child gets in trouble for drinking?

USF may notify parents when a student under 21 commits a disciplinary violation involving alcohol or drugs, because federal law permits that disclosure but does not require it. When The Brancato Law Firm represents a student in a conduct case, we ask the student to sign the school’s release so the parents and our attorneys can stay informed.

Should my child go to a student conduct meeting before the criminal case is over?

Your child should not go without a lawyer’s advice, because statements at a conduct meeting can be used in the criminal case. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm prepare students for conduct meetings and, at USF and HCC, can participate directly under section 1006.60(3). When police are still investigating, we start with help before charges are filed so the criminal and campus strategies match.

Does a misdemeanor marijuana charge affect my student’s financial aid in 2026?

No, a drug conviction no longer affects federal student aid eligibility. The Brancato Law Firm still pushes for diversion in marijuana cases, because a dismissed case can be expunged and keeps the arrest out of most background checks. A THC vape charge is different, because a felony plea can cost an initial Bright Futures award.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

Parents who call us in the first few days give their student the most options, because the State Attorney’s filing decision and the school’s conduct notice usually arrive within weeks of the arrest. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will review the arrest report, the conduct notice, and every diversion option, and tell you plainly what we would do next. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free consultation; you can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

A hardship license is the most misunderstood piece of plastic a DUI client carries. I am Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I have spent more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms, taught at the police academy, and belong to the National College for DUI Defense. Our attorneys see drivers lose their hardship privilege over a single trip they assumed was fine. This guide lists the trips Florida law allows, the trips it forbids, and the trips that are probably fine even though no statute names them, with the statute, rule, or court decision behind each answer.

Do you get a business purposes or employment purposes license after a first DUI?

A first-time DUI driver who waives the administrative hearing gets a business purposes only license, the broader of Florida’s two hardship licenses. Section 322.271(7)(b) says that reinstatement “shall be restricted to business purposes only” for the length of the suspension. “Hardship license” is the umbrella term; business purposes and employment purposes are the two kinds.

Most of our first-DUI clients who keep driving do it on the waiver license, so the trip list below is built around business purposes only.

What does a business purposes only license let you drive for in Florida?

A business purposes only license allows driving necessary to maintain your livelihood and nothing else. Section 322.271(1)(c), Florida Statutes, defines it as “any driving necessary to maintain livelihood, including driving to and from work, necessary on-the-job driving, driving for educational purposes, and driving for church and for medical purposes.” The next sentence closes the door on everything else: “Driving for any purpose other than as provided by this paragraph is not permitted.”

That is the license a first-time DUI driver receives after waiving the administrative review hearing under section 322.271(7). The same definition governs a business purposes license issued after a hardship hearing or after a DUI conviction. When our firm advises a client on the Tampa DUI lawyer side of a case, the license question usually comes up in the first meeting, because the client needs to drive to work the next morning.

The table below sorts common trips into three groups. “Allowed” means the statute names the purpose. “Probably OK” means the statute does not name the trip, but it fits the livelihood language and no court has ruled against it. “Gray area” means a court or FLHSMV has read the statute against the trip. “Not allowed” means the trip is recreational or nonessential.

Florida law uses the phrase “pleasure, recreational, or nonessential driving” to describe what a business or employment restriction excludes. That language appears in section 322.282(2)(b), which governs temporary permits after a court-ordered reinstatement, and it is a fair summary of how the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) reads every business purposes restriction.

Can I drive to the gym on a Florida hardship license?

No. A trip to the gym is recreational driving, and a business purposes only license does not cover it. The statute lists work, on-the-job driving, education, church, and medical trips. Exercise is not on that list, and no Florida court decision we have found treats a gym visit as necessary to maintain livelihood.

Two narrow exceptions exist. If you work at the gym as a trainer or employee, the trip is driving to and from work. If a doctor has prescribed physical therapy or cardiac rehabilitation at a facility, the trip is a medical appointment, and you should carry the referral. A regular workout does not fit either exception. The safer options are a gym within walking distance, a ride from a licensed driver, or a rideshare for the length of the suspension.

Gym-goers should know about one more risk. In Moore v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 169 So. 3d 216 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015), a DUI program recommended canceling a driver’s supervised hardship license after he admitted taking a deer-antler-velvet bodybuilding supplement that the program said contained alcohol, and after a single ignition interlock reading of 0.092. FLHSMV canceled the license. The Second District Court of Appeal, which covers Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, quashed the circuit court’s ruling because that court refused to review the documents behind the cancellation. The case was sent back to decide whether the evidence supported it. The lesson for anyone under DUI program supervision is to read supplement labels and to challenge a cancellation quickly.

Can I drive to the grocery store, pharmacy, or bank?

Usually yes, if the trip is a direct errand for a basic necessity. A pharmacy trip for your own prescription ties to the statute’s medical purpose. Florida courts have also held that buying food and paying an overdue utility bill are driving “necessary to maintain livelihood,” even though section 322.271(1)(c) does not name them.

The leading local decision is Allart v. State, 9 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 499c (Fla. 6th Cir. Ct. June 6, 2002), from the Pinellas County appellate panel. A driver with a business purposes only license was stopped on his way to McDonald’s. On rehearing, the court held “as a matter of law a business purposes only restriction permits a driver to drive to shop for the basic necessities of life, such as, in this case at bar, food.” It vacated his conviction because the evidence showed only a drive from his house to the restaurant.

Two other courts reached the same result. In State v. Quiroli, 9 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 780b (Fla. Palm Beach Cty. Ct. Sept. 12, 2002), a county judge dismissed a restriction charge against a driver headed to Burger King for dinner, reasoning that “livelihood” means support, which includes housing, food, clothing, and health. In Vilches v. State, 12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 530a (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. Mar. 29, 2005), the Miami-Dade appellate panel reversed a conviction for driving to pay an overdue electric bill. Vilches relied on the 1986 House bill analysis, which said a business purposes license allows “driving necessary to maintain one’s livelihood, including driving for shopping, church and medical care.”

The older case of Britt v. State, 50 Fla. Supp. 2d 16 (Fla. 9th Cir. Ct. 1991) points the same way. It described a business purposes only restriction as permitting “essential shopping” along with work, school, church, and medical driving. A driver was ticketed while picking up his fiancee from work, and she paid much of his rent and food. The Orange County appellate panel ordered an acquittal, holding that the restriction was “much broader than the trial court’s limited interpretation.”

The limit is the “larger sojourn.” Allart warned that a food stop at the end of an evening of social driving is still a violation. In Dicks v. State, 15 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 791b (Fla. 17th Cir. Ct. May 17, 2008), a Broward County driver picked up his paycheck, cashed it, then stopped at a relative’s house to give his girlfriend money and drink beer before heading to a restaurant. The appellate court affirmed his conviction. The errand has to be the trip, not the excuse at the end of one.

These are circuit and county court decisions, so none binds a Hillsborough County judge. Allart comes from the Pinellas appellate panel and carries the most weight in Tampa Bay. Our advice is to make each errand a direct trip, combine it with a commute when you can, and keep the receipt.

Can I drive my kids to school or take a family member to the doctor?

Driving your children to school is probably fine. No Florida court has ruled on it, most likely because the answer is obvious. Florida requires children to attend school, and under section 1003.27(2)(b), Florida Statutes, a parent who fails to have a child attend school regularly commits a second-degree misdemeanor. A parent who is prosecuted for truancy, or who has to quit work to stay home, has not maintained a livelihood. The same reasoning covers daycare that lets you get to work. The statute also allows “driving for educational purposes” without limiting it to the driver’s own education.

Driving a family member to the doctor is the riskier trip, because FLHSMV has read “medical purposes” to mean the driver’s own care.

In Harmon v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 902a (Fla. 6th Cir. Ct. July 12, 2005), a driver with an employment purposes only license asked the department for a business purposes license so he could drive his chronically ill mother to her doctor appointments. The hearing officer ruled the medical purpose had to be the driver’s own. The Pinellas County appellate panel acknowledged the statute does not expressly limit “medical purposes” to the driver, but it deferred to the department’s reading as reasonable and denied relief. The hearing officer also found that Harmon had violated his employment license by driving himself to the hearing.

Harmon is a Sixth Judicial Circuit decision, the circuit covering Pinellas and Pasco Counties. If a parent or spouse needs rides to medical appointments, talk with your attorney first, arrange another driver when you can, and keep the medical paperwork in the car. For school runs, keep the child’s school schedule in the car and drive the direct route.

What is the difference between business purposes and employment purposes only?

An employment purposes only license is narrower. It covers only driving to and from work and on-the-job driving required by an employer or occupation. A business purposes only license adds education, church, medical trips, and other driving necessary to maintain livelihood. Both definitions are in section 322.271(1)(c).

The first-DUI waiver license is always business purposes only, because section 322.271(7)(b) says the reinstatement “shall be restricted to business purposes only.” After a hardship hearing, FLHSMV decides which restriction to grant. A hardship license is not a separate card. It is a regular Class E Florida driver license reissued with a business purposes or employment purposes restriction, and the restriction drops off on its own when the suspension ends. Commercial drivers are downgraded to a Class E for the length of the restriction. Check the restriction on your license and the paperwork you received before you drive.

How does the first DUI waiver hardship license work?

A first-time DUI driver can skip the administrative hearing and get a business purposes only license right away. Under section 322.2615(1)(b), the driver must request a review of eligibility under section 322.271(7) within 10 days after the notice of suspension is issued. The 10-day temporary permit on the citation expires at midnight on the 10th day.

The request goes on FLHSMV Form HSMV 72034, Request for Eligibility Review, with a $25 filing fee, a copy of the DUI citation, and proof of enrollment in DUI school. FLHSMV’s Bureau of Administrative Reviews handles these requests. In fiscal year 2023-24, the Bureau conducted 26,052 hearings and reviews across eight offices statewide, according to an FLHSMV Office of Inspector General audit. Hillsborough County drivers file with the Tampa Bureau of Administrative Reviews office at 2814 E. Hillsborough Ave., which handles first-offense waiver reviews and accepts filings by email.

You qualify only if all of these are true:

• You have never had a license suspended under section 322.2615 (a prior DUI breath-test or refusal suspension).
• You have never been disqualified under section 322.64 (the commercial driver statute).
• You have never been convicted of DUI under section 316.193. An out-of-state DUI or DWI conviction counts as a prior conviction.
• Your license is now suspended under section 322.2615 for a breath or blood result of 0.08 or higher or for a refusal.

The trade-off is permanent. Section 322.271(7)(c) says acceptance of the license “is deemed a waiver of the right to formal and informal review.” You give up the chance to have the suspension thrown out, and the suspension stays on your driving record. The waiver cannot be used as evidence in the criminal case. Our firm’s pillar guide on protecting your license after a Tampa DUI arrest explains when we fight the suspension instead.

The waiting periods come from section 322.2615(10). The bar on a business or employment license after two refusal suspensions comes from section 322.271(2)(a).

Fighting can win. In Sierra v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 33 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 320b (Fla. 13th Cir. Ct. Sept. 19, 2025), our firm represented a Hillsborough County driver whose license was suspended for refusing a breath test. The deputy’s report said only that the driver had backed up in the westbound lane to make a turn. The Hillsborough County circuit court granted our petition for writ of certiorari, ruling that the record did not show a lawful stop, so the refusal was not incident to a lawful arrest. A driver who took the waiver in that situation would have locked in a one-year suspension. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

What happens if you drive outside your hardship restriction?

You can lose the hardship license for the rest of the suspension and face a new charge. Florida Administrative Code Rule 15A-1.019(4) says a violation of the restrictions on a reinstated license “shall cause the license to be automatically suspended or revoked for the remainder of the period of the original suspension or revocation.”

The criminal exposure depends on how the restriction was imposed. Under section 322.16, violating a time-and-purpose restriction the department imposes under subsection (1)(b) is a moving violation fined under chapter 318. Violating a restriction imposed on the recommendation of a court or the Department of Corrections under subsection (1)(c) is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

That distinction decides real cases. The Legislature decriminalized violations of department-imposed restrictions in 2010. In Samuels v. State, 22 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 63b (Fla. 15th Cir. Ct. Aug. 6, 2014), a driver with a business purposes only license was stopped on his way to the movies at 10:20 p.m. and convicted of the misdemeanor. The Palm Beach appellate panel reversed and ordered him discharged, because the State never proved that a court or the Department of Corrections recommended the restriction.

The State also carries the burden of proving the purpose of the trip. In McKnight v. State, 6 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 265a (Fla. 20th Cir. Ct. Jan. 19, 1999), a conviction was reversed because the State offered no evidence of why the driver was on the road. In Mudge v. State, 20 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 652a (Fla. 18th Cir. Ct. Feb. 7, 2013), an employment-only driver who said he was collecting scrap metal to sell won reversal because the trial court made him prove he was working. These cases are why our attorneys advise clients to answer an officer’s questions about the trip carefully, or not at all, and to call us before saying anything else.

An officer may also charge driving while license suspended. In Grizzard v. State, 881 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), a driver with a business purpose hardship license was stopped in Hillsborough County. The officer’s computer showed the license as suspended, and a second check showed “some confusion.” The driver pleaded no contest in Hillsborough County court to driving while license suspended with knowledge, and that conviction was then used to revoke his probation. The Fifth District reversed because the trial court treated the no contest plea as conclusive proof of guilt. Grizzard shows two things: database errors happen, and a quick plea on a driving while license suspended charge can cost far more than a fine.

A 2025 federal decision shows how serious that charge can get. In United States v. Donadio, No. 3:25-mj-120-HTC (N.D. Fla. July 11, 2025), a driver with a temporary business purposes permit was arrested after a night of New Year’s Eve bar hopping on federal property, where Florida traffic law applies. A jury convicted her of driving with knowledge that her license was suspended under section 322.34(2), not just a restriction violation. The court denied her motion for acquittal, reasoning that a business purposes license reinstates only part of the driving privilege, so all other driving remains suspended. Donadio does not bind Florida state courts, but it shows that prosecutors can treat a trip outside the restriction as driving on a suspended license.

Officers can see the restriction before they turn on their lights. In Pickenpaugh v. State, 15 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 238a (Fla. 6th Cir. Ct. Jan. 24, 2008), a Pinellas County deputy saw a car speeding in St. Petersburg at about 2:30 a.m., ran the plate, and learned the owner had a business purposes only restriction. The trial court found that drivers at that hour are not coming from a school, a church, a hospital, or a job. The Pinellas appellate panel affirmed the stop, noting that speeding alone justified it and that the circumstances also reasonably suggested a restriction violation.

Driving outside the rules also hurts the next application. In Brown v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 29 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 697a (Fla. 2d Cir. Ct. Dec. 6, 2021), the Leon County appellate panel upheld the denial of a hardship license because the driver had kept driving while his license was revoked. Hearing officers treat unlawful driving as proof that a driver cannot be trusted with a restricted license.

What can cancel a hardship license before the suspension ends?

Four events can end a hardship license early, even if you never drive outside the restriction:

• Missing the DUI school deadline. Under section 322.271(2)(a), if you do not complete the course within 90 days after reinstatement, or later fail to complete treatment, FLHSMV must cancel the license until you finish.
• A DUI conviction. Form HSMV 72034 warns that the waiver license “will no longer be valid” if you are convicted of DUI. Under section 322.28(2)(a), a first DUI conviction brings a revocation of at least 180 days and up to one year. A new business purposes license is available only after you complete DUI school.
• Violating program or interlock conditions. When FLHSMV or a court requires DUI program supervision or an ignition interlock device, a reported violation can lead to cancellation, as in Moore. Section 322.271 also lets the department require an interlock as a condition of reinstatement.
• Driving outside the restriction. Rule 15A-1.019(4) suspends the license for the rest of the original period.

A DUI program’s termination decision can be appealed, and the appeal matters. In Oleksa v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 195a (Fla. 6th Cir. Ct. Sept. 24, 2004), the Pasco County program terminated a supervised driver, who gave notice of an appeal to DUI Counterattack in Hillsborough County. FLHSMV revoked his license before that appeal was heard, and the Pinellas appellate panel quashed the revocation for violating his due process rights. In Johnson v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 10 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 144a (Fla. 4th Cir. Ct. Dec. 13, 2002), a driver who skipped the program appeal and went straight to circuit court lost on that ground. The appeal must go to another licensed DUI program in the same or an adjacent judicial circuit, and a driver who appealed to a program outside those circuits lost his challenge to the cancellation in Erb v. Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 15 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 202a (Fla. 4th Cir. Ct. Dec. 21, 2007). File the program appeal under Rule 15A-10.031 first, and file it with the right program.

Hillsborough County’s licensed DUI program is DUI Counterattack Hillsborough, Inc., at 4711 N. Hubert Ave. in Tampa. Pinellas County drivers use Suncoast Safety Council in Clearwater, and Pasco County drivers use Pride Integrated Services in Zephyrhills or New Port Richey, according to FLHSMV’s list of licensed DUI programs. Enroll early, because the 90-day clock runs from reinstatement.

Why does Florida limit hardship driving so tightly?

Florida limits hardship driving because license suspension is one of the few DUI sanctions with strong evidence behind it. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s research guide, Countermeasures That Work, reports that administrative license revocation reduces alcohol-related fatal crash involvement by 5%, saving an estimated 800 lives each year. The same guide notes that most states let offenders obtain an occupational or hardship license for part or all of a suspension.

Florida’s business purposes license is that compromise. It keeps drivers employed while preserving most of the suspension’s safety effect. Hearing officers and judges enforce the limits strictly for that reason, and they are rarely persuaded that a trip outside the statute was harmless.

How do you stay safe on a Florida hardship license? 7 rules

1. Read the restriction on your license. Confirm whether it says business purposes or employment purposes, and note the expiration date.
2. Carry your paperwork. Keep the FLHSMV approval letter, your DUI school enrollment receipt, and proof of your work schedule in the car.
3. Drive the direct route, and think twice about late-night trips. A stop that turns a commute into a social outing is outside the restriction, and deputies can see your restriction when they run your plate.
4. Document gray-area trips. Keep medical referrals, pharmacy receipts, and school schedules.
5. Finish DUI school early. Do not let the 90-day deadline cancel the license.
6. Avoid alcohol and read supplement labels if you are under DUI program supervision or have an interlock.
7. Call your attorney before a new kind of trip. A five-minute call costs less than a suspension for the rest of the term.

What should you do in the first 10 days after a Florida DUI arrest?

Decide within 10 days whether to waive the hearing or fight the suspension. That 10-day window under section 322.2615 is the only chance to do either. If you miss it, the suspension takes effect and you lose both the immediate waiver license and the hearing.

Our attorneys review the arrest video and the breath or refusal paperwork before that deadline, because the right choice depends on how strong the hearing issues are. A weak stop or a flawed breath test can justify fighting. A clean stop and a job that requires driving usually favor the waiver. Our timeline of a Hillsborough County DUI case walks through what comes after the license decision, including arraignment and the criminal penalties.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive to the gym on a business purposes only license in Florida?

No, unless you work at the gym or a doctor has prescribed therapy there. The Brancato Law Firm tells clients to plan a walk, a ride, or a rideshare for workouts until the restriction expires.

Can I stop for food or groceries on a Florida business purposes only license?

Yes, if the food run is the whole trip, because Allart v. State and State v. Quiroli held that driving to buy food is driving necessary to maintain livelihood. The Brancato Law Firm cautions clients that a food stop tacked onto a social outing is still a violation, as the driver in Dicks v. State learned.

Can I drive my child to school on a Florida hardship license?

Probably yes, because Florida requires school attendance and section 322.271(1)(c) allows educational driving without limiting it to the driver. No court has ruled on it, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm advise keeping the school schedule in the car and driving the direct route.

Is driving outside my hardship license restriction a crime in Florida?

It can be, depending on how the restriction was imposed, and it triggers an automatic suspension for the rest of the original term under Rule 15A-1.019(4). The Brancato Law Firm defends these citations and related driving while license suspended charges in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.

Can I get a hardship license after refusing a breath test in Florida?

Yes, on a first refusal, either through the waiver right away or after a 90-day wait if a formal review upholds the suspension. Our team at The Brancato Law Firm explains the refusal suspension and the separate criminal exposure in our guide to refusing a breathalyzer in Florida.

How long does the first DUI waiver hardship license last?

It lasts for the length of the administrative suspension: six months for a 0.08 or higher result and one year for a first refusal. The Brancato Law Firm tracks that end date with clients, because a DUI conviction during the term ends the waiver license and starts a new revocation.

Do I need a lawyer to waive my DUI hearing in Florida?

No, a driver can file Form HSMV 72034 alone, but the waiver permanently gives up the right to challenge the suspension. Before the 10-day deadline, The Brancato Law Firm reviews whether a formal review could win, and our DUI defense attorneys handle both the license and the criminal case.

Can I drive a commercial vehicle on a Florida hardship license?

No. Section 322.64 provides that a business or employment purposes license does not authorize operating a commercial motor vehicle, and The Brancato Law Firm explains the CDL rules in our post on restoring a commercial license after a DUI suspension.

For how The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. defends these cases, see our Tampa criminal traffic defense practice.

Talk with a Tampa DUI defense attorney

The 10-day clock starts the day of the arrest, and the hardship license decision cannot be undone once you accept it. Call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, at (813) 727-7159. You can call us at any hour, and our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. For more about our defense strategies, visit our DUI page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

A Florida prosecutor has to sign off before most juvenile records can be cleared early, so the first question we ask a family is how the case ended. As founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and a former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys, I have spent more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms watching juvenile records follow young people into college, military, and job applications. Our attorneys gather the dispositions, completion letters, and State Attorney certifications a child needs, and we file the application or petition that fits the case.

What is juvenile expungement in Florida?

Juvenile expungement in Florida (the statutes call it “expunction”) is the destruction of a minor’s criminal history record so it no longer appears on public background checks. After a court-ordered expunction, a person may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the expunged arrest, with exceptions for jobs such as law enforcement, schools, and agencies that serve children, the elderly, or the disabled, and for admission to The Florida Bar, under section 943.0585, Florida Statutes.

Expunged does not always mean gone from every government file. For a diversion expunction, FDLE keeps a confidential copy that criminal justice agencies may see only to decide diversion eligibility, investigate a crime, or make a juvenile charging decision, under section 943.0582. Records held by local agencies in the county of arrest are sealed rather than destroyed.

How does diversion expunction work after a juvenile arrest?

Diversion expunction is the fastest way to clear a juvenile arrest. FDLE must expunge the nonjudicial arrest record of a minor who completed a qualifying diversion program when three conditions are met, under section 943.0582(3):

• The arrest was for a misdemeanor, or for a felony that is not a forcible felony and does not involve a firearm or weapon.
• The State Attorney for the county of arrest certifies in writing that the child completed that county’s diversion program.
• The child has never been charged by the State Attorney with, or found to have committed, any other criminal offense or comparable ordinance violation.

That last condition trips up many families. The bar is any prior charge or finding, not only a prior forcible felony. A second arrest before the application is filed can end eligibility, so our attorneys file as soon as the completion letter is in hand. The statute sets no deadline after completion, which means an older diversion case may still qualify years later.

Hillsborough County handles many first-time juvenile misdemeanors before they become arrests at all. The 13th Judicial Circuit’s Juvenile Diversion Programs office, run by the court’s administrative office with the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Sheriff’s Office, local police, schools, the State Attorney, and the Public Defender, offers civil citation to youth ages 8 to 17 for offenses such as petit theft under $300, trespass, and simple battery. According to the court’s brochure, a child who completes the sanctions gets no arrest record, and the information is not sent to the Clerk, FDLE, or the State Attorney’s Office. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney team pushes for civil citation or diversion at the first conversation with the prosecutor, because that decision controls everything that follows.

The FDLE application for a juvenile diversion expunction has five parts:

1. Section A of the application, signed in front of a notary or deputy clerk by the applicant and, if the child is under 18, a parent or guardian.
2. The certified statement page, completed by the State Attorney.
3. Proof of completion, such as a pretrial completion certificate or a letter of successful completion.
4. A paper fingerprint card taken by a law enforcement agency or approved vendor.
5. A letter on attorney letterhead if a lawyer represents the family, so FDLE will correspond with counsel.

When are juvenile records automatically expunged in Florida?

Most Florida juvenile records are expunged automatically when the person turns 21. FDLE keeps the record of a minor who was not a serious or habitual juvenile offender, and not committed to a maximum-risk residential facility, until two years after the minor turns 19, then destroys it, under section 943.0515(1). For a serious or habitual juvenile offender or a maximum-risk commitment, the record stays until age 26.

Three situations stop automatic destruction:

The registration rule surprises many parents. Our guide to juvenile sex offender registration in Florida explains which adjudications trigger it and how removal works.

Can my child get a juvenile record expunged before age 21?

Yes, if the young adult is at least 18 and under 21 and has not been charged with or found to have committed any criminal offense in the five years before applying, under section 943.0515(1)(b)2.. Only offenses committed before age 18 qualify, and the State Attorney in each circuit where an offense occurred must approve.

The early juvenile expungement application requires a $75 FDLE processing fee unless waived, fingerprints taken by a law enforcement agency, a certified disposition for each case, and a sworn statement that the applicant is no longer under court supervision. A denial is not the end. A minor who applies early and is not approved still has the record expunged at 21 if otherwise eligible. For a 19-year-old applying to college, the military, or a first career job, two years can matter, so our attorneys usually apply early when the five-year lookback is clean.

What if the juvenile case was dropped or dismissed?

A juvenile case that ended without a finding of delinquency can be expunged by court order under section 943.0585. The person is eligible to petition if no charging document was filed, or the charges were dropped, dismissed, or ended in an acquittal or not-guilty verdict.

Before filing in circuit court, the person must get a certificate of eligibility from FDLE. That requires a certified statement from the State Attorney, a certified copy of the disposition, and a $75 processing fee unless waived. FDLE will not issue the certificate if the person was ever adjudicated delinquent in Florida for a felony or for listed misdemeanors such as assault, battery, petit theft, or carrying a concealed weapon, unless that delinquency record was already expunged under the automatic-expunction statute.

A juvenile case closed with adjudication withheld follows a slower path. The record generally must be sealed for at least 10 years before it can be expunged, unless no plea was entered or all charges were dismissed before trial. Families who want to compare outcomes can read our post on youthful offender sentencing in Florida, which explains how adult-court youth cases differ.

Can a judge deny a juvenile expungement petition?

A judge may deny an expunction petition, but not arbitrarily. In J.F.T. v. State, No. 5D20-0907 (Fla. 5th DCA Aug. 28, 2020), a child was arrested in Marion County and the State filed a notice of no petition, meaning it would not prosecute. The child’s family filed a petition to expunge with an FDLE certificate of eligibility. The State did not dispute eligibility but opposed the petition so the records would be available if the child committed a crime in the future. The trial judge denied the petition in a one-line order.

The Fifth District reversed. Relying on its earlier decision in Kanji v. State, 4 So. 3d 65 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009), which reversed an unexplained denial of an adult’s expunction petition, the court held that the “sole discretion” language in the statute does not permit arbitrary denial. The trial court must consider all the facts and circumstances and may not deny a petition based only on the nature of the alleged crime. The case went back with instructions to grant the petition or state reasons.

The lesson for parents is practical. A prosecutor’s general wish to keep records available is not enough to defeat an eligible petition. Our attorneys build the petition record (school records, work history, letters, and the case outcome) so the judge has facts to weigh, and we ask for a hearing when the State objects.

Why does clearing a juvenile record matter?

A juvenile record can surface on background checks for college admissions, scholarships, military enlistment, professional licensing, housing, and jobs, which is why the timing of expunction matters. Research on adult records shows how much is at stake and how often people miss the chance. In a 2020 Harvard Law Review study of Michigan records, J.J. Prescott and Sonja B. Starr found that only 6.5 percent of eligible people obtained expungement within five years of becoming eligible, and that wages rose by more than 22 percent within one year for those who did (Expungement of Criminal Convictions: An Empirical Study, 133 Harv. L. Rev. 2460 (2020)).

The numbers in our own circuit show how many families face this question. In fiscal year 2019-20, the 13th Judicial Circuit (Hillsborough County) recorded 3,079 juvenile delinquency complaints and 39 juveniles direct-filed into adult court, according to the Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research 13th Judicial Circuit criminal justice profile. A direct-filed child is prosecuted as an adult, and the juvenile expunction rules in this guide no longer protect that case.

What should parents do now to protect a child’s record?

Parents should act while the case is open, because the outcome decides which path is available. These steps preserve the most options:

1. Ask for diversion or civil citation before the State Attorney files a petition. A completed diversion is the only path that clears the arrest itself within months.
2. Keep the child free of any new charge. One new charge can end diversion expunction and early expunction eligibility.
3. Get the paperwork at the end: the completion letter, the certified disposition, and any order closing the case.
4. Calendar the child’s 18th birthday and the five-year lookback for early expunction.
5. If police want to question your child about an incident, call a lawyer first. Our representation before charges are filed often decides whether a case is diverted or prosecuted.

Frequently asked questions about juvenile expungement in Florida

Does a juvenile arrest show up on a background check in Florida?

A juvenile arrest that has not been expunged can appear on Florida criminal history checks until the record is destroyed at 21 or 26. The Brancato Law Firm reviews a family’s FDLE record and tells them which path can clear it sooner, so the record does not surface during college or job applications.

Can a juvenile record be expunged if my child was adjudicated delinquent?

A delinquency adjudication usually rules out court-ordered expunction for that case, but the record is still expunged automatically at 21 or 26 unless a forcible felony or registrable sex offense keeps it. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check whether the young adult qualifies for early expunction under section 943.0515 between ages 18 and 21.

Can my child deny the arrest on a college or job application after expungement?

After a court-ordered expunction, a person may lawfully deny the arrest except in listed situations such as law enforcement jobs, school employment, and Florida Bar admission. The Brancato Law Firm explains to each client which applications still require disclosure, so a young adult does not make a misstatement on a sensitive application.

How much does juvenile expungement cost in Florida?

FDLE charges a $75 processing fee for early juvenile expunction and for a certificate of eligibility unless the fee is waived, and diversion expunction requires its own FDLE application. The Brancato Law Firm explains the full cost after reviewing the record, and you can start with our Hillsborough County defense team by phone at any hour.

What happens to a juvenile record if my child is later charged as an adult?

If a person 18 or older is charged with or convicted of a forcible felony before the juvenile record is destroyed, the juvenile record is merged into the adult record and kept. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm defend the adult charge with that risk in mind, since an acquittal or reduced charge can protect the juvenile record too.

Can a human trafficking victim expunge a juvenile record in Florida?

Yes. A trafficking victim may petition to expunge offenses committed as part of the trafficking scheme, regardless of how the case ended, and a conviction expunged this way is treated as vacated under section 943.0583. The Brancato Law Firm gathers the victim-status documentation that creates a legal presumption in the petitioner’s favor.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our overview of how a Florida criminal case moves from investigation to appeal.

Talk to our attorneys about clearing your child’s record

The best time to protect a juvenile record is before the case closes, and the next best time is before your child turns 21. Call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, at (813) 727-7159 to review the record and the fastest path to clear it. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read our guide for Spanish-speaking criminal defense clients in Tampa. Our office is two blocks from the courthouse, and you can call us at any hour.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If you were just arrested for drug possession in Hillsborough County, the most valuable weeks of your case are the ones before the State Attorney’s Office decides whether to file a charge. I am Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and a former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys. In more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms, I have watched DETRR and the programs before it turn possession arrests into closed cases, and our attorneys work to get eligible clients into the program before a charge is ever filed.

What is the DETRR program in Hillsborough County?

DETRR is a drug diversion program run by the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office in the 13th Judicial Circuit. The State Attorney’s Office describes it as “limited to drug possession cases for low-risk, non-violent offenders” and lists it among its diversion programs on its programs page. The program launched in October 2020 as a step below Drug Treatment Court, for people whose drug use does not call for the closer supervision of a treatment court.

The deal is simple. The person waives the right to a speedy trial in writing, completes whatever education or treatment the program assigns, and stays arrest-free for six months from the day they enter. If they do, the drug possession charge is dismissed. If they are arrested again, the State can go back to prosecuting the original charge. DETRR is a Hillsborough County program, so our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorneys handle it through the State Attorney’s Office in Tampa.

Who qualifies for DETRR?

DETRR has three levels, and the level depends on the drug, the amount, and the person’s history. According to the State Attorney’s Office DETRR information sheet for defense attorneys, each level can be used only once, and a later arrest moves a person up to the next level if they are otherwise eligible.

Level 1 reaches further than many people expect. Under section 893.13(6)(b), Florida Statutes, possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, and more than that is a third-degree felony under section 893.13(6)(a). Because DETRR Level 1 goes up to 30 grams, it covers some felony cannabis cases as well as misdemeanors. Our post on how much marijuana is a felony in Florida explains those weight lines.

What disqualifies someone from DETRR?

Any sign of sale or distribution, any trafficking charge, and a violent or high-risk profile keep a person out of DETRR at every level. Pending charges and felony probation also matter. The table below sorts what the State Attorney’s Office lists as disqualifying from what it says does not, by itself, rule a person out.

Can DETRR happen before charges are filed?

Yes, if the defense reaches the State Attorney’s Office early enough. The State Attorney’s Office materials describe DETRR in terms of dismissing a charge, and some sources treat it as a program for cases that are already filed. In our experience, the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office will also do diversion before filing: when the defense contacts the prosecutor quickly after the arrest, the person waives speedy trial, and the office holds off on filing the charge while the person completes the program.

That timing matters. A case that is never filed leaves no charging document at all, which is the cleanest result a person can get after an arrest. The speedy trial waiver is what makes it work: it gives the State the time to wait without losing the case. This is the core of our pre-file advocacy work, and it is why the first call after a drug arrest should come early, not after the State has already filed.

How often are Hillsborough drug possession cases never filed?

In 2025, the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office filed no charge in 62% of the 7,069 drug possession cases it decided, up from 27% in 2022, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Criminal Justice Data Transparency database. Marijuana possession cases followed the same path: 51% of the 1,373 decided in 2025 were not filed. Those cases come out of a large pool. Hillsborough County recorded 10,502 drug arrests in 2025, according to FDLE arrest data published on the Florida Department of Health’s FLHealthCHARTS site.

The data does not say why a case was not filed, and pre-file diversion is only one reason. In our experience, prosecutors are also less interested in small amounts of marijuana than they were a few years ago, and roadside field tests often do not hold up once the crime lab looks at the evidence. Our post on how to fight a drug charge before it is filed covers the lab and field test issues. The point for anyone facing a possession arrest in Hillsborough is that a filed charge is far from certain, and early work by our attorneys can push a case toward the side that is never filed.

How do you get into DETRR?

Entry into DETRR runs through the prosecutor, not the judge. For Levels 1 and 2, the assistant state attorney in the felony division prepares the DETRR contract and sends it to the defense attorney for the client’s signature. For Level 3, the case goes to Drug Court for a risk-needs assessment, and the prosecutor assigned to Drug Court prepares the contract. After the case is closed into the program, the person takes the signed contract to the Florida Department of Corrections office at 1313 N. Tampa Street within 24 hours and is assigned an officer who tracks the six months.

1. Our attorneys confirm eligibility from the arrest report, the substance, the weight, and the client’s record.
2. We contact the assigned prosecutor, ideally before the filing decision, and ask for DETRR.
3. The client signs the contract and the written speedy trial waiver.
4. The client reports to the Department of Corrections within 24 hours and completes any required evaluation and treatment.
5. After six months with no new arrest, the charge is dismissed, or, in a pre-file case, never filed.

The prosecutor’s decision is final. In Cleveland v. State, 417 So. 2d 653 (Fla. 1982), a woman charged with welfare fraud met every statutory requirement for pretrial intervention, but the state attorney refused to consent, and the trial judge ordered her into the program anyway. The Fourth District Court of Appeal quashed that order, and the Florida Supreme Court approved the appellate decision, holding that “the pretrial diversion decision of the state attorney is prosecutorial in nature and, thus, is not subject to judicial review.” The lesson for DETRR is practical: a judge cannot force a prosecutor to offer diversion, so the case for DETRR has to be made to the prosecutor, and made well.

Does DETRR clear your record?

No, not by itself. Finishing DETRR ends the case, but the arrest stays on the person’s criminal history until it is expunged or sealed. The State Attorney’s Office says DETRR participants are offered information about expunction at every level.

DETRR sets a person up well for expunction. Under section 943.0585, Florida Statutes, a person may petition to expunge a record when no charging document was filed, or when the charge was dismissed or nolle prossed, so long as they have never been adjudicated guilty of a criminal offense in Florida and have never had a record sealed or expunged before. The person first applies to FDLE for a certificate of eligibility, which requires a certified statement from the State Attorney’s Office and a $75 processing fee, and the court still decides the petition. A pre-file DETRR case, where the charge is never filed, falls under the first category.

Does diversion actually work?

The research says yes. A National Institute of Justice study, NIJ’s Multisite Evaluation of Prosecutor-Led Diversion Programs (Rempel and others, 2018), compared five prosecutor-run diversion programs in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Vermont with similar cases that went through regular prosecution. Diversion participants were less likely to be convicted or jailed, four of the five programs were linked to lower re-arrest rates, and diversion cases cost less to handle in all four programs studied for cost. DETRR rests on the same idea: for low-risk possession cases, treatment and a clean six months do more good than a conviction.

What should you do after a drug possession arrest in Hillsborough County?

Act within days, not weeks. The pre-file window is when DETRR can keep a charge from ever being filed, and the State Attorney’s Office can file at any time. Do not discuss the case with police or post about it, keep every paper the jail gave you, and do not pick up a new charge, since a pending case can disqualify you. Then call a lawyer who knows how the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office handles diversion. For more about our defense strategies, visit our Drug Crimes page.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our overview of how a Florida criminal case moves from investigation to appeal.

Frequently asked questions about DETRR

Can a judge order DETRR if the prosecutor says no?

No. Under Cleveland v. State, 417 So. 2d 653 (Fla. 1982), a state attorney’s decision on pretrial diversion is not subject to judicial review. That is why our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm make the case for DETRR directly to the assigned prosecutor, with the facts and records that show the client is low-risk.

Can I get DETRR if I have a prior record?

Often, yes. A prior record does not by itself exclude someone from Level 1 or Level 3, though Level 2 is limited to people with no prior felony conviction or withhold. The Brancato Law Firm reviews the full record before contacting the prosecutor so the request goes in at the right level, and our Tampa drug crimes attorney page explains our wider approach to possession cases.

Is DETRR available in Pinellas or Pasco County?

No. DETRR is a program of the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, and Pinellas and Pasco cases are handled by the State Attorney’s Office for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, which runs its own diversion options. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm handle drug cases in all three counties and know which options each office offers.

What happens if I am arrested again during DETRR?

A new arrest can end the diversion and send the original case back to regular prosecution. The Brancato Law Firm treats that risk seriously from day one, which is why we walk every DETRR client through the six-month terms before they sign.

Does DETRR require a guilty plea?

No. DETRR does not require a guilty or no contest plea. The person signs a contract and a written speedy trial waiver, and after six months arrest-free the charge is dismissed or, in a pre-file case, never filed. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm review every DETRR contract with the client before signing, and in a pre-file case the goal is a charge that is dropped or never filed.

The days right after a drug arrest decide whether DETRR can keep a charge from ever being filed. Our attorneys will review the arrest report, confirm which DETRR level fits, and contact the prosecutor before the filing decision. Call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, at (813) 727-7159. Call us at any hour; our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read our guide for Spanish-speaking and Haitian Creole-speaking clients.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If your husband, wife, or child was just walked off a cruise ship at Port Tampa Bay, the next 24 hours shape the whole case. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and a former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys. I have spent more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms. Our attorneys take these calls while the ship is still at the dock, and we can be mobilized and ready for your loved one’s first appearance.

Why do people get arrested at the Tampa cruise terminals?

People get arrested at the Tampa cruise terminals because every bag is screened before boarding, and law enforcement officers work the terminals on cruise days. In 2025, Port Tampa Bay welcomed 1.66 million cruise passengers, the highest total in its history, according to Port Tampa Bay. The port says it is tracking toward 1.8 million passengers in 2026. More passengers means more luggage screened and more arrests.

In the cruise terminal cases our firm has handled, the arrest is made by an off-duty Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputy working a paid detail at the terminal. Private security screens the luggage, flags a bag, and calls the deputy. The cruise terminals sit inside Tampa city limits, so a Tampa Police officer can make the same arrest. Either way, the case goes to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office and the Hillsborough County criminal courts in the 13th Judicial Circuit.

Passengers are often already in their cabin when the bag is flagged. Ship security finds them on board, walks them off the ship, and turns them over to the deputy at the terminal.

Can you bring marijuana, CBD, or hemp on a cruise from Tampa?

No. Cruise lines ban marijuana on board, and the published policies of Carnival and Norwegian also ban CBD and THC products, including products sold as medical marijuana. A product that is legal at a Florida smoke shop can still get you removed from the ship and arrested at the terminal.

A Florida medical marijuana card does not change this. Florida’s medical marijuana law, section 381.986, Florida Statutes, excludes use or administration of marijuana “on any form of public transportation” from protected medical use, except for low-THC cannabis not in a form for smoking. Federal law does not recognize state medical marijuana programs at all. Our post on how to legally transport medical marijuana in Florida covers the rules on land.

Is hemp legal on a cruise ship?

Hemp is legal under Florida law, but that does not protect you on a cruise. Florida defines hemp in section 581.217, Florida Statutes as cannabis with a total delta-9 THC concentration that does not exceed 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis. Florida’s drug statute, section 893.02, Florida Statutes, excludes that hemp from the definition of cannabis. The problem is proof. A deputy at the terminal cannot tell a lawful hemp gummy from a marijuana gummy by looking at it, so the passenger gets arrested and the lab sorts it out later.

Federal hemp law is also changing. Congress rewrote the federal definition of hemp in Public Law 119-37, enacted November 12, 2025, according to the Congressional Research Service. Under the new definition, final hemp-derived cannabinoid products with more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container are no longer hemp under federal law. Congress delayed that change to December 11, 2026, in H.R. 6500, signed September 2, 2026. Unless Congress acts again, intoxicating hemp gummies, drinks, and vapes over that limit will be treated as marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance, under federal law. That matters when a ship returns to Tampa from a foreign port and passes through U.S. Customs.

Will a cruise ship arrest be in state court or federal court?

Where the case lands depends on where the drugs were found and who found them. Drugs found at the terminal before the ship sails are almost always a Hillsborough County state case. Drugs found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when the ship returns from Mexico, Honduras, or the Bahamas can become a federal case, a federal civil penalty, or a state case referred to local deputies. Crimes committed against another person at sea are usually investigated by the FBI.

Federal jurisdiction over crimes at sea is broad. Under 18 U.S.C. § 7(8), the special maritime jurisdiction of the United States reaches any foreign vessel “during a voyage having a scheduled departure from or arrival in the United States” for offenses committed by or against a U.S. national, to the extent international law allows. Florida has its own special maritime jurisdiction statute, section 910.006, Florida Statutes, which covers acts against people and property aboard ships on voyages where over half of the passengers embarked and plan to disembark in Florida.

Cruise lines must report serious crimes to the FBI under the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act. In 2025, cruise lines reported 182 alleged crimes to the FBI across the four quarterly reports published by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Those reports cover assaults, sexual assaults, thefts over $10,000, and missing persons. They do not count drug offenses.

When a cruise ship case is charged federally in Tampa, the first court date is an initial appearance before a federal magistrate judge, and the charges come from federal statutes, not Florida’s. Our firm’s practice is Florida state court in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, where arrests made at the terminal before the ship sails are prosecuted.

What are the penalties for marijuana or THC found on a cruise ship?

In Florida, possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis flower is a first-degree misdemeanor, and possession of more than 20 grams is a third-degree felony under section 893.13, Florida Statutes. The 20-gram misdemeanor exception does not apply to resin or any “derivative, mixture, or preparation of such resin.” That means THC gummies, vape cartridges, and wax are charged as felonies in Florida regardless of weight, unless they qualify as lawful hemp.

Under federal law, simple possession under 21 U.S.C. § 844 carries up to one year in prison and a minimum $1,000 fine for a first offense. Bringing or possessing a Schedule I drug such as marijuana on board a vessel arriving in or departing from the United States is a separate federal crime under 21 U.S.C. § 955. For less than 50 kilograms of marijuana, 21 U.S.C. § 960 sends sentencing to 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(D), which allows up to five years. For small personal-use amounts, federal authorities can instead impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 under 21 U.S.C. § 844a, which is not available to anyone with a prior drug conviction.

Our attorneys handle these cases through our Tampa drug crimes attorney practice, and the first question we ask is what exactly the officers found and how they tested it.

Can cruise security or customs search your cabin without a warrant?

Yes, in most situations. Two different rules apply depending on who does the searching and when.

Cruise line security is private. The Fourth Amendment limits government searches, and a search by the cruise line’s own security acting on its own generally falls outside it. Cruise ticket contracts typically give the cruise line the right to search cabins and luggage. Federal law adds a second layer. A House committee report on the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act noted that “American citizens who travel on cruise ships are subject to the laws of the vessel’s flag state,” which “may not afford them the same rights and protections” as U.S. law, per House Report 111-332.

Customs officers can search at the border without a warrant. In United States v. Hill, 939 F.2d 934 (11th Cir. 1991), customs agents watching a cruise ship at Port Everglades stopped a crew member’s ride inside the port and found cocaine after a dog alert. The Eleventh Circuit held that the port was the functional equivalent of the border, so no suspicion was required, and reversed the order suppressing the cocaine. In United States v. Alfaro-Moncada, 607 F.3d 720 (11th Cir. 2010), the same court upheld a suspicionless search of a crew member’s cabin on a foreign cargo ship docked in Miami.

A passenger’s cabin may deserve more protection. In United States v. Whitted, 541 F.3d 480 (3d Cir. 2008), customs officers searched a passenger’s stateroom when the Adventure of the Seas docked in St. Thomas. The Third Circuit held that searching a passenger’s private cabin at the border is a “nonroutine border search” that requires reasonable suspicion, though it found that suspicion existed and upheld the search. Florida is in the Eleventh Circuit, not the Third, and Alfaro-Moncada involved a crew cabin on a cargo ship. That difference gives the defense room to argue when customs searches a paying passenger’s stateroom.

Your phone is also open to inspection at the border. In United States v. Touset, 890 F.3d 1227 (11th Cir. 2018), the Eleventh Circuit held that “no suspicion is necessary to search electronic devices at the border,” including forensic searches. Texts about buying or packing marijuana can become evidence.

A lawful search does not end the case. The State still has to prove the substance is illegal and that you knowingly possessed it. Statements are a separate issue too: if deputies questioned you without proper Miranda warnings, our attorneys can file a motion to suppress those statements even when the search itself holds up.

What should you do if you are detained on the cruise ship?

Stay calm, identify yourself, and stop talking about the bag. Many cruise terminal drug cases are built on what the passenger says in the first ten minutes. In a 2026 cruise terminal case our firm handled, where prosecutors ultimately filed no charges, the arrest affidavit relied on the husband’s and wife’s statements, made after Miranda warnings, that they both owned and possessed everything in the bag.

1. Cooperate physically. Go with ship security when asked. Do not argue, resist, or try to stay on board.
2. Give your name and identification. You must identify yourself. You do not have to explain what is in the bag.
3. Ask for a lawyer and stop answering questions. Say, “I want to speak with a lawyer, and I am not answering questions.” Then stop. This applies to ship security, deputies, and customs officers.
4. Do not consent to more searches. If asked for permission to search your cabin, other bags, your car, or your phone, say no. Officers may search anyway, but your refusal preserves the issue for your lawyer.
5. Do not take the blame for someone else. Couples and friends often try to protect each other by claiming everything. That statement can convict you, and it rarely helps the other person.
6. Do not get rid of anything. Flushing a vape or tossing a bag overboard can create a new charge.
7. Do not sign a written statement. Politely decline to write or sign anything about the drugs until you have spoken with a lawyer.
8. Get a message to family. Before your phone is taken, text one person the ship name, the terminal number, and the words “arrested, call a lawyer.”

What should your family do while you are still on the ship?

Your family should call a criminal defense attorney right away, while you are still on the ship or at the terminal. The early hours matter because our attorneys can start preparing for first appearance, track where you are being booked, and make sure you do not talk to anyone about the case on a recorded jail phone.

Have your family gather this information before they call:

• Your full legal name and date of birth
• The cruise line, ship name, and terminal number (Port Tampa Bay runs several terminals off Channelside Drive)
• The sail date and your home state
• The arresting agency, if known (HCSO or Tampa Police)
• What was found, if you were able to say
• Any medical marijuana card, hemp product receipts, or certificates of analysis

Once you are booked, your family can find you through the Hillsborough County jail inmate search and follow our step-by-step Hillsborough County bond walkthrough. Many cruise passengers are visiting from other states or countries. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French, so family members can explain the situation in their own language.

What happens at first appearance after a cruise terminal arrest?

Every arrested person must be taken before a judge within 24 hours of arrest under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130. In Hillsborough County, cruise terminal arrests are booked into the Orient Road Jail, and the first appearance judge decides bond and release conditions. If you have hired a lawyer, the rule requires the judge to give a reasonable time to send for counsel, which is one reason to call us before the hearing.

For cruise passengers, first appearance decides practical questions fast. Can an out-of-state passenger go home? What bond is fair for someone with no Florida ties? Will the judge order drug testing or other conditions that are hard to meet from another state? Our attorneys come to first appearance ready to answer those questions with facts: home address, employment, family, and the travel plans that were interrupted. Our guide on what to do after being arrested in Tampa explains the rest of the early process.

If a passenger was released at the terminal without an arrest and the deputy said the report would be sent to the State Attorney, you may not have a court date yet. That is the time for representation before charges are filed, when our attorneys can present lab questions and mitigation to the prosecutor before a charging decision is made.

How do our attorneys fight cruise ship drug charges?

Our attorneys attack cruise ship drug cases at five points: the testing, the possession, the statements, the search, and the classification of the charge.

1. The testing. Field tests used at the terminals detect cannabinoids. They do not measure delta-9 THC concentration, which is what separates legal hemp from illegal cannabis under Florida law. In our 2026 cruise terminal case, the deputy’s field test reported THC gummies, joints, and flower as “synthetic cannabinoids.” We demand a laboratory analysis that actually quantifies THC before any plea is discussed.
2. The possession. Shared luggage and shared cabins create real questions about who owned what. The State must prove each person knew about the drugs and had control over them.
3. The statements. We review when Miranda warnings were given, who asked the questions, and whether ship security questioned the passenger first.
4. The search. We identify who searched, when, and under what authority: private screeners, ship security, a deputy, or customs. Each has different rules.
5. The classification. A felony charge for THC edibles or vapes depends on the product not qualifying as hemp. Flower under 20 grams is a misdemeanor. Getting the weight and the product type right can change the entire case.

For first-time offenders, pretrial diversion may also be available, which can lead to a dismissal after the program is completed. For more about our defense strategies, visit our Drug Crimes page.

Case result

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

How fast do you need to act after a cruise ship arrest?

Act within hours, not days. The table below shows the timeline our attorneys work against in a typical terminal arrest in Hillsborough County.

Frequently asked questions

Can you bring CBD gummies on a cruise leaving Tampa?

No, because major cruise lines, including Carnival and Norwegian, list CBD and THC products as prohibited items even when they are legal in Florida. The Brancato Law Firm defends passengers whose hemp or CBD products were flagged at the terminal, starting with whether the product actually exceeds Florida’s 0.3 percent delta-9 THC limit under section 581.217, Florida Statutes.

Does a Florida medical marijuana card protect you on a cruise ship?

No, because Florida’s medical marijuana law does not protect use on public transportation, cruise lines ban medical marijuana, and federal law does not recognize state medical cards. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm still use a valid card, and the dispensary records behind it, as mitigation when a card holder is charged at the terminal.

What happens if customs finds marijuana when a cruise returns to Tampa?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection can seize the marijuana and refer the case for federal prosecution, impose a federal civil penalty of up to $10,000, or turn the passenger over to local law enforcement. The Brancato Law Firm handles the cases that are referred to Hillsborough County state court and can explain the options when customs is involved.

Can cruise ship security search my cabin without a warrant?

Yes, in most cases, because cruise line security is private, ticket contracts typically allow searches, and customs officers can search at the border without a warrant. When a deputy or customs officer goes beyond those limits, The Brancato Law Firm challenges the search in a motion to suppress.

Can marijuana charges from a Tampa cruise terminal be dropped?

Yes, prosecutors can drop or dismiss cruise terminal drug charges when the lab cannot prove the substance is illegal, when possession of shared luggage cannot be proven, or when key statements are suppressed. The Brancato Law Firm represented a husband and wife arrested on felony possession charges at a Port Tampa Bay terminal in 2026, and the State Attorney’s Office filed no charges against either one. Our Tampa drug crimes defense lawyer page explains how we build these cases.

Do I have to come back to Florida for court after a cruise terminal arrest?

It depends on the charge and the judge, since some court dates can be handled through your attorney while others require you to appear in person or by video. The Brancato Law Firm asks the court at first appearance to let out-of-state clients go home and to handle as much of the case through counsel as the court allows.

For a look at how jurisdiction works when something happens at sea, see our analysis of which laws applied in the Disney cruise overboard incident.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our step-by-step guide to what happens in a Florida criminal case.

Arrested at a Tampa cruise terminal? Call before first appearance

The best time to call is while your loved one is still at the terminal or being booked, before first appearance. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, defends cruise passengers charged in Hillsborough County, and we can be mobilized and ready for first appearance. Call (813) 727-7159. You can call us at any hour, and our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

A Florida judge expects the person whose case is called to be ready, focused, and able to speak with a lawyer at a moment’s notice, and a restless toddler makes all three harder. I have watched that play out for more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms, including as the former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and our attorneys plan childcare with clients the same way we plan the hearing itself.

Are Children Allowed in Court in Florida?

Children are allowed in Florida courthouses, but whether they are allowed in a particular courtroom depends on the judge. Courthouses are public buildings, and most criminal hearings are open to the public. Inside the courtroom, though, the judge controls decorum, and Florida’s court rules give the chief judge of each circuit authority to regulate the use of all court facilities under Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.215(b)(7). Some judges bar children from the courtroom entirely; others allow them as long as they stay quiet.

Every person entering a Hillsborough County courthouse through a public door is subject to search under the 13th Judicial Circuit’s Administrative Order S-2026-047 on courthouse security, which took effect September 22, 2026, and that includes children and anything in a diaper bag. Leave scissors, toy weapons, and anything sharp at home. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm tell clients to arrive at least 30 minutes early, because a security line with a child moves slower.

Why We Do Not Recommend Bringing Your Child to Court

We do not recommend it because the courtroom is the wrong place for a child and the worst place for you to be distracted. There are four practical reasons:

Courtrooms can be frightening for children even on a good day. Depending on the docket, a child may hear details of violent or sexual allegations in other cases, see people in jail uniforms, and absorb the stress you are feeling. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm would rather solve the childcare problem a week early than have a client manage it in the gallery.

What Happens If You Are Taken Into Custody With Your Child in Court?

If you are taken into custody while your child is at the courthouse, officers have to place your child with a responsible adult, and if none can be found, the child can be taken into custody by law enforcement or the Department of Children and Families. Under section 39.401, Florida Statutes, an officer may take a child into custody when the child has no parent, legal custodian, or responsible adult relative immediately known and available to provide supervision and care. That is the outcome every parent wants to avoid.

In a criminal case, custody at the end of a hearing is a real possibility. A judge can revoke a bond after a violation, a sentencing can include jail, and a probation violation hearing can end with the person held. Research shows what witnessing that does to a child. In a 2010 study of 1,869 children in the child welfare system, published in Children and Youth Services Review, Susan Phillips and Jian Zhao found that witnessing a household member’s arrest predicted elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms, and about 1 in 4 children who witnessed an arrest and had a recently arrested parent showed those symptoms (study abstract). If there is any chance of custody at your hearing, our attorneys will tell you in advance so you can plan. Our guide to bond hearings in Tampa explains when release conditions are at stake.

How Many Hillsborough Parents Face This Problem?

Many. In 2024, Hillsborough County had 177,139 households with one or more people under 18, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (table DP02). The same survey counted 31,475 households headed by a woman with no spouse or partner present and children of her own under 18, and 6,009 such households headed by a man. Single parents in particular often have no second adult who can take the morning off, which is why The Brancato Law Firm raises childcare at the first meeting about any court date.

How Do I Find Out If My Judge Allows Children?

Check the judge’s published courtroom procedures first. Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.215(f) requires every judge who sets practices or procedures that apply only in that judge’s courtroom to publish them on the circuit’s website. The Florida Supreme Court added that requirement in In re Amendments to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.215, 382 So. 3d 592 (Fla. 2023), an order effective January 1, 2024, that the Court said was meant to give litigants transparent and ready access to each judge’s procedures. If your judge bars children, that rule should be posted.

1. Find your judge’s division on the 13th Judicial Circuit website (for Hillsborough County) and open the judge’s posted procedures.
2. Look for posted rules on or near the courtroom door when you arrive.
3. Ask your attorney, who usually knows how a particular judge handles children in the gallery.
4. If you have no lawyer and cannot find the answer online, call the judge’s judicial assistant before the hearing date.

I Have Court but No Babysitter. What Should I Do?

Start planning as soon as you get the court date, and call your lawyer if the plan falls through. Missing court is far worse than an awkward morning: under section 843.15, Florida Statutes, willfully failing to appear after release on a felony charge is a third-degree felony, and failing to appear on a misdemeanor charge is a first-degree misdemeanor, on top of the bond forfeiture and a likely warrant. These options usually work:

• Ask a relative, friend, or neighbor to watch your child for the morning; most hearings run a few hours, not a full day.
• Use a drop-in daycare or a babysitter booked for the specific date.
• Check whether your child’s school or daycare offers extended or before-school care that covers the hearing time.
• Tell your lawyer early. Your attorney may be able to ask for a different time, request a continuance, or tell you whether the hearing type allows the lawyer to appear without you.
• Have a backup adult on call who can come to the courthouse and pick up your child if anything goes wrong.

Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm ask about childcare when we schedule, so the problem surfaces while there is still time to fix it.

If You Have No Other Choice, How Should You Bring Your Child?

If every option has fallen through and you must bring your child, prepare for a short, quiet stay and an early exit:

1. Confirm the judge allows children before you leave home.
2. Bring quiet activities: books, coloring supplies, or a tablet with headphones, and nothing sharp that security will take.
3. Talk to your child about behavior before you walk in.
4. Sit near the door so you can step out quickly.
5. Bring a second adult if you can, and have someone on call who can take your child if the judge asks or if you are held.

Dress for court as you would without your child; our guide on what to wear to court covers that in detail.

Can I Bring My Child to Court for a Traffic Ticket?

It depends on the kind of traffic case. For most civil traffic tickets in Florida, you may not need to go to court at all: under section 318.14, Florida Statutes, a person cited for a noncriminal infraction can pay the civil penalty or enter a payment plan within 30 days, which counts as an admission and waives the hearing, and many drivers can elect a basic driver improvement course instead of appearing. If you choose a hearing, the same courtroom rules about children apply.

Criminal traffic charges are different. Driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, leaving the scene, and DUI are criminal cases with required court dates, and our Tampa criminal traffic lawyer page explains how those cases proceed. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm can sometimes handle routine settings so a client does not miss work or need childcare.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bringing Children to Court

Are babies allowed in courtrooms in Florida?

Babies are treated like any other child: the judge decides. The Brancato Law Firm advises parents of infants to plan childcare, because a crying baby is the most common reason a judge asks a parent to step out.

Can a minor attend a court hearing as a spectator in Florida?

Often yes, because most criminal hearings are open to the public, but the judge can limit attendance to keep order or protect a witness. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check the judge’s posted procedures under Rule 2.215(f) before telling a family whether a teenager may watch.

What happens if I bring my child and the judge does not allow it?

The judge will usually ask you to leave the courtroom and make other arrangements, and your case may be passed, called later, or reset. The Brancato Law Firm can often keep the case moving while a client solves the childcare problem; see our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney page for how we handle court settings.

Can my child come with me to visit a family member in the Hillsborough County jail?

Jail visitation has its own rules, separate from courtroom rules, set by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. The Brancato Law Firm explains how to locate someone in custody in our guide to the Hillsborough County jail inmate search.

My child’s school is closed on my court date. Can I bring my child?

A school closure does not change the judge’s courtroom policy, so you still need childcare. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm ask clients to flag school holidays when we schedule so we can plan around them.

Can I appear in court remotely instead of bringing my child?

Sometimes, depending on the hearing type and the judge’s procedures, but you should never assume a remote appearance is allowed. The Brancato Law Firm checks the judge’s posted procedures and, where the rules allow it, asks the court in advance so a client is not marked absent.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our stage-by-stage guide to the Florida criminal case process.

Talk to a Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney About Your Court Date

Tell us your court date and your childcare situation, and we will build a plan around both. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, can be reached at (813) 727-7159; call before your court date, not on the morning of it. Call us at any hour; our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read our guide for criminal defense in Spanish and Haitian Creole in Tampa.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

Most trespass cases are decided by a question the arrest report rarely answers: who told the person to leave, and did that person have the authority to say it? I have watched that question decide cases for more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and the former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys. On every trespass case, our attorneys pull the warning, the posting, and the written authorization behind them before we advise a client on anything else.

What Counts as Trespass Under Florida Law?

Florida law treats trespass as two separate crimes: trespass in a structure or conveyance, and trespass on property other than a structure or conveyance. Under section 810.08, Florida Statutes, a person commits trespass in a structure or conveyance by willfully entering or remaining in a building or vehicle without being authorized, licensed, or invited, or by refusing to leave after the owner, the lessee, or a person they authorized warns the person to depart. Under section 810.09, Florida Statutes, trespass on land requires one more element: notice against entering, given in person or by posting, fencing, or cultivation. The only exception is the unenclosed curtilage of a home, where entering with intent to commit another crime is enough.

Florida’s definitions in section 810.011 are broad. A structure is any building with a roof, temporary or permanent, together with its curtilage. A conveyance is any motor vehicle, ship, vessel, railroad car, trailer, aircraft, or sleeping car. During a state of emergency declared by the Governor, such as the declarations that follow a hurricane, a damaged building still counts as a structure for trespass purposes even if walls or a roof are gone, which matters in Tampa Bay after every storm season.

The word “willfully” carries weight in both statutes. A person who walks through an unmarked side door believing it is open to the public, or who never heard a warning, did not willfully trespass. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm look first at what the client knew and when, because the State has to prove that knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt. Our approach to trespass and other property charges in Tampa is described on our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney page.

What Is Trespass After Warning in Florida?

“Trespass after warning” is the common name for staying on, or coming back to, property after the owner or an authorized person has told you to leave. Florida has no separate statute with that title. The charge is filed under section 810.08 when the place is a building or vehicle, and under section 810.09 when it is land, such as a parking lot. Defying an order to leave that was personally communicated to you makes trespass on land a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail.

The warning has to come from the right person. Section 810.09(3) defines an authorized person as the owner, the owner’s agent, a community association acting as the owner’s agent, or a law enforcement officer whose department has received written authorization to communicate an order to leave. Section 810.08(3) uses a similar definition for buildings. The Brancato Law Firm treats that written authorization as a document to be produced and tested in every case where an officer, not the owner, gave the warning.

In Tampa, that written authorization is often a Trespass Affidavit. The Tampa Police Department Trespass Affidavit Program lets a property owner sign a notarized form (TPD Form 127) that allows any Tampa Police officer to act as the owner’s representative, warn people to leave, and arrest people who refuse. TPD’s program page also says the owner must file a new affidavit when management, contact numbers, or the subpoena address change, and that if the department or court cannot contact the owner or agent, prosecution will not be pursued. When our attorneys take a Tampa trespass case, we request the affidavit and check who signed it, when, and whether anyone at that business can still be reached to testify.

Smith v. State: a blanket authorization is not a warning

Smith v. State, 778 So. 2d 329 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) is the leading local case on this issue. Two St. Petersburg officers watched Reginald Smith walk around the parking lot of a 24-hour convenience store for about ten minutes, talking to customers. The owner had signed a blanket authorization for police to issue trespass warnings at the store, but no one, not the owner, an employee, or an officer, had ever told Smith to leave. The officers arrested him for trespass and found drugs in the search that followed.

The Second District Court of Appeal, which hears appeals from Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, reversed. The court held that a store open to the public extends an implied invitation to enter, and that actual communication is necessary to withdraw it. A “No Trespassing” sign on the store wall was not statutory posting of the parking lot. Because no trespass occurred in the officers’ presence, the arrest was illegal, the drugs were suppressed, and Smith was discharged. The lesson reaches past trespass: when an arrest for trespass is unlawful, the evidence found after it can be thrown out with a motion to suppress, and the same missing-warning problem can defeat the trespass charge itself at trial.

How Often Do Trespass Arrests Happen in Hillsborough County?

Trespass and burglary charges are a routine part of Hillsborough County’s criminal docket. In 2025, Hillsborough County jail bookings reported to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement carried 4,859 charges under Florida’s Burglary and Trespass chapter (Chapter 810), out of 79,626 charges booked in the county that year, according to FDLE’s Criminal Justice Data Transparency County Detention Arrest Report. FDLE’s report groups trespass with burglary under that chapter heading, so the figure covers both offenses, and our firm defends clients on both sides of that line.

Researchers have documented why trespass warnings produce so many arrests. In “Penal Boundaries: Banishment and the Expansion of Punishment,” published in Law & Social Inquiry in 2010, University of Washington researchers Katherine Beckett and Steve Herbert studied trespass admonishments, parks exclusion orders, and similar orders in Seattle (University of Washington summary and full text). They found that these warnings let police act as agents of property owners, and that a civil warning becomes a criminal case the moment the person returns. Our attorneys see the same pattern in Tampa: the warning is issued in seconds, and the arrest comes weeks or months later on a return visit.

How Long Does a Trespass Warning Last in Florida?

Florida’s trespass statutes do not set an expiration date for a trespass warning. A warning from a private owner generally stays in effect until the owner withdraws it, which is why a ban from a store or apartment complex can still be enforced a year or more later. Tampa Police Department’s program page says an owner who wants to end the department’s role as agent must notify the department in writing. The Brancato Law Firm still examines old warnings closely, because the State must prove the person received the warning, and proof of a conversation that happened long ago is often thin.

Warnings issued by a government agency for public property can carry their own limits. The St. Petersburg ordinance reviewed in Catron v. City of St. Petersburg in 2011 capped city trespass warnings at one year for a first violation and two years for later ones. That case is discussed in the next section.

Can You Be Trespassed From Public Property in Florida?

Yes, a government agency can trespass a person from public property, but the person giving the warning must have authority over that property, and the warning cannot be used without limits. Two cases set the boundaries that matter most in Tampa Bay.

In Catron v. City of St. Petersburg, 658 F.3d 1260 (11th Cir. 2011), four homeless residents challenged a St. Petersburg ordinance that let police and city employees issue trespass warnings excluding people from city parks and other city property, with no procedure to contest the warning. One plaintiff received a warning for “all city parks” that was to last “permanently.” The Eleventh Circuit held that people have a protected liberty interest in being on public land open to the general public, and that the plaintiffs had stated a procedural due process claim because the ordinance gave them no way to challenge a warning. The court also allowed a claim under the Florida Constitution’s right to intrastate travel to proceed.

In D.J. v. State, 67 So. 3d 1029 (Fla. 2011), a security guard at a Miami-Dade middle school told a juvenile who was not a student to leave, and he was arrested when he came back the next day. The Florida Supreme Court vacated his conviction under section 810.097, Florida Statutes, holding that the identity and authority of the person who gave the warning, the principal or the principal’s designee, are essential elements the State must prove. The State had offered no evidence that the guard was the principal’s designee. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm apply the same reasoning to warnings given at parks, libraries, transit centers, and other public places in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.

What Are the Penalties for Trespass in Florida?

Trespass penalties in Florida range from a second-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, depending on the place, whether anyone was inside, and whether the person was armed. The maximum jail terms come from section 775.082 and the maximum fines from section 775.083: up to 60 days and $500 for a second-degree misdemeanor, up to 1 year and $1,000 for a first-degree misdemeanor, and up to 5 years and $5,000 for a third-degree felony. The Brancato Law Firm reviews every enhancement in the charging document, because each one is an element the State must prove.

The armed enhancement applies when the person is armed with a firearm or other dangerous weapon during the trespass, or arms himself or herself while inside a structure. For armed trespass only, the statutes let an owner or authorized person detain the suspect in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time, and they must call law enforcement as soon as practicable. The construction-site felony has its own sign rule: a site larger than one acre must be legally posted with a felony warning, and a site of one acre or less needs a sign with letters at least 2 inches high placed where the construction permits are posted.

What Does “Posted” Mean Under Florida Trespass Law?

Posted land under section 810.011(5), Florida Statutes, is land with “No Trespassing” signs placed not more than 500 feet apart along the boundaries and at each corner, with letters at least 2 inches high, showing the name of the owner, lessee, or occupant, and placed so they are clearly noticeable from outside the boundary. Fenced land counts as notice if the fence is of substantial construction and at least 3 feet high. Cultivated land counts if it has been cleared and planted with a crop, orchard, grove, pasture, or trees, or is fallow as part of a crop rotation. All of these figures come from the 2026 Florida Statutes.

Defective posting is one of the most practical defenses in a land-trespass case. A single sign on a building, a sign with no owner name, or a gap of more than 500 feet between signs may not satisfy the statute, and Smith shows that even a compliant sign may not withdraw the invitation to an open business’s parking lot. Under section 810.12, entering land that is properly enclosed and posted is prima facie evidence of intent to trespass, so our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm measure, photograph, and document the posting before the property owner fixes it.

What Is the Difference Between Trespass and Burglary in Florida?

The difference is intent. Under section 810.02, Florida Statutes, burglary is entering a dwelling, structure, or conveyance with the intent to commit an offense inside, unless the premises are open to the public or the person is licensed or invited to enter. Trespass requires no intent to commit any other crime. That single element can be the difference between a misdemeanor and a burglary charge that can carry up to life in prison, so The Brancato Law Firm treats every burglary charge as a possible trespass case. Our guide to what burglary is in Florida covers the burglary side in detail.

Trespass also sits next to other charges prosecutors add to the same arrest. Hanging around a closed business at night may be charged as loitering and prowling, damage to a gate or fence may add criminal mischief, and taking anything from the property can bring a theft charge.

What Is Possession of Burglary Tools in Florida?

Possession of burglary tools under section 810.06, Florida Statutes is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, and it applies to tools intended for a trespass as well as a burglary. The statute requires proof that the person had the tool, machine, or implement with intent to use it, or allow it to be used, to commit a burglary or trespass. A screwdriver, a pry bar, or bolt cutters are ordinary tools with lawful uses, so the State usually relies on circumstantial evidence of intent. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm challenge that inference with the client’s work history, receipts, and the reason the tools were in the vehicle.

Can You Use Force Against a Trespasser in Florida?

Florida allows non-deadly force against a trespasser in limited circumstances and allows deadly force only to prevent a forcible felony. Under section 776.031, Florida Statutes, a person may use or threaten force, other than deadly force, when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent or end a trespass on real property other than a dwelling, if the property is lawfully in that person’s possession, a family or household member’s possession, or the possession of someone he or she has a legal duty to protect. Deadly force is justified only when the person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A trespass by itself is not a forcible felony.

Different rules apply when someone unlawfully and forcibly enters an occupied home or vehicle. Our guide to self-defense in Florida explains how those rules work, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm defend both people charged with trespass and property owners charged after using force against a trespasser.

How Do Our Attorneys Fight a Trespass Charge in Tampa?

Our attorneys fight a trespass charge by testing each element in the order the State has to prove it. These are the questions we answer first, and each one can end a case:

1. Who gave the warning? We identify the person by name. A report that says only that the defendant “had been trespassed” does not prove who gave the warning.
2. Did that person have authority? We demand the owner’s written authorization or the Tampa Police Trespass Affidavit when an officer gave the warning, and we check whether a school warning came from the principal or a designee under D.J.
3. Was notice actually given? For land, we compare the signs, paint, and fencing to section 810.011. For an open business, we look for actual communication under Smith.
4. Was the entry willful? We look for open doors, missing signs, confusing boundaries, and anything showing the client believed he or she was allowed to be there.
5. Does the felony enhancement hold up? We test whether the object was a firearm or dangerous weapon and whether a construction site or other special site was posted exactly as the statute requires.
6. Is it really burglary? When the State charges burglary, we attack the intent element and argue for trespass as the correct offense, as we did at trial in the case described above.
7. Was the arrest legal? In most trespass cases, a warrantless misdemeanor arrest requires the offense to occur in the officer’s presence. If it did not, we move to suppress anything found afterward.

Can Trespass Charges Be Dropped in Florida?

Yes. Trespass charges can be dropped when the State cannot prove the warning, the authority behind it, or proper notice, and many first-time trespass cases resolve without a conviction. The State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit can decline to file a charge, file a nolle prosequi (a formal dismissal) after charges are filed, or offer pretrial diversion to an eligible first-time offender, which ends in dismissal when the program is completed. When a case is resolved by plea, a withhold of adjudication means the person is not formally convicted.

The earliest opportunity comes before charges are filed. A misdemeanor trespass arrest in Tampa often starts with a notice to appear or a short jail stay, and the prosecutor’s filing decision comes later. Through our representation before charges are filed, The Brancato Law Firm can present the missing-warning problem, the property owner’s position, and the client’s background to the assigned prosecutor before a formal charge is filed.

What Should You Do After a Trespass Warning or Arrest?

After a trespass warning or arrest, protect the evidence and stay away from the property. Store surveillance systems record over old footage, employees change jobs, and the person who gave the warning may not remember it months later. These steps help our attorneys build the defense:

• Do not return to the property, even to apologize or pick up belongings; a return visit is how most trespass-after-warning cases start.
• Write down who gave the warning, what was said, the date and time, and who else was present.
• Keep any written trespass notice, citation, notice to appear, or property receipt.
• Photograph the entrances, signs, gates, and fences from the spot where you entered, as soon as you safely can.
• Do not discuss the incident with the property owner, security staff, or police without a lawyer.
• Note your first court date and call a defense attorney before it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Trespass in Florida

Is trespassing a felony or a misdemeanor in Florida?

Trespassing is usually a misdemeanor in Florida, and it becomes a third-degree felony when the person is armed or the property is a construction site or other site posted with a felony warning. The Brancato Law Firm checks every felony trespass charge for an enhancement the State cannot prove, which can reduce the case to a misdemeanor. Our Tampa trespass defense work covers both levels.

Can I be arrested for trespassing if there was no sign in Florida?

Yes, you can be arrested for trespassing without a sign if you entered a building without permission or were told in person to leave and refused. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm compare the posting to section 810.011 in every land-trespass case, because land without proper signs, fencing, or cultivation requires a personal warning before trespass on that land is a crime, except in a home’s curtilage when the person intends another crime.

Can a store ban me for life in Florida?

A private business can withdraw its invitation and tell you not to return, and Florida’s trespass statutes set no expiration date for that warning. The Brancato Law Firm looks at whether the warning was actually given to you by the owner or an authorized person, because Smith v. State shows that a blanket authorization alone is not a warning.

Can police trespass me from a public park in Tampa Bay?

Yes, an authorized government official can issue a trespass warning for public property, but the warning must come from someone with authority over that property, and in Catron v. City of St. Petersburg the Eleventh Circuit held that a city ordinance giving people no way to challenge a warning stated a due process claim. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm defend park, library, and transit trespass cases in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties; see our Pinellas County criminal defense page for St. Petersburg and Clearwater cases.

Can a trespass charge be dropped if the property owner does not want to prosecute?

The owner’s wishes matter, but the decision to drop a trespass charge belongs to the State Attorney’s Office, not the owner. The Brancato Law Firm contacts the owner or manager when appropriate and presents that position to the prosecutor, which is especially effective through pre-file advocacy before a charge is formally filed.

Will a trespass charge show up on a background check in Florida?

Yes, a trespass arrest appears on a Florida criminal history even if the case is later dropped. When the case ends in a dismissal, a nolle prosequi, or a withhold of adjudication, the person may be eligible to seal or expunge the record under Florida’s eligibility rules, and The Brancato Law Firm builds that goal into how we resolve the case.

How much does a trespass lawyer cost in Tampa?

The cost of a trespass lawyer in Tampa depends on whether the charge is a misdemeanor or a felony, whether other charges were filed with it, and whether the case goes to trial. The Brancato Law Firm offers a free, confidential consultation and quotes a fee after reviewing the charging document and the warning evidence. Call (813) 727-7159.

Talk to a Tampa Trespass Defense Attorney

Every trespass case has a short window to save the evidence that wins it: the video, the sign, and the name of the person who gave the warning. Call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, at (813) 727-7159 before your first court date, and our attorneys will start by identifying who gave the warning and whether that person had the authority to give it. Call us at any hour; our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read our guide for Spanish-speaking criminal defense clients in Tampa.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If you are planning a night at a Tampa strip club, or you are reading this after an arrest at one, the rules that decide your case are more specific than most people expect, and many of them are city ordinances that visitors have never heard of. I am Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I handled sex crimes cases in the Major Crimes Unit, I am the former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys, and I have spent more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms.

Our attorneys defend patrons, dancers, and club employees charged with lewdness, solicitation, indecent exposure, and related offenses in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties. This guide explains what the Tampa City Code and Florida law actually say about strip clubs, what changed in 2024, and how strip club arrests in Tampa usually happen. For escort and online stings, see our separate guide to Tampa escort stings.

Are strip clubs legal in Florida and in Tampa?

Yes. Strip clubs are legal in Florida, and Tampa allows them as long as they follow the city’s location, alcohol, and conduct rules. Nude dancing is expressive conduct that the First Amendment protects at its outer edges, so a city cannot simply ban it. What a city can do is regulate the “secondary effects” it associates with adult businesses, such as crime and declining property values, through zoning and conduct rules.

Tampa does that in two main ways. First, an adult use needs a special use permit, and Tampa City Code section 27-132 bars any adult use within 500 feet of a residential or office district or within 1,000 feet of another adult use, with no waivers, and requires windows and doors to be screened so no one can see inside from the street. A federal court upheld those location rules in Specialty Malls of Tampa v. City of Tampa, 916 F. Supp. 1222 (M.D. Fla. 1996), a challenge to the city’s adult use location rules. The court found the city’s evidence showed 72 available sites totaling 5,364 acres, more than 7.5 percent of the city’s land, which it held was a reasonable opportunity to operate. Second, the city regulates what happens inside, which is where patrons and dancers get arrested.

The secondary-effects theory is contested. A peer-reviewed study of 20 adult dance clubs in Charlotte, North Carolina, published by Daniel Linz and colleagues in the Law & Society Review in 2004, compared crime reports from 1998 to 2000 within 500 and 1,000 feet of each club with matched control sites and found the clubs were not associated with more crime; the areas around the clubs reported fewer incidents. Courts still allow cities to rely on their own findings, so the Tampa rules below remain enforceable, and our attorneys can use that research when a prosecution leans on assumptions about who goes to these clubs.

What is Tampa’s six-foot rule for strip clubs?

Tampa’s six-foot rule makes it unlawful for anyone inside an adult use to expose a specified anatomical area or engage in a specified sexual activity within six feet of another person. The rule is Tampa City Code section 14-148, part of the adult use entertainer distance separation ordinance the city adopted in December 1999. In practice, it rules out the contact lap dance inside Tampa city limits.

The definitions matter, because they decide what counts. “Specified anatomical areas” are genitals, the pubic region, buttocks, and the female breast below the top of the areola when less than completely and opaquely covered. “Specified sexual activities” include simulated sex acts and the “fondling or other erotic touching” of genitals, the pubic region, buttocks, or female breasts. Dressing rooms and restrooms are exempt only when no one intentionally touches another person’s specified areas.

• The rule applies to every person in the club, so a patron who touches a dancer can be charged along with the dancer.
• An owner or operator who knowingly, or with reason to know, allows a violation also violates the ordinance.
• Every adult club must post an 18-by-24-inch sign inside and outside quoting the rule, which makes “I did not know” a hard defense.

A violation is punished under the city’s general penalty, Tampa City Code section 1-6: a fine of up to $500, up to 60 days in jail, up to six months of probation, or a combination. Our Tampa sex crimes lawyer team defends six-foot rule charges, which can be filed on their own or alongside state lewdness or solicitation charges that carry heavier penalties.

Can a Tampa strip club serve alcohol and allow nudity?

No. Inside Tampa city limits, a business that sells alcohol for drinking on the premises may not allow nudity, and that includes toplessness. Tampa City Code section 14-97 makes it unlawful for the operator to permit any woman to expose “that area of the human breast at or below the areola,” or anyone to expose genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or the anal cleft, and makes the same exposure unlawful for the performer. It also bans any device or covering meant to simulate those areas.

Under that rule, a club inside the city has two lawful models: a bar that sells alcohol with covered dancers, or a nude club that does not sell alcohol. An earlier version of this article said topless dancing is allowed where alcohol is served; that is not accurate for clubs inside the City of Tampa, and we have corrected it. A conviction of an owner, manager, or employee under section 14-97 also gives the city just cause to revoke the business’s city license, and a revoked club must wait at least six months and go through a City Council hearing before it can be licensed again.

Alcohol brings its own rules. Under Tampa City Code section 14-150.1, licensed establishments may sell and serve alcohol only from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m., and patrons may not drink or keep a drink after hours. Anyone under 21 who possesses alcohol commits a second-degree misdemeanor under section 562.111, Florida Statutes.

How old do you have to be to dance or work at a strip club in Florida?

You must be at least 21 to dance or work in any capacity at an adult entertainment establishment in Florida. Section 787.30, Florida Statutes, created by House Bill 7063, signed May 13, 2024, and effective July 1, 2024, makes it a first-degree misdemeanor for an owner, manager, employee, or contractor to knowingly employ, contract with, or permit anyone younger than 21 to perform or work there. If the underage person performs or works while nude, the offense is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The statute requires the club to check a driver license, state ID, passport, or military ID, and it bars ignorance of age, or the worker’s misrepresentation of age, as a defense.

The Legislature passed the age limit as part of an anti-human-trafficking bill. In calendar year 2023, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement received 1,955 calls to its See Something, Say Something phone line, and 181 of the calls made between January 10 and December 11, 2023 were related to human trafficking, according to the Florida House final bill analysis of HB 7063 (2024). A separate statute, section 787.29, already required every strip club to post a human trafficking awareness sign that employees and the public can see.

Is the under-21 law being challenged? Not anymore. An Alachua County club, a Jacksonville club, an adult store, and a dancer sued in federal court in Tallahassee on July 1, 2024, in JCB of Gainesville, Inc. v. Moody, No. 4:24-cv-00261 (N.D. Fla.), and the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case without prejudice; it closed on May 28, 2025. The dismissal followed Wacko’s Too, Inc. v. City of Jacksonville, 134 F.4th 1178 (11th Cir. 2025), in which the federal appeals court that covers Florida upheld a Jacksonville ordinance that effectively barred erotic dancers under 21. The court treated the age limit as a content-neutral regulation, held that it survived intermediate scrutiny, and also rejected a challenge to Jacksonville’s licensing process for dancers 21 and older. The Florida law remains in effect.

For patrons, Florida has no single statute that sets an entry age for a strip club. Section 847.013 makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to knowingly admit a minor for money to a show that depicts nudity and is harmful to minors, unless a parent accompanies the minor, and the alcohol laws set 21 as the drinking age. Each club sets its own door policy, so expect an ID check.

Do dancers need a license to work at a strip club in Hillsborough County?

Yes, under Hillsborough County’s ordinance. Florida has no statewide dancer license, but Hillsborough County’s sexually oriented business ordinance makes it unlawful to operate a sexually oriented business without a business license, or to work as an employee of one without a sexually oriented business employee license, under Hillsborough County Code section 10-196. Applicants file in person, provide proof of age, and disclose specified criminal history.

The county ordinance has its own conduct rule: an employee who regularly appears semi-nude may not knowingly or intentionally touch a customer or the customer’s clothing, under section 10-210. A knowing violation is punishable by a fine of $250 to $500, up to 60 days in the county jail, or both, under section 10-208. Which rules govern a particular club depends on where it sits, so the first thing our attorneys do in a club case is identify the ordinance that applies at that address.

What can patrons and dancers be charged with at a Tampa strip club?

Strip club charges in Tampa generally fall into five groups: city ordinance violations, lewdness, solicitation, indecent exposure, and charges that follow a person out the door, such as DUI or trespass. The table shows the first-offense level and the maximum penalty for a first offense.

Lewdness is the charge that surprises people most. Section 796.07, Florida Statutes, defines lewdness as “any indecent or obscene act,” and it makes it a crime for an adult to offer to commit, commit, or engage in lewdness, and a separate crime to solicit or entice another person to do so. The solicitation penalties climb fast: a second violation is a third-degree felony with a 10-day minimum jail term, and a third is a second-degree felony, with the maximum terms set by section 775.082. Our guide Is Prostitution Legal in Florida? walks through the full penalty ladder.

Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal addressed lap dances directly in State v. Waller, 621 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). Undercover officers from the Clearwater Police Department said a dancer at a Clearwater lounge gave an officer a five-dollar private lap dance, simulating intercourse and rubbing against his genital area while he was fully clothed. The court held that lewdness under section 796.07 includes indecent acts and is not limited to obscenity, and that whether her dance was lewd was a question for a jury, not something to decide on a motion to dismiss. The lesson for anyone charged today is that lewdness turns on facts: what was touched, where, for how long, and who saw it. Our Pinellas County criminal defense team handles these cases on both sides of the bay.

A private room does not change the analysis. In State v. Conforti, 688 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), an undercover officer paid for a “two female entertainment package” in a closed private room at a Broward County adult business, and two dancers performed sex acts during the show. The trial court dismissed the lewdness charges, but the appeals court reinstated them, holding that the acts were not protected expression and that the dancers had no legitimate expectation of privacy in a business open to paying customers. VIP rooms and champagne rooms are where many of these cases start.

Exposure is a separate statute. Section 800.03, Florida Statutes, makes it a crime to expose sexual organs in public “in a vulgar or indecent manner,” but it exempts a person who is “merely naked” at a place set apart for that purpose. That exception gives a performer on a club stage a defense that does not exist on a street corner, and it is one of the first issues our attorneys examine in an exposure case.

How do strip club arrests usually happen in Tampa?

Strip club arrests in Tampa tend to start in one of five ways: an undercover vice investigation inside the club, an offer made in a private room, drugs, a dispute that turns physical or ends with a refusal to leave, or a traffic stop after the patron drives away. In 2025 the Florida Attorney General announced the conviction of the owner of Risque Gentlemen’s Club in Tampa for racketeering, cocaine trafficking, and money laundering after a Tampa Police undercover investigation in which detectives bought drugs from dancers and employees and received offers for commercial sex acts, according to the Attorney General’s April 23, 2025 news release.

1. Undercover officers inside the club. Detectives pose as customers, pay for dances, and document touching, offers, and prices. The officer’s report, any recording, and the club’s own video become the evidence.
2. Private room offers. A conversation about “extras” in a VIP room can become a solicitation or offering charge under section 796.07, even when nothing physical happens.
3. Drug sales and possession. Club investigations often include controlled buys, and a patron searched later may face a possession charge.
4. Fights, theft accusations, and trespass. Disputes over tabs, tips, or a wallet lead to battery, theft, or trespass charges once staff tell a patron to leave and he refuses.
5. DUI on the way home. Many arrests connected to Tampa strip clubs happen blocks away, not inside: drivers leaving after midnight are stopped and charged with DUI. Our Tampa DUI lawyer page and our Hillsborough County DUI arrest timeline explain what follows.

Escort ads, online chats, and street reverse stings are a different kind of case with different evidence, and we cover them in Tampa Escort Stings: How Prostitution Arrests Happen. When a club investigation reaches trafficking, the charges move into chapter 787 and the exposure becomes a felony; our Tampa human trafficking defense guide covers those cases.

What should you do if you are arrested at or near a Tampa strip club?

Ask for a lawyer, then stop talking about what happened in the club. In Hillsborough County, a person arrested in Tampa is booked at the Orient Road Jail and sees a judge at first appearance within 24 hours, appearing by video from the jail while the judge sits downtown; our guide to the first 48 hours after an arrest in Tampa explains that hearing. Jail phone calls are recorded, and an explanation to an officer or a cellmate becomes evidence.

• Do not explain, apologize, or describe the dance or the conversation to officers.
• Do not consent to a search of your phone, car, or wallet; say you do not consent and let your lawyer handle it.
• Write down the club, the time, the room, and the names or descriptions of staff and anyone who saw what happened, and give the notes only to your lawyer.
• Do not contact the dancer, the club, or other witnesses about the case.
• Keep your court paperwork and the date of your first court appearance.

If you were not arrested but learned that detectives are reviewing a club investigation, or you were identified in a raid, there may still be time for representation before charges are filed. Our attorneys contact the State Attorney’s Office early and press for no filing, a reduced charge, or diversion. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorneys handle these cases at the courthouse two blocks from our office.

Results in related cases

These results come from cases our firm handled involving related charges. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Frequently asked questions about Tampa strip club laws

Are lap dances legal in Tampa?

Contact lap dances are effectively illegal inside Tampa city limits because Tampa City Code section 14-148 bars exposure of specified areas and erotic touching within six feet of another person in an adult club. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm review the club’s video and the officer’s distance estimate in every six-foot case, because the ordinance turns on what was exposed and how close people were. See our sex crimes defense page for how we defend these charges.

How old do you have to be to go into a strip club in Tampa?

Florida has no single statute setting an entry age for patrons, so clubs set their own door policies, and anyone under 21 cannot legally possess alcohol under section 562.111. If a night out ends in an underage possession charge, The Brancato Law Firm can explain the diversion options that may keep it off a permanent record.

Can you record video inside a Tampa strip club?

A club can ban phones and cameras as a condition of entry, and a patron who refuses to leave after staff tell him to go can be charged with trespass under section 810.08. When a recording dispute turns into a trespass or battery arrest, The Brancato Law Firm looks first at the club’s own surveillance video, which can show who escalated.

What time do strip clubs close in Tampa?

A Tampa club that sells alcohol must stop selling and serving at 3:00 a.m. under Tampa City Code section 14-150.1, and patrons may not drink after that hour. When a night out ends in a DUI stop after closing time, The Brancato Law Firm starts by requesting the stop video and the breath test records.

Can a solicitation charge from a strip club be dropped in Florida?

Yes. Prosecutors can drop or reduce a strip club solicitation charge when the evidence of an offer of money for sex is weak, the recording is incomplete, or the defendant qualifies for diversion. The Brancato Law Firm presses for those outcomes before the first court date, and our pre-file advocacy work starts even earlier when no charge has been filed yet.

Is Mons Venus legal under Tampa law?

Any Tampa club, including well-known names such as Mons Venus, operates legally only by complying with the same rules: an adult use permit at an approved location, the six-foot rule, no nudity where alcohol is sold, and no performers under 21. When a patron or dancer is charged after a night at any Tampa club, The Brancato Law Firm focuses on whether the specific conduct charged actually violated one of those rules.

Talk to a Tampa defense lawyer before your first court date

Start by finding the first court date on your release paperwork and calling us before it arrives. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, defends lewdness, solicitation, exposure, and ordinance charges from Tampa Bay adult clubs, and our attorneys will request the officer’s report, any recordings, and the club’s video while that evidence still exists. Call (813) 727-7159 for a confidential consultation; you can call us at any hour, and our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Tampa Sex Crimes Lawyer page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

As founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and the former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys, I have guided thousands of clients through Hillsborough County courtrooms, and the judge always sees the client before hearing a word from anyone. In more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms, I have watched people arrive in gym shorts or smelling of marijuana, and I have watched some judges refuse to hear a case until the person changed clothes.

Our attorneys prepare every client for court with the same checklist: what to wear, what to bring, what to leave at home, and when to arrive. This guide shares that checklist, with the security rules that apply at the Hillsborough County courthouses in 2026.

What should you wear to court?

Wear clean, conservative clothes that fit: dress pants or khakis, a collared shirt or modest blouse, a knee-length skirt or dress if you prefer, and closed-toe shoes. A suit is the best choice, and no one expects you to buy one. The goal is that the judge notices your case and not your clothes, and plain, neutral colors such as navy, gray, black, and white do that best. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm tell clients to choose the outfit the night before, so the morning of court is spent getting there on time.

What should a man wear to a court hearing?

• Best: a suit and tie, or dress slacks with a button-down shirt and tie.
• Acceptable: khakis or dress pants with a collared polo shirt, or clean, dark jeans with a button-down shirt and a belt.
• Shoes: dress shoes, loafers, or clean boots.
• Grooming: shirt tucked in, pants at the waist, and hat off before you reach the courtroom door.

What should a woman wear to a court hearing?

• Best: a pantsuit or skirt suit, or a blouse with dress pants or a knee-length skirt.
• Acceptable: a modest dress at or below the knee, or clean, dark jeans with a conservative top and a cardigan.
• Shoes: flats, dress shoes, or modest heels you can walk and stand in for several hours.
• Avoid: tight, short, sheer, or low-cut clothing, and anything you would wear to a club or the beach.

Can you wear jeans to court?

Yes, you can usually wear jeans to court in Hillsborough County if they are clean, dark, free of rips and fading, and worn with a collared shirt or a modest top. Black jeans and dark-wash jeans work the same way. Dress pants or khakis make a better impression, so wear them if you own them, but do not miss court or show up late because you have only jeans.

Jeans become a problem when they are ripped, faded, baggy, sagging, or paired with a T-shirt and sneakers. The same rules apply to spectators, witnesses, and family members, because everyone in the courtroom is subject to the judge’s control of courtroom decorum. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm tell clients who are going to be sentenced, or who are testifying, to skip jeans entirely and wear the most formal outfit they have.

Can you wear sandals, flip-flops, or sneakers to court?

No, do not wear flip-flops, slides, or beach sandals to court, and treat sneakers as a last resort. Closed-toe shoes are the safe choice in every Hillsborough County courtroom, and flip-flops are one of the items judges most often single out. If the only alternatives are dress sandals or clean, plain sneakers, choose the plain sneakers and dress everything else up.

What should you not wear to court?

Do not wear anything that looks like beachwear, gym clothes, or a night out, and do not wear anything with words or images on it. The table below lists the items that cause the most trouble in Hillsborough County courtrooms and what to wear instead. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm would rather a client ask the night before than learn at the courtroom door that an outfit will not work.

You do not need to spend much money. Thrift stores, discount stores, and a relative who wears your size are all good sources for one plain court outfit. If money is the obstacle, tell your lawyer before the court date rather than skipping court, because missing court creates a far bigger problem than imperfect clothes.

Is there an official dress code for Hillsborough County courts?

Not in the circuit’s security rules: the courthouse security order does not set a dress code, so attire is left to the judge presiding in each courtroom, and in our experience most enforce a business-casual standard. The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit’s current courthouse security order, Administrative Order S-2026-047, entered by Chief Judge Christopher C. Sabella on August 19, 2026 and effective September 22, 2026, governs searches and weapons and says nothing about clothing. That leaves attire to the presiding judge, which is why one courtroom may tolerate what another will not.

Judges have a dress code of their own. Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.340 requires that robes worn by a judge during any judicial proceeding be solid black with no embellishment. Lawyers are expected to wear business attire, and our Hillsborough County defense attorneys dress for every hearing as if it were a jury trial.

The same standard applies to anyone who comes to support you. Spectators, witnesses, and family members sit in the same courtroom and answer to the same judge, so a guest in sandals and a tank top can be asked to leave. Parents who are thinking about bringing a child should first read our guide Can I Bring My Child to Court?

Does what you wear to court affect the outcome?

What you wear can affect how a judge or jury sees you, and research supports what courtroom lawyers have long believed. In a 2025 study in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, Kylene L. Street and colleagues gave community members an assault trial summary in which the defendant wore either a dress suit or an orange prison jumpsuit; participants rated the jumpsuit-clad defendant as more aggressive, and that impression indirectly led to more guilty verdicts. Clothing does not decide a case, but it shapes the first impression a judge forms at a bond hearing, a plea, or a sentencing.

The U.S. Supreme Court recognized the same risk in Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501 (1976). Harry Lee Williams was tried in Harris County, Texas, on an assault charge while wearing jail clothes, after a jail officer denied his request for his civilian clothes. The Court held that the State cannot compel a defendant to stand trial before a jury in identifiable prison clothes, but because neither Williams nor his lawyer objected to the trial judge, the conviction stood. The lesson for a client in custody is that the objection has to be made on the record before the jury sees the defendant, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm raise it with the judge before jury selection begins.

What happens at courthouse security in Hillsborough County?

Everyone who enters a Hillsborough County courthouse through a public door is subject to search, including search by electronic or other specialized equipment, under Administrative Order S-2026-047. The order exempts Florida and federal judges, lets prosecutors and public defenders bypass screening only at certain buildings, and provides that anyone who refuses to let security search them or their bags, briefcases, or purses will be denied access. Security at the Thirteenth Circuit’s courthouses is provided through the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in coordination with the chief judge.

The order applies at every building where the court conducts business, plus the parking for those buildings. Check your paperwork for the building and courtroom, because a hearing can be set at any of them.

Section 3 of the order denies entry to anyone carrying a firearm, chemical weapon, destructive device, explosive device, sharp object, weapon, or hazardous material of any kind unless the item is surrendered. A surrendered item that is legal to own can be reclaimed when you leave, but illegal weapons, explosives, hazardous materials, and contraband are reported to law enforcement. A Florida concealed weapon license does not change this: section 790.06(12)(a), Florida Statutes, lists any courthouse and any courtroom among the places a license does not authorize a person to carry, and a knowing and willful violation is a second-degree misdemeanor under section 790.06(12)(d).

The practical problem is time. A client who has to walk a pocketknife or pepper spray back to the car, or wait while it is surrendered, goes back through the line and can miss the moment the case is called. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm tell clients to empty their pockets, purse, and backpack the night before court.

Can you bring your phone to court?

You can generally bring a phone into a Hillsborough County courthouse, because phones are not on the security order’s list of prohibited items, but you cannot use it in a courtroom without the judge’s permission. Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.451 places the use of electronic devices in a courtroom under the authority of the presiding judge at all times, and gives the chief judge control of device use throughout the courthouse. In 2024 the Thirteenth Circuit rescinded its older courthouse photography order in Administrative Order S-2024-078, explaining that those rules now give judges broad discretion over electronic devices in court facilities.

In practice, turn the phone off or to silent before you enter the courtroom and keep it out of sight. Do not text, take photos, or record anything inside. A phone that rings or a person caught recording can lose the phone for the day or face contempt of court, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm ask clients to give family members the same warning.

What should you bring to court?

Bring a government-issued photo ID, every piece of paper you have about the case, and proof of anything the court ordered you to do. The checklist below is the one our attorneys give clients before a Hillsborough County court date.

Why proof of completed conditions matters

Proof of what you have already done is often the most useful thing you can bring. A certificate from a class, a signed log of community service hours, or a receipt showing costs were paid answers the question the judge or prosecutor is about to ask, and it can turn a contested hearing into a short one. If you are on probation, the same documents are your first defense to a violation, as our guide to fighting a probation violation in Florida explains. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm ask clients to send copies to the office before the court date so the documents can be filed or given to the prosecutor in advance.

How early should you get to court?

Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled time, and earlier if you have never been to that building. You need time to park, clear security, find the right building and courtroom, and talk with your lawyer before the judge takes the bench. Morning dockets are the busiest, because many cases are set for the same start time and the people in all of them pass through the same screening stations.

The volume explains the lines. In the county fiscal year from October 2024 through September 2025, the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court opened 20,659 new felony cases, 12,447 new misdemeanor and worthless check cases, and 25,983 criminal traffic citations, according to the Clerk’s monthly outputs report for September 2025 filed with the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. Every one of those cases brings defendants, witnesses, and family members to the same downtown courthouses.

Being late can cost more than a bad first impression. If your case is called and you are not there, the judge can issue a capias, the bench warrant explained in our guide to what to do after a missed court date in Tampa. A person on pretrial release who willfully fails to appear also commits a separate crime under section 843.15, Florida Statutes: a third-degree felony when the release was on a felony charge, and a first-degree misdemeanor when it was on a misdemeanor.

Two free tools help you get there. The Hillsborough County Clerk’s HOVER website shows the docket for your case, and the Clerk’s court case text messaging notifications send hearing reminders for most felony, misdemeanor, and criminal traffic hearings 10, 7, and 1 day before the hearing date. The Clerk notes that reminders do not cover every hearing, so check the docket and confirm the date with your lawyer as well.

What should you do in the days before your court date?

Start preparing about 10 days out, which is when the Clerk’s first text reminder arrives. The timeline below is the one our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm walk clients through, and the earliest steps matter most because they are the ones that change what happens at the hearing.

If this is your first court date after an arrest, our guide to the steps in a Hillsborough County criminal case explains where the hearing fits, and our checklist on what to do after being arrested in Tampa covers the first days of a case.

How should you act in the courtroom?

Act the way the judge expects everyone in the room to act: quiet, attentive, and respectful. These are the rules our attorneys review with every client:

• Stand when the judge enters and leaves. The bailiff will announce it.
• Take off your hat before you walk through the courtroom door.
• No food, drinks, or gum in the courtroom.
• Call the judge “Your Honor.”
• Let your lawyer speak for you. If the judge asks you a question directly, answer briefly and politely.
• Stay calm. Do not react out loud to anything a witness, prosecutor, or the judge says, even if it is wrong.
• Keep your phone silent and out of sight the entire time court is in session.

Frequently asked questions about what to wear and bring to court

Can you wear black jeans to court in Florida?

Yes, clean black jeans without rips or fading are generally acceptable in Florida courtrooms when worn with a collared shirt or modest top and closed-toe shoes, though dress pants are better for a sentencing or for testifying. The Brancato Law Firm reviews each client’s planned outfit against the judge’s courtroom, and our Hillsborough County criminal defense lawyers know which judges hold a stricter line.

Can I wear sandals to court as a guest or spectator?

You should not wear flip-flops or beach sandals to court even as a guest, because the presiding judge’s decorum rules apply to everyone in the courtroom, not only to the defendant. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm ask clients to pass the dress guidance on to family members who plan to attend, since a supporter turned away at the door cannot speak for you at sentencing.

Can I bring a pocketknife or pepper spray into the Hillsborough County courthouse?

No, sharp objects, chemical weapons, and weapons of any kind are denied entry under Administrative Order S-2026-047 unless you surrender them, and only legal items can be reclaimed on the way out. The Brancato Law Firm tells clients to leave these items at home, because going back to the car can mean missing the moment the case is called.

What happens if I am late to court in Tampa?

If your case is called and you are not in the courtroom, the judge can issue a capias for your arrest and, for a defendant on bond, the bond can be put at risk. Call The Brancato Law Firm right away if you are running late or have already missed a hearing, and read our guide to clearing a capias in Hillsborough County for the next steps.

Do I have to stand up and speak when my case is called?

You will usually stand next to your lawyer when your case is called, but your lawyer does the talking unless the judge asks you a question directly. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm go over in advance any question the judge is likely to ask, such as during a plea, so nothing said in the courtroom catches the client off guard.

What do judges wear in Florida courtrooms?

Florida judges wear black robes, and Rule 2.340 of the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration requires that a judge’s robe during any judicial proceeding be solid black with no embellishment. The Brancato Law Firm’s attorneys appear in business attire at every hearing, and the Hillsborough County criminal court process guide on our site explains who else you will see in the courtroom.

¿Qué ropa debo usar para ir a la corte en Tampa?

Use ropa limpia y conservadora, como pantalón de vestir o caqui, camisa con cuello o blusa sencilla, y zapatos cerrados; no use pantalones cortos, chancletas, camisetas sin mangas ni gorras. The Brancato Law Firm tiene personal que habla español, y el abogado Jean-Luc Adrien habla español, criollo haitiano y francés; lea más sobre nuestros servicios de defensa penal en español.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our guide to each stage of a Florida criminal case.

Call before your court date, not after

A court date in Hillsborough County is a fixed deadline: if you are not in the courtroom when your case is called, the judge can issue a capias the same morning. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, represents people at every stage of a criminal case in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, and our attorneys will confirm your hearing, tell you what to wear and bring, gather your proof of completed conditions, and stand beside you when your name is called. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation before your court date. You can call us at any hour, and our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense Attorney page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If you were arrested for burglary in Hillsborough County, the case against you probably rests less on what was taken than on what the State says you intended when you walked in. My name is Rocky Brancato. Before I founded The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, I served in the Major Crimes Unit of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, and I have spent more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms. Our attorneys defend burglary charges of every degree in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, from car burglaries to armed burglary of a dwelling, and we start with the intent evidence and the exact place the State says you entered.

What does the State have to prove in a Florida burglary case?

The State must prove that you entered or remained in a dwelling, structure, or conveyance with the intent to commit an offense inside. For offenses after July 1, 2001, section 810.02(1)(b), Florida Statutes, defines burglary two ways:

1. Entering “a dwelling, a structure, or a conveyance with the intent to commit an offense therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the defendant is licensed or invited to enter.”
2. Remaining in a dwelling, structure, or conveyance, even after a licensed or invited entry, “a. Surreptitiously, with the intent to commit an offense therein; b. After permission to remain therein has been withdrawn, with the intent to commit an offense therein; or c. To commit or attempt to commit a forcible felony.”

The three “remaining in” theories have a history. In Delgado v. State, 776 So. 2d 233 (Fla. 2000), the Florida Supreme Court held that after a consensual entry, “remaining in” covered only surreptitious remaining. The Legislature responded with the current text for offenses after July 1, 2001. So when a case begins with an invitation, such as a guest, a contractor, or a former partner, our attorneys ask which of the three theories the State is using and whether it can prove it. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney team builds the defense around that answer.

What counts as a dwelling, structure, or conveyance?

Each term has a statutory definition, and the definition often decides the degree. Under section 810.011, Florida Statutes:

The statute does not define curtilage, and the courts require an enclosure. In State v. Hamilton, 660 So. 2d 1038 (Fla. 1995), two men took outboard motors from a boat in a backyard bordered only by “several unevenly spaced trees,” and the homeowner shot one of them. The Florida Supreme Court held that the burglary statute carries forward “the common law requirement of some form of an enclosure in order for the area surrounding a residence to be considered part of the ‘curtilage.'” The burglary charge, and the felony murder charge built on it, could not stand.

A porch is different, because the statute names it. In Sublett v. State, 403 So. 3d 239 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025), a homeowner entered the screened porch she rented month to month to a tenant, who had told her repeatedly to “stay out,” and took part of the tenant’s medical marijuana. The Fourth District held the porch was a dwelling and that the tenant’s occupancy was “possession which is rightful as against the burglar,” so owning the house did not authorize the entry. Our post on whether a porch is a dwelling under Florida burglary law covers the porch cases in more detail.

What are the penalties for burglary in Florida?

The degree depends on what kind of place was entered, whether anyone was inside, and whether there was a weapon, an assault, or damage. The table reflects section 810.02 as it reads in 2026; the text has not changed since 2021.

Firearms add a mandatory minimum. Burglary is on the 10-20-Life list in section 775.087(2)(a), Florida Statutes, so actual possession of a firearm during a burglary carries a 10-year minimum, except burglary of a conveyance, which carries 3 years. Our guide to Florida’s 10-20-Life law explains the higher tiers. The Brancato Law Firm checks every fact the State uses to move a case up the table, because the difference between “occupied” and “unoccupied,” or a dwelling and a structure, can be 10 years of exposure.

What happens if a burglary happens during a state of emergency?

The charge goes up one degree if the burglary was made easier by the emergency. Under the closing paragraphs of section 810.02(3) and (4), a burglary committed during a riot, or in a county under a state of emergency declared by the Governor, is raised one degree when “the perpetration of the burglary is facilitated by conditions arising from the emergency.” Those conditions are “civil unrest, power outages, curfews, voluntary or mandatory evacuations, or a reduction in the presence of or response time for first responders or homeland security personnel.” A second-degree burglary becomes a first-degree felony, and a third-degree burglary becomes a second-degree felony.

The same paragraphs add a release rule: a person arrested for a burglary under these conditions “may not be released until the person appears before a committing magistrate at a first appearance hearing.” During a Governor-declared emergency, such as a hurricane, section 810.011 also treats the remnants of a damaged building in the covered area as a structure or dwelling “regardless of absence of a wall or roof.” Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm make the State prove the link between the emergency and the alleged burglary, which the statute requires and arrest reports often skip.

How do you fight a burglary charge in Florida?

You fight a burglary charge by attacking the element the State proves least directly, which is usually intent. These are the defenses our attorneys raise most often:

1. No intent at the time of entry. In C.G. v. State, No. 3D24-1813 (Fla. 3d DCA Aug. 27, 2025), a juvenile case, the Third District held that “the State must establish the juvenile’s intent to commit an offense at the time he enters,” and reversed because “the State did not present evidence of intent to commit an offense therein when C.G. entered the yard.” The burglary was reduced to simple battery. A crime committed after an entry does not, by itself, prove the person entered intending it.
2. The entry was not stealthy. The State often relies on the inference in section 810.07, Florida Statutes: entry “stealthily and without consent of the owner or occupant thereof is prima facie evidence of entering with intent to commit an offense.” In Lanzo v. State, 73 So. 3d 817 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011), the defendant was seen “at the open garage door of a house on a residential street during daylight hours and in full view of any passerby,” then walked away and spoke with the homeowner and police. The Fifth District held that “stealthily” means “surreptitious, furtive, or sly,” that the jury should not have heard the instruction, and ordered a new trial. An entry through an open door in daylight may not be stealthy.
3. The place was open, or you were invited. The statute excludes premises “open to the public” and entries where “the defendant is licensed or invited to enter.” The State must then prove one of the three remaining-in theories.
4. The place does not qualify. An unenclosed yard is not curtilage under Hamilton. If the State cannot prove a roof, an enclosure, or that a vehicle was a conveyance, the burglary charge fails or drops a degree.
5. The State has the wrong person. Video, fingerprints, and phone location records must connect the client to the entry itself, not just to the neighborhood or to property found later.

Companion counts need their own proof. In Russell v. State, No. 2D2024-1373 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 28, 2026), a Tampa case, a homeowner found two strange bicycles at his back gate, and Tampa police called out Russell and a codefendant carrying watches, cameras, and other items. The appellate court left the burglary conviction in place (it was not challenged) and reversed the grand theft count because there was no testimony about depreciation or fair market value, reducing it to second-degree petit theft. Our guide on how to fight a theft charge in Florida explains how value is proven.

Is trespass a lesser charge than burglary?

Yes. Trespass is the most common lesser offense in a burglary case, and it is usually a misdemeanor. The difference is intent: trespass needs only an unauthorized entry or refusal to leave, while burglary requires intent to commit an offense inside.

The unenclosed yard is trespass territory. Section 810.09 covers entering “the unenclosed curtilage of a dwelling” with intent to commit an offense there. Florida also added a new trespass felony in 2025: chapter 2025-30, Laws of Florida, created section 810.09(2)(k), which makes it a third-degree felony to trespass on an area secured by law enforcement and posted as a designated restricted site. Our post on trespass in Florida covers those charges, and The Brancato Law Firm often argues for trespass as the right outcome when intent cannot be proven.

How common are burglary arrests in Hillsborough County?

Common, though less so than a decade ago. In 2025, Hillsborough County recorded 1,889 burglary arrests, according to FDLE arrest data published by Florida Health CHARTS, down from 2,531 in 2016, a 25.4% drop. Florida recorded 19,967 burglary arrests in 2025. Hillsborough’s 2025 arrest rate was 119.9 per 100,000 residents, compared with 85.4 per 100,000 for Florida as a whole. These figures count arrest events, not reported burglaries.

Many burglary accusations involve people who know each other. A Bureau of Justice Statistics report by Shannan Catalano, Victimization During Household Burglary (2010), found that about 7% of household burglaries from 2003 to 2007 involved violence, and in those violent burglaries the victim knew the offender 65% of the time. When the accused and the accuser have a history, consent, invitation, and withdrawn permission become the center of the case, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm gather the texts and witnesses that show it.

What happens after a burglary arrest in Hillsborough County?

A person arrested for burglary in Hillsborough County sees a judge at first appearance within 24 hours, usually at the Orient Road Jail. Burglary is on the list of charges that require a first appearance before release, and burglary of a dwelling is a “dangerous crime,” so the judge cannot grant nonmonetary release at that hearing. The State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit then decides what to file in the charging information, and that decision is the first chance to move the case from burglary to trespass.

Take four steps after a burglary arrest:

1. Say nothing about why you were there. Intent is the State’s hardest element, and a casual explanation can supply it.
2. Preserve your own evidence. Texts showing an invitation, a key, a lease, or a work order can defeat the case.
3. Identify video now. Doorbell, neighborhood, and business cameras often overwrite in days.
4. Get a lawyer involved before the filing decision. Our attorneys contact the prosecutor with the facts that support a lesser charge or no charge.

Frequently asked questions about burglary charges in Florida

Can burglary charges be dropped in Florida?

Yes. Burglary charges can be dropped or reduced to trespass when the State cannot prove intent at entry, when the place does not qualify, or when an invitation or consent defeats the entry element. The Brancato Law Firm presents those facts to the State Attorney’s Office before the filing decision whenever possible.

Is entering a fenced backyard burglary in Florida?

It can be. An enclosed yard is curtilage, so entering it with intent to commit an offense can be charged as burglary of the dwelling, while an unenclosed yard is not curtilage under State v. Hamilton. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm look at photos and surveys of the fence line, because a gap or missing enclosure can change the charge.

Can you be charged with burglary of your own home in Florida?

Yes, if someone else has the right to occupy it. In Sublett, a homeowner was convicted of burglary for entering the porch she rented to a tenant, and The Brancato Law Firm reviews leases and landlord-entry rights in these cases, as our porch burglary post explains.

Is breaking into a car a felony in Florida?

Yes. Burglary of an unoccupied conveyance is a third-degree felony, and burglary of a conveyance with a person inside is a second-degree felony. The Brancato Law Firm checks whether the State can prove entry and intent, keeping in mind that under section 810.011(3) “to enter a conveyance” includes taking apart any portion of it, as described on our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

What is the difference between burglary and trespass in Florida?

Burglary requires intent to commit an offense inside, and trespass does not. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm often negotiate or try burglary cases toward trespass, which our trespass guide covers in full.

Should I talk to a detective who wants to ask about a burglary?

No, not without a lawyer, because intent is usually proven from the accused person’s own words and an interview can create the evidence the State lacks. The Brancato Law Firm provides pre-file advocacy and can speak with the detective on your behalf.

For how The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. defends these cases, see our Tampa violent crimes defense practice.

Talk to our Tampa burglary defense attorneys

Doorbell and neighborhood camera video often disappears within days, and the filing decision can come soon after. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will identify the video, gather the texts and documents that show permission, and press the State on intent before it files. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation, and call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

A robbery case usually turns on two questions the arrest report does not settle: who took the property, and whether force or fear was really part of the taking. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I have put both questions to juries across more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Our attorneys defend strong-arm robbery, armed robbery, sudden snatching, and carjacking charges in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, starting with the identification evidence, the video, and the exact words of the charging document.

What does the State have to prove in a Florida robbery case?

The State must prove a taking, from the person or custody of another, with intent to deprive, accomplished by force, violence, assault, or putting in fear. Section 812.13(1), Florida Statutes, defines robbery as “the taking of money or other property which may be the subject of larceny from the person or custody of another, with intent to either permanently or temporarily deprive the person or the owner of the money or other property, when in the course of the taking there is the use of force, violence, assault, or putting in fear.”

Robbery does not require a face-to-face grab. Property is in a victim’s “custody” when it is under the victim’s control so that the victim could have prevented the taking without the violence or intimidation. In Acosta v. State, 399 So. 3d 1118 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024), the victims had been thrown off a jet ski that was floating away when the defendant took it, and the Third District held that was still a taking from their custody. Our Tampa violent crime lawyer team tests each element separately, because a missing element often turns a robbery into a theft.

When does force turn a theft into a robbery?

Force turns a theft into robbery when the victim resists and the offender overcomes that resistance. In Robinson v. State, 692 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 1997), the Florida Supreme Court held that “the perpetrator must employ more than the force necessary to remove the property from the person. Rather, there must be resistance by the victim that is overcome by the physical force of the offender.” A snatching without that kind of resistance “amounts to theft rather than robbery.”

Timing matters too. Under section 812.13(3)(b), force counts if it happens “either prior to, contemporaneous with, or subsequent to the taking of the property and if it and the act of taking constitute a continuous series of acts or events.” Robinson recognized that the 1987 amendment adopting this language replaced the older rule that force had to come before or during the taking. Courts analyze an “afterthought” argument “in light of the entire circumstances of the incident,” as the Third District put it in Acosta. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm look closely at the sequence, because force that comes after a clean break, or that was an afterthought unrelated to the taking, can defeat the robbery charge.

What are the degrees and penalties for robbery in Florida?

The degree depends on what the offender carried, not what the offender showed or used. Section 812.13(2) uses the word “carried,” so the State does not have to prove the weapon was displayed.

The prison maximums come from section 775.082, Florida Statutes, and the fines from section 775.083, Florida Statutes. Because carrying a weapon is already an element of armed robbery, the general weapon reclassification in section 775.087(1) does not raise the degree again.

Armed robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon carries a possible life sentence. I meet the Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.112 qualifications to defend capital cases, and our attorneys prepare life-felony robbery cases with the same trial-level investigation.

How is sudden snatching different from robbery?

Sudden snatching is a separate, lesser crime for grabbing property from a person who becomes aware of the taking, with no force beyond what the grab requires. Under section 812.131, Florida Statutes, the State does not have to show that the offender “used any amount of force beyond that effort necessary to obtain possession,” that the victim resisted, or that the victim was injured. The Legislature created it in 1999, after Robinson.

Sudden snatching is a third-degree felony (up to 5 years) when no weapon is carried. It becomes a second-degree felony (up to 15 years) when the offender carried a firearm or other deadly weapon. When a robbery charge rests on a quick grab of a phone, purse, or chain, our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm ask whether the facts fit sudden snatching or theft instead.

What is carjacking in Florida?

Carjacking is robbery of a motor vehicle. Section 812.133, Florida Statutes, covers taking “a motor vehicle which may be the subject of larceny from the person or custody of another,” with intent to deprive, “when in the course of the taking there is the use of force, violence, assault, or putting in fear.”

Carjacking is a first-degree felony even when no weapon is involved, so it is charged one degree above unarmed robbery. The Brancato Law Firm reviews whether the vehicle was truly in the driver’s custody and whether the force came during the taking or in a separate event.

How does Florida’s 10-20-Life law apply to robbery?

Robbery and attempted robbery are on the 10-20-Life list. Under section 775.087(2)(a), Florida Statutes, a person convicted of robbery who “actually possessed a ‘firearm’ or ‘destructive device'” faces a 10-year mandatory minimum. Discharging the firearm raises the minimum to 20 years, and discharging it and causing “death or great bodily harm” means a minimum of 25 years up to life.

Possession under the statute means “carrying it on the person,” or having the firearm “within immediate physical reach with ready access with the intent to use the firearm during the commission of the offense.” The court cannot withhold adjudication or suspend the sentence, and there is no gain-time or early release before the minimum is served. For the full statute, see our guide to Florida’s 10-20-Life law.

What changed about 10-20-Life sentences in 2025?

The 2025 law kept consecutive minimums mandatory when a person is convicted of several qualifying felonies, and gave judges discretion when a qualifying felony is paired with an unlisted one. Chapter 2025-81, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2025, rewrote the consecutive-sentence rules in section 775.087(2). The earlier 2023 text said the court “shall impose any term of imprisonment provided for in this subsection consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed for any other felony offense.”

Current paragraph (d) requires the court to impose the minimum “for each qualifying felony offense for which the person is convicted,” and, when there are several, to “impose any such terms of imprisonment consecutively.” New paragraph (e) says that when a qualifying felony is committed “in conjunction with any other felony offense not enumerated,” the court “may impose” the minimum consecutively. Two counts of robbery with a firearm, one for each victim, still mean two minimums served back to back, while a robbery count paired with an unlisted felony leaves the judge a choice. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check the offense date and the count structure on every case, because they can decide whether a client faces 10 years or 20.

Is a BB gun a deadly weapon in a Florida robbery?

It can be, and the jury decides. In Dale v. State, 703 So. 2d 1045 (Fla. 1997), the defendant said “I have a gun,” and the gun later recovered was a working gas-operated BB or pellet gun that resembled a 9 mm Beretta. The Florida Supreme Court held that whether a BB or pellet gun is a deadly weapon, meaning whether it is “likely to produce death or great bodily injury,” is “a factual question to be answered by the jury in each case.” The Court added that the gun being recovered without BBs, pellets, or a gas cartridge “is not dispositive.”

The victim’s belief about whether the gun was loaded is not the test. The Court in Dale expressly did not decide whether a BB gun is a firearm. Under section 790.001(9), Florida Statutes, a firearm is a weapon that will, is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile “by the action of an explosive.” That definition matters because the 10-20-Life minimums require a firearm. When the object is a BB gun, a replica, or a stun gun, our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm challenge which category the State can prove.

Does wearing a mask make a robbery more serious?

Sometimes. Under section 775.0845, Florida Statutes, an offense is reclassified to the next higher degree if the offender “was wearing a hood, mask, or other device that concealed his or her identity.” A third-degree felony becomes a second-degree felony, and a second-degree felony becomes a first-degree felony.

The statute has no step above a first-degree felony. A mask raises strong-arm robbery from a second-degree to a first-degree felony and raises sudden snatching by one degree, but it cannot raise robbery with a weapon or robbery with a firearm, which are already first-degree felonies. The reclassified offense also ranks one level higher on the scoresheet. The Brancato Law Firm checks whether the State can prove the face covering actually concealed identity, which is the statute’s own requirement.

Can a shoplifting arrest become a robbery charge?

Yes. When force or fear enters a shoplifting incident, the State may charge robbery. In Atmore v. State, No. 2D2024-0584 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 13, 2025), a Hillsborough County case, a woman shoplifting at a Sunglass Hut brandished what appeared to be a stun gun when the manager told her to stop, kept taking merchandise, and fled. She was convicted of robbery with a weapon. The Second District held she was entitled to an instruction on resisting a merchant as a lesser offense, though it found the error harmless.

Lesser offenses decide many robbery trials. In J.M. v. State, No. 2D2022-3344 (Fla. 2d DCA Jan. 31, 2025), another Hillsborough case, the trial court found the State could not prove intent to deprive in a robbery charge against a juvenile and instead found aggravated assault. The Second District reversed because the petition never alleged an assault with the weapon, and convicting on an uncharged lesser was fundamental error. Our post on how to fight a theft charge in Florida covers retail theft and resisting a merchant.

How many robbery arrests happen in Hillsborough County?

Fewer than a decade ago. In 2025, Hillsborough County recorded 441 robbery arrests, according to FDLE arrest data published by Florida Health CHARTS, down from 757 in 2016, a 41.7% drop. Florida recorded 6,462 robbery arrests in 2025. These figures count arrest events, not reported robberies, and they leave out cases begun by notice to appear or sworn complaint without a physical arrest.

Fewer arrests do not mean lighter cases. Robbery charges in Hillsborough County are filed by the State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit, and a robbery arrest means a first appearance within 24 hours, usually from the Orient Road Jail. Robbery is a “dangerous crime” for bond purposes, so the judge cannot grant nonmonetary release at first appearance, as our guide to bond hearings in Tampa explains. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney team prepares for that hearing from the first call.

How do our attorneys defend a robbery charge?

We start with the State’s weakest element, which is often identification. Our attorneys work through five questions in every robbery case:

1. Is the identification reliable? The National Research Council’s report Identifying the Culprit: Assessing Eyewitness Identification (2014) found that memory is “highly malleable and continuously evolving” and that witness confidence “can be powerfully swayed by many factors.” Florida’s section 92.70, Florida Statutes, requires lineups to be run by an independent administrator with set instructions, and noncompliance can support a motion to suppress and must be explained to the jury.
2. Does circumstantial evidence really point to the client? In Young v. State, No. 2D2025-0042 (Fla. 2d DCA July 10, 2026), a Hillsborough case, the Second District affirmed the convictions but held that “the prohibition against pyramiding inferences remains a separate and distinct evidentiary principle.” A jury cannot “draw an inference from an inference.”
3. Was there force or fear during the taking? If not, the charge may be theft or sudden snatching under Robinson.
4. What was carried? The weapon category sets the degree and decides whether 10-20-Life applies.
5. What does the charging document allege? Under J.M., the lesser offenses available at trial depend on what the State charged.

Repeat-offender laws raise the stakes. Under section 775.082(9), robbery, carjacking, and home-invasion robbery committed within 3 years of release from prison qualify for prison releasee reoffender sentencing, which means life for a felony punishable by life and 100 percent of the sentence served. Our posts on prison releasee reoffender sentencing and how to defend against an armed robbery charge in Florida go further on those cases.

Real results in robbery cases

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More results are on our case results page.

Frequently asked questions about robbery charges in Florida

Can robbery charges be dropped in Florida?

Yes. Robbery charges can be dropped or reduced when the identification is unreliable, when the evidence shows no force or fear during the taking, or when the State cannot prove the weapon it charged. The Brancato Law Firm obtained a robbery dismissal for a client in November 2025, and we raise each of these issues with the prosecutor early.

Can I be charged with armed robbery if I never showed a weapon?

Yes. Section 812.13(2) turns on whether the offender “carried” a weapon, so display is not required. The Brancato Law Firm tests how the State intends to prove the weapon existed, as described on our Tampa violent crime defense page.

What is the difference between robbery and theft in Florida?

Robbery requires force, violence, assault, or putting in fear during the taking, and theft does not. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm use the Robinson resistance rule to argue for theft when a case involved a grab without a struggle, and our guide to theft charges in Florida covers the theft penalties.

Does 10-20-Life apply to strong-arm robbery?

No. The 10-20-Life minimums apply only when the State proves actual possession of a firearm or destructive device, so a robbery with no gun does not trigger them. The Brancato Law Firm reviews the firearm evidence closely, because a replica or BB gun may not meet the statutory definition.

Should I talk to a detective who calls about a robbery?

No, not before speaking with a lawyer, because anything you tell a detective can be used to build the case, including an honest mistake about a time or place. The Brancato Law Firm offers representation before charges are filed and can speak with the detective for you.

Talk to a Tampa robbery defense attorney now

Witness memories change and store video is overwritten within days, so the first week after a robbery arrest matters most. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will secure the video, test the identification, and prepare for the first appearance and bond hearing. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour, and our office is two blocks from the courthouse. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Tampa Violent Crime Lawyer page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

Every public defender’s office in Florida runs on a chain of command, with an elected Public Defender at the top and assistant public defenders carrying the cases at the bottom. I know that structure from the inside. Before founding The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, I served as Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, overseeing a staff of over 100 attorneys. Today our attorneys use that knowledge to give people an honest read on whether they need private counsel, and our practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, from misdemeanors to capital cases, backed by more than 150 jury trials to verdict.

Is a public defender as good as a private attorney in Tampa?

A public defender can be every bit as skilled as a private attorney, and many are. The differences that matter are caseload, money for experts, timing, and whether you get to choose your lawyer. Public defenders work inside a system that assigns them more cases than any one lawyer can fully prepare. That pressure comes from case volume and state funding.

Public defenders exist because of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court case that began with a burglary charge in Panama City, Florida. The Court held that a state must provide a lawyer to a person charged with a felony who cannot afford one. Our firm respects that work. The question for you is practical: given your charge, your budget and your timeline, which option gives your case the most attention?

How is the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office organized?

The Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office has six levels of rank, from the elected Public Defender at the top to line attorneys at the bottom. Voters in each judicial circuit elect a public defender to a four-year term under Article V, Section 18 of the Florida Constitution, and the office’s attorneys work under that officer.

A division chief is the fifth of six levels in the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, one step above a line attorney. Rocky Brancato served at the second level, as Chief Operations Officer, overseeing a staff of over 100 attorneys.

A “division” is a courtroom. Hillsborough’s criminal courts are organized into divisions, each assigned to a judge, and the public defender assigns attorneys to those courtrooms. As Chief Operations Officer I oversaw the felony and major crimes divisions and mentored senior trial lawyers, and I kept trying homicide and sex crime cases myself. You can read more about that background on Rocky Brancato’s attorney profile and in our post on whether to hire a former public defender in Tampa.

How does Florida decide whether you get a public defender?

The clerk of court decides whether you qualify for a public defender, using the financial test in section 27.52, Florida Statutes. You qualify if your household income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or if you receive certain public benefits. The statute presumes you are not indigent if you have $2,500 or more in net assets, not counting your homestead and one vehicle worth $5,000 or less.

You apply on a sworn form and pay a $50 application fee within 7 days. The law says no one found indigent can be refused a lawyer for failing to pay that fee. The clerk’s decision is ministerial, so if the clerk finds you do not qualify, you can ask the judge to review it at your next hearing.

A public defender represents a person who is “under arrest for, or charged with” a crime, under section 27.51, Florida Statutes. That means no public defender is available to someone who is only under investigation. Our firm’s representation before charges are filed covers that gap.

Is a public defender really free in Florida?

A public defender is not free if you are convicted. Under section 938.29, Florida Statutes, a person who used the public defender and is convicted owes the application fee plus attorney’s fees and costs, and the court must include them in the judgment. Our firm includes these costs when we help someone compare a public defender with a private fee.

The fees are imposed regardless of your present ability to pay. For many clients the dollar amount is small next to a private fee, but the lien and recorded judgment surprise people years later when they sell or refinance property.

How many cases does a public defender carry?

Public defenders often carry far more cases than national standards say one lawyer can handle. The National Public Defense Workload Study (RAND Corporation, 2023) estimated that a mid-level felony needs an average of 57 hours of attorney time, which works out to 36 such cases per lawyer per year. A murder case needs 248 hours, or 8 cases a year.

The older 1973 national standard allowed up to 150 felonies per attorney per year, and the 2023 RAND study calculated that this left only 13.9 hours per felony. Florida’s Supreme Court reviewed what that looks like in practice in Public Defender, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida v. State, 115 So. 3d 261 (Fla. 2013). In that Miami-Dade case, the noncapital felony caseload had been “in the range of 400 cases per attorney for a number of years,” and the court held that a public defender may ask to withdraw from cases across the office when caseloads prevent effective representation.

The volume in Hillsborough County is heavy. From October 2024 through January 2025, the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court opened 6,144 new circuit criminal (felony) cases and 5,198 new county criminal (misdemeanor) cases, according to the Clerk’s monthly outputs report for county fiscal year 2024-2025. The Public Defender’s Office for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit reports more than 120 attorneys. At The Brancato Law Firm, the flat fee is what pays for the hours a serious case needs.

How do public defenders pay for investigators and experts?

A public defender’s office pays for investigators and experts out of a fixed annual state budget. Section 29.006, Florida Statutes, lists the indigent defense costs the state funds, including expert witnesses, court reporting and certain mental health professionals. Every request for an expert competes with every other case in the office.

The same limits follow a private client who asks the court to be declared “indigent for costs” under section 27.52(5), Florida Statutes. In those cases, section 27.425, Florida Statutes, says the Legislature sets maximum rates for state-paid experts each year. The Justice Administrative Commission’s Circuit 13 expert rate schedule lists a maximum of $2,500 per case for a forensic professional expert and $400 for a competency evaluation.

Our firm rarely asks the court to declare a private client indigent for costs. State-paid experts must work for a much lower fee, and that limits which experts will take the case. When we hire a DNA analyst, toxicologist or reconstruction expert, we choose the person best suited to the evidence and discuss the cost with the client before it is incurred.

Do you get to choose your public defender?

You do not choose your public defender. The office assigns your case, usually to the attorney who covers the courtroom division where your case is filed. Public defender offices commonly move attorneys between divisions as they gain experience and are promoted, so a case that lasts many months can pass from one assistant public defender to another.

Turnover adds to the problem. A March 2023 Florida TaxWatch report, Why Taxpayers Should Care about Workforce Instability with Florida’s Public Defenders and State Attorneys, described assistant public defenders as facing “low salaries and punishing caseloads, which contribute to high rates of employee turnover.” When you hire The Brancato Law Firm, you know which attorneys are assigned to your case from the start.

What does a private attorney’s flat fee pay for?

A private flat fee pays for time, an earlier start, and the freedom to build the defense the evidence calls for. The Brancato Law Firm charges one flat fee that covers the whole case, including trial. We quote it on the facts and intricacy of the case and try to be realistic and fair. At least half is due up front, and the balance can be paid on a plan while the case is pending.

We are not the most expensive firm in Tampa, and we are not the least expensive. Ask any lawyer you consult whether trial is included. A separate trial fee gives a lawyer a financial incentive to settle before trial preparation begins. Our post on how much a criminal defense attorney costs in Tampa walks through market ranges and what drives them.

Here is what the fee buys at our firm:

• An earlier start. We can contact the prosecutor before the filing decision, sometimes before an arrest.
• Experts chosen on merit. We hire the expert the evidence calls for, at that expert’s normal rate.
• Trial preparation. Depositions, investigation and motion practice are part of the fee, and trial is included.
• A mitigation report, offered to every client, that presents you as a person to the prosecutor and the judge.
• Communication. Clients get case updates through our client portal, and our attorneys return calls within 24 hours.

I was arrested for the first time in Tampa and I’m terrified. Do I need a private lawyer?

If this is your first arrest, you need a lawyer before you talk about the case with anyone, and a public defender is a real option if you qualify. In Hillsborough County, first appearance happens within 24 hours of arrest, with the arrested person appearing by video from the jail. If you have not hired a lawyer, an assistant public defender will usually speak for you on bond at that hearing.

A first arrest is also when private counsel can do the most. Many first-time cases can be resolved through diversion, a reduced charge, or a decision by the State Attorney’s Office not to file at all, and those outcomes are often won in the weeks right after the arrest. Our firm’s Hillsborough County criminal defense attorneys work those early weeks, and our guide on what to do after being arrested in Tampa covers the first steps. Hillsborough County does not offer pretrial services supervision as a release option, so the bond argument at first appearance matters.

Can I switch from a public defender to a private attorney?

Yes. You can hire a private attorney at any point in your case, and the public defender steps aside. Under section 27.51(2), Florida Statutes, a court may not appoint the public defender to represent a defendant who has retained private counsel on the same case.

When The Brancato Law Firm takes over a case from the public defender, our attorneys file the paperwork to appear in the case, coordinate with the assistant public defender, and obtain the discovery already exchanged. The judge may ask whether the change will affect the trial date, so it helps to switch early.

Switching to a different public defender is harder. If you ask the judge to discharge appointed counsel, Florida courts follow Nelson v. State, 274 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973). In that case, a defendant’s court-appointed lawyer was discharged before trial and no replacement was appointed, so he was tried without a lawyer. The court held that the judge must first ask why the defendant wants a new lawyer. Under Nelson v. State, 274 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973), a substitute is appointed only if there is reasonable cause to believe counsel is not providing effective help. Otherwise, the defendant may have to keep that lawyer or go forward without one.

What if my lawyer isn’t doing anything on my criminal case?

If you were charged with a crime in Tampa and your attorney does not seem to be doing anything, get a second opinion before you decide to switch. Much of a defense lawyer’s work happens out of the client’s sight, so silence does not always mean neglect. Our firm reviews cases handled by other lawyers, public and private, and tells clients plainly what we find.

Here is how a second-opinion review works at our firm:

1. Bring what you have. The arrest report, charging document, any discovery, any plea offer, and your next court date.
2. We check the court record. In Hillsborough County, we pull the docket from the Clerk’s HOVER system to see what has been filed, noticed and set for hearing.
3. We check the deadlines. Speedy trial periods, motion deadlines and plea offer deadlines cannot always be recovered once they pass.
4. We give you a straight answer. Sometimes the current lawyer is doing the right things, and we will tell you so.
5. If you switch, we handle the transition. Our attorneys file the paperwork, request the prior file, and get the case moving.

Our posts on how to choose the right criminal defense attorney and red flags to avoid when choosing a Tampa criminal defense attorney list warning signs worth checking.

What makes a good criminal defense attorney in Tampa, public or private?

A good criminal defense attorney in Tampa has tried cases to verdict, has the time to work yours, and tells you the truth about your case. Ask how many jury trials the lawyer has taken to verdict, who will actually handle your case, and how you will get updates. Our complete guide to choosing a criminal defense attorney in Tampa covers the full checklist.

At The Brancato Law Firm, the answers are specific. Rocky Brancato has tried more than 150 jury trials to verdict over more than 25 years in Hillsborough County. He is a former Major Crimes Unit trial attorney and former police academy instructor, meets the Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.112 qualifications for capital cases, holds an AV Preeminent rating, has been selected to Super Lawyers and the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and wrote How to Choose a Major Crimes Attorney – or Any Criminal Defense Attorney for That Matter. Our firm serves Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, and you can call us at any hour.

What results has our firm gotten for clients?

Real results show what time and preparation can do. These are published results from The Brancato Law Firm’s cases.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different.

When should you talk to a private attorney after an arrest in Tampa?

Talk to a private attorney before first appearance if you can, and in any event before the State Attorney’s Office decides what charges to file. Those first days and weeks set the bond, the charges and the plea offers that follow. For more about how our firm defends cases in local courts, visit our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney page.

Frequently asked questions

Where does a division chief rank in the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office?

A division chief ranks fifth of six levels, one step above a line attorney (assistant public defender) and below the training director, bureau chiefs, the chief assistant and the elected Public Defender. The Brancato Law Firm was founded by Rocky Brancato, who served at the second level as Chief Operations Officer, overseeing a staff of over 100 attorneys. His attorney profile describes that role.

Can I get a public defender before I am charged in Florida?

No. Florida law provides a public defender only to an indigent person who is under arrest for or charged with a crime. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm represent people under investigation and contact the prosecutor before the filing decision through pre-file advocacy.

Do I have to repay the public defender if I am found guilty in Florida?

Yes. A conviction, including a plea where adjudication is withheld, makes you liable for the $50 application fee plus at least $50 for a misdemeanor or $100 for a felony, and a lien attaches to your property under section 938.29, Florida Statutes. When The Brancato Law Firm quotes a flat fee, we compare it honestly with these costs so you can decide with real numbers.

Can a private client be declared indigent for costs in Florida?

Yes. A person represented by private counsel can ask the court to be declared indigent for costs under section 27.52(5), so the state pays approved case costs. The Brancato Law Firm rarely recommends it, because state-paid experts work at much lower rates, which limits which experts will take the case.

Will switching from a public defender to a private lawyer delay my case?

Not necessarily. The new lawyer needs time to review discovery, and the judge decides whether to move any trial date. The Brancato Law Firm asks the public defender for the file right away so the case keeps moving, and our Tampa criminal defense attorneys can explain the timing at a free consultation.

Does a second opinion on my criminal case cost anything?

No. Consultations are free, including a review of a case another lawyer is handling. The Brancato Law Firm will check the docket and deadlines and tell you plainly whether your case appears to be on track.

Talk to our firm about your case

A second opinion costs nothing, and the filing decision and court deadlines in your case will not wait. Call The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, at (813) 727-7159. Our attorneys will tell you whether a public defender is the right choice for you or what a private defense would add, and you can call us at any hour.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our overview of how a Florida criminal case moves from investigation to appeal.

Assault cases are usually decided by one disputed moment: whether the other person reasonably feared violence was about to happen right then. That moment is often captured on body camera or a phone, and it often looks different on video than in the report. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I have taken more than 150 jury trials to verdict over more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms, and assault cases are where our attorneys often see overcharging: road-rage arguments, bar disputes, and neighbor feuds written up as felonies because someone mentioned a weapon.

This guide explains what the State must prove, how Hillsborough cases have been decided on the fear and weapon elements, the penalties, the 10-20-Life correction, and the defenses that work.

How does Florida define assault?

Assault is the threat; battery is the touch. Under section 784.011, Florida Statutes, “An ‘assault’ is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.” No touching is required.

The State must prove three things beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. An intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence.
2. An apparent ability to carry out the threat at that moment.
3. An act creating a well-founded fear that the violence was imminent.

Each element is a place the case can fail. A threat about next week is not imminent. An angry person across a parking lot with no weapon may lack the apparent ability. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm build the defense around whichever element the State’s evidence leaves weakest.

Can words alone be assault in Florida?

Usually not. In H.W. v. State, 79 So. 3d 143 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), the Third District reversed an assault finding against a student who threatened a school administrator, holding that “Proof of the crime of assault requires not just proof of a threat, but also proof of some physical act directed toward the victim.” The court quoted an older case: “A person’s mere intention to commit an assault is not enough; there must be some overt act sufficient to demonstrate a threat directed at the person placed in fear.”

Words become assault when they arrive with conduct: stepping toward someone, raising a fist, or reaching for a waistband. In our firm’s experience, assault charges are sometimes filed on facts that amount to an ugly argument, and the overt-act requirement is where those cases fall apart.

Does the alleged victim have to be afraid?

Not necessarily, and this cuts both ways in the Second District, which hears appeals from Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties. In Sullivan v. State, 898 So. 2d 105 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005), a Hillsborough County case from Riverview, the court held that a victim’s own lack of fear is not decisive when “the circumstances were such as to ordinarily induce fear in the mind of a reasonable man.” But the court also held the violence must be imminent, meaning “near at hand.” A deputy more than 30 feet away behind a patrol car, with another deputy in between, was too far from the knife for an assault, and the court reversed that count.

The Second District later affirmed an assault adjudication in S.P.M. v. State, 66 So. 3d 317 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) even though the victim testified he was not afraid, applying Sullivan’s reasonable-person rule. The practical lesson: an alleged victim saying “I wasn’t scared” helps, but the stronger defense is usually distance, timing, and the absence of imminent violence. Our attorneys measure those facts from the video and the scene.

What is aggravated assault in Florida?

Aggravated assault is an assault committed “With a deadly weapon without intent to kill” or “With an intent to commit a felony” under section 784.021, Florida Statutes. It is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The jump from a 60-day misdemeanor to a 5-year felony usually turns on one fact: whether the object was a “deadly weapon.” Our Tampa violent crime lawyer team treats that question as the center of every aggravated assault case.

What counts as a deadly weapon in Florida?

A deadly weapon is an instrument likely to cause death or great bodily harm when used as designed, or an object used or threatened to be used in a way likely to cause death or great bodily harm. Florida’s standard jury instruction uses that two-part test. Under it, a knife, a bat, a bottle, or a car may or may not be a deadly weapon depending on how it was used.

Hillsborough County cases show how much precision matters. In Proctor v. State, 205 So. 3d 784 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016), a jury convicted a defendant of aggravated assault with a firearm but specially found he did not possess a firearm. The Second District held that was a true inconsistent verdict, because “the firearm was a necessary element of the aggravated assault,” and reduced the conviction. In J.M. v. State, No. 2D2022-3344 (Fla. 2d DCA Jan. 31, 2025), the court reversed an aggravated assault finding because the charge alleged the juvenile “carried” a knife, and “the word ‘carry’ cannot be replaced or assumed to be a synonym for ‘use’ in the context of the aggravated assault statute.” In Verela v. State, No. 3D2024-0402 (Fla. 3d DCA Mar. 5, 2025), the Third District reduced an aggravated battery conviction to simple battery because the charging document never alleged a deadly weapon at all. Our attorneys read the charging document as closely as the police report.

Does 10-20-Life apply to aggravated assault?

No. Florida removed aggravated assault from its 10-20-Life statute in 2016. Chapter 2016-7, Laws of Florida, effective July 1, 2016, struck aggravated assault from the list of offenses in section 775.087, Florida Statutes. The current list includes aggravated battery, robbery, burglary, and other felonies, but not aggravated assault.

Many websites still say otherwise. Displaying a gun during an assault does not trigger an automatic 3-, 10-, or 20-year minimum. The weapon reclassification rule in section 775.087(1) does not apply either, because a weapon is an essential element of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The one minimum that remains is the 3-year mandatory sentence for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer under section 784.07, Florida Statutes. When a plea offer assumes a firearm minimum that no longer exists, our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm correct it in writing.

What are the enhanced penalties for assault on protected people?

Florida reclassifies assault upward for certain victims. Under section 784.07, “knowingly committing an assault or battery upon” a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical care provider, and other listed people while they perform their duties raises simple assault to a first-degree misdemeanor and aggravated assault to a second-degree felony. Utility workers performing work on critical infrastructure were added effective October 1, 2025. The State must prove the defendant knew the person’s status and that the person was performing official duties.

Age works differently. Under section 784.08, Florida Statutes, an assault on a person 65 or older is reclassified “regardless of whether he or she knows or has reason to know the age of the victim.” When the alleged victim is 60 or older, prosecutors may instead charge abuse of an elderly person, which is a felony; our guide on whether elder abuse is a felony in Florida explains that charge.

Is self-defense a defense to assault in Florida?

Yes. Florida’s self-defense statutes cover “using or threatening to use” force, so a threat made to stop someone else’s imminent unlawful force can be justified. Under section 776.012, Florida Statutes, a person may threaten non-deadly force to defend against imminent unlawful force, and may threaten deadly force to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm, or a forcible felony. An aggravated assault charge is often a threatened-force case, and a Stand Your Ground immunity motion can end it before trial. Our guide on when you can use force in self-defense in Florida explains the rules.

How common are aggravated assault cases in Hillsborough County?

Common, though declining. FDLE arrest data published by Florida Health CHARTS show 1,772 aggravated assault arrests in Hillsborough County in 2025, down from 2,050 in 2023. Florida recorded 22,868 aggravated assault arrests statewide in 2025. The measure includes attempted murder and counts arrests, not reported offenses.

National research shows most aggravated assaults reach the police. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in Criminal Victimization, 2024 that 69.1% of aggravated assaults were reported to police in 2024, compared with 40.4% of simple assaults. The Council on Criminal Justice found in its Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Year-End 2025 Update that reported aggravated assaults were 9% lower in 2025 than in 2024 across the cities it tracks.

Can assault charges be dropped in Florida?

Yes, but not by the alleged victim. Only the State Attorney decides whether to prosecute. What gets assault charges dropped or reduced is evidence: video showing the distance and timing, witnesses who saw who approached whom, proof the threat was conditional or in the future, self-defense facts, and the weakness of a one-witness case. The period after arrest and before the formal charge is the most important window, and our attorneys use it for pre-file advocacy.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More results are on our case results page.

What should you do if you are charged with assault?

Say nothing about the incident to anyone but your lawyer, and start preserving your side now. Save texts, social media messages, and any video, and list every witness. Surveillance video is often overwritten within weeks. Do not contact the alleged victim, especially if a no-contact order was entered at first appearance. Our post on battery and aggravated battery in Florida covers the charge that often travels with assault.

Frequently asked questions about assault charges in Florida

Is assault a felony in Florida?

Simple assault is a second-degree misdemeanor, but aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or intent to commit a felony is a third-degree felony. The Brancato Law Firm focuses first on whether the State can prove the weapon or the felony intent that makes the charge a felony.

Can I be charged with assault if I never touched anyone?

Yes. Assault in Florida is the threat, not the touch, but the State must prove an overt act, an apparent ability, and a well-founded fear of imminent violence. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm look for the missing element, often the imminence of the threat.

Is pointing a gun at someone aggravated assault in Florida?

It can be, but it can also be justified self-defense if you reasonably believed it was necessary to stop imminent unlawful force. The Brancato Law Firm raises Stand Your Ground immunity when the facts support it, and our Tampa gun crimes lawyer page explains how firearm charges are defended.

Does aggravated assault with a firearm carry a mandatory minimum in Florida?

Not under 10-20-Life, which no longer applies to aggravated assault after July 1, 2016. The only remaining minimum is 3 years when the victim is a law enforcement officer, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm correct any offer that assumes otherwise.

What happens if the alleged victim does not want to press charges?

The State Attorney still decides, but a reluctant witness changes the strength of the case. The Brancato Law Firm presents the alleged victim’s truthful sworn statement and the other evidence to the prosecutor during the filing window, as described on our Tampa violent crimes defense page.

Is a knife automatically a deadly weapon in Florida?

No. Whether a knife is a deadly weapon depends on how it was used or threatened, which makes it a question for the jury. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm also check whether the charging document properly alleged the weapon, because Florida courts have reversed convictions when it did not.

Talk to our Tampa assault defense attorneys before the charging decision

The prosecutor deciding your case has usually heard only one side. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will get the video, find the witnesses, and put your side in front of the prosecutor before the charge is filed or the case is set for trial. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Violent Crimes page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If you were arrested at a store, accused by an employer, or charged after a dispute over property, the charge on the paperwork is only the State’s opening number. The real case is about intent and value, and both can be challenged. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and I have spent more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms, including more than 150 jury trials to verdict. Our attorneys defend petit theft, retail theft, and grand theft charges across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.

This guide covers what the State must prove, the penalty thresholds, the 2024 changes, how value is proven and challenged, retail theft and civil demand letters, and the diversion programs available in Hillsborough County.

What does the State have to prove in a Florida theft case?

The State must prove that you knowingly obtained or used someone else’s property with intent to deprive the owner of it. Under section 812.014, Florida Statutes, “A person commits theft if he or she knowingly obtains or uses, or endeavors to obtain or to use, the property of another with intent to, either temporarily or permanently: (a) Deprive the other person of a right to the property or a benefit from the property. (b) Appropriate the property to his or her own use or to the use of any person not entitled to the use of the property.”

Three elements are usually in play: that the property belonged to someone else, that you knew it, and that you intended to deprive the owner. A self-checkout mistake, a borrowed item, or a dispute between business partners can each defeat intent. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm look for the innocent explanation first, because it is often the true one.

What are the penalties for theft in Florida?

The value of the property decides the degree. The table below reflects section 812.014 as it reads in 2026.

The maximums come from section 775.082, Florida Statutes and section 775.083, Florida Statutes. Certain property is grand theft at any value, including a firearm, a motor vehicle, a will, a stop sign, and any amount of a controlled substance. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney team checks whether the State charged the right tier before anything else.

What changed in Florida theft law in 2024?

Florida’s 2024 theft law, chapter 2024-69, Laws of Florida, took effect October 1, 2024 and made three changes that still apply in 2026:

1. Theft from a home. Taking $40 or more from a dwelling or its unenclosed curtilage is now a third-degree felony. The old threshold was $100. Theft of less than $40 from a dwelling is a first-degree misdemeanor.
2. Porch theft. Theft from more than 20 dwellings is a second-degree felony.
3. Retail theft. The window for adding up retail thefts grew from 30 days to 120 days, and organizing a theft through social media with five or more people became a second-degree felony.

No later amendment has changed section 812.014. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check the date of the alleged theft, because a case from before October 1, 2024 is governed by the older thresholds.

How does the State prove the value of stolen property?

With evidence of fair market value at the time of the theft. Section 812.012(10), Florida Statutes defines value as “market value of the property at the time and place of the offense or, if such cannot be satisfactorily ascertained, the cost of replacement of the property within a reasonable time after the offense.” If no minimum value can be proven, “the value is an amount less than $100.”

The leading case is Negron v. State, 306 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 1974), where the Florida Supreme Court held that value “must be established by the State beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt,” and that “testimony as to the cost of stolen property is insufficient in itself to establish the value.” The Court listed four factors: original market cost, how the property was used, its condition, and “the percentage of depreciation.”

The Second District applied Negron to a Hillsborough County case this year. In Russell v. State, No. 2D2024-1373 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 28, 2026), the owner testified to purchase prices, dates, use, and condition, “But there was no testimony about the percentage of depreciation or fair market value of the items.” The court reduced the conviction to second-degree petit theft. In T.V.U. v. State, 403 So. 3d 389 (Fla. 2d DCA 2025), a Pinellas case, the court reversed a theft finding because the only evidence of the amount came from a computer printout that was never admitted into evidence. These are the details our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm press in every grand theft case. Our post on how the State proves value in a Florida grand theft case goes deeper.

Is a good-faith belief that the property was yours a defense?

Yes. Florida courts recognize a claim of right. In Owens v. State, 866 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), the Fifth District quoted the rule that “In all cases where one in good faith takes another’s property under claim of title in himself, he is exempt from the charge of larceny, however puerile or mistaken the claim may in fact be…. Still, if the claim is dishonest, a mere pretense, it will not protect the taker.” The court found trial counsel ineffective for failing to properly request the instruction.

The claim must be honest, not reasonable. Disputes over a car bought for scrap, tools left at a job site, or money owed between partners often fit this defense. In one of our cases, a client accused of stealing a car he had bought for scrap was found not guilty after we showed the jury he purchased it legitimately.

What inferences can the State use in a theft case?

Two statutory inferences come up often. Under section 812.022, Florida Statutes, “proof of possession of property recently stolen, unless satisfactorily explained, gives rise to an inference that the person in possession of the property knew or should have known that the property had been stolen.” A purchase or sale “at a price substantially below the fair market value, unless satisfactorily explained,” creates the same inference.

The words “unless satisfactorily explained” are the defense. A receipt, a seller’s name, a text message, or a believable account of how the item was acquired can answer the inference. When the State charges both theft and dealing in stolen property, section 812.025, Florida Statutes allows a guilty verdict on one or the other, “but not both.”

What is retail theft, and what is a civil demand letter?

Retail theft is shoplifting. Section 812.015, Florida Statutes covers taking merchandise, changing a price tag, switching containers, or removing a cart “with intent to deprive the merchant of possession, use, benefit, or full retail value.” A merchant with probable cause may detain a suspect “in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time” and must call police. Resisting a merchant’s effort to recover property is a separate first-degree misdemeanor. Retail thefts totaling $750 or more within 120 days can be charged together as a third-degree felony.

The civil demand letter is separate from the criminal case. Under section 772.11, Florida Statutes, a store may demand $200 or three times its actual damages before filing a civil suit, and a person who pays within 30 days receives a written release from further civil liability for that act. Paying the demand does not resolve the criminal charge, and the statute does not require a criminal conviction. Talk to a lawyer before responding.

One persistent myth is worth correcting. Since October 1, 2019, Florida law no longer allows a court to suspend an adult’s driver license for a petit theft conviction. Section 812.0155, Florida Statutes now applies only to people under 18, as an alternative sentence. The one exception for adults is theft of gasoline by driving off without paying, which still carries a mandatory license suspension under section 812.014(5).

How common are theft arrests in Hillsborough County?

Less common than they were a decade ago. FDLE arrest data published by Florida Health CHARTS show 3,395 larceny arrests in Hillsborough County in 2025, down from 6,358 in 2016, a 47% drop. Statewide, Florida recorded 48,932 larceny arrests in 2025. These counts include only physical arrests, so many petit theft cases handled by a notice to appear are not in them.

Retailers report a different trend. The National Retail Federation, an industry group, reported in The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2024 that average shoplifting incidents among surveyed retailers rose 93% from 2019 to 2023. The Council on Criminal Justice reported in its Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Year-End 2025 Update that reported shoplifting was 10% lower in 2025 than in 2024 across the cities it tracks.

Can theft charges be dropped or reduced in Florida?

Yes. The most common paths are a value challenge that moves the case below a felony threshold, an intent defense, a suppression issue, pre-file advocacy before charges are filed, and diversion for first-time offenders. The Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office lists an Adult Pre-Arrest Diversion Program (APAD) for “an eligible misdemeanor offense” and a Misdemeanor Intervention Program (MIP) for first-time offenders on its programs page. The office does not publish a list of eligible charges, but in our experience first-time petit theft cases are often considered.

Research supports diversion for low-level cases. A study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics by Agan, Doleac, and Harvey, Misdemeanor Prosecution (2023), found that not prosecuting a marginal nonviolent misdemeanor defendant reduced the likelihood of a new criminal complaint within two years by 53%, with the largest effects for people with no prior record.

Some theft cases are also charged too high. A struggle with a loss prevention officer can be charged as robbery under section 812.13, which requires force during the taking. When the force happened only during the merchant’s effort to recover the goods, the robbery charge may not hold.

Real results in theft cases

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More results are on our case results page.

What should you do after a theft or shoplifting arrest?

Take four steps:

1. Do not make statements. Loss prevention officers and police often ask about other incidents; say you want a lawyer.
2. Do not sign anything at the store, including admissions or payment agreements.
3. Preserve your evidence. Receipts, bank records, texts, and your own photos can prove ownership or purchase.
4. Call a lawyer before the first court date. Diversion and pre-file options close quickly, and surveillance video is often overwritten.

For related charges, see our guides on robbery in Florida, burglary in Florida, and dealing in stolen property.

Frequently asked questions about theft charges in Florida

Can theft charges be dropped in Florida?

Yes. Theft charges can be dropped when the State cannot prove intent or value, when evidence is suppressed, or after completion of a diversion program. The Brancato Law Firm contacts the prosecutor early, often before the case is formally filed, with the receipts, video, or witness statements that change the picture.

Is shoplifting a felony in Florida?

Usually not. A single shoplifting incident under $750 is a misdemeanor, but it becomes a felony when the value is $750 or more, when thefts within 120 days are added together, or when the person has two or more prior theft convictions. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm check every prior and every aggregation the State relies on, as explained on our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

Do I have to pay a civil demand letter after shoplifting in Florida?

You are not required to pay it to resolve the criminal case, and paying does not make the charge go away. Section 772.11 lets the store demand $200 or triple damages before suing, and The Brancato Law Firm reviews the letter with you before you respond.

Will a petit theft suspend my driver license in Florida?

Not for an adult, except for a gas drive-off. Since October 1, 2019, section 812.0155 allows a license suspension for theft only for people under 18, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm explain how the rule applies to your record.

Can a first-time petit theft charge be resolved without a conviction?

Often, yes. Hillsborough County’s diversion programs, including APAD and the Misdemeanor Intervention Program, can end in no charges or a dismissal with State Attorney approval. The Brancato Law Firm negotiates entry and makes sure the dismissal happens, and you can learn about representation before charges are filed.

What if I forgot to scan an item at self-checkout?

Then the State may not be able to prove intent, which theft requires. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm gather the receipt, the transaction record, and the store video to show what really happened.

For how The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. defends these cases, see our Tampa white collar crime defense practice.

Talk to our Tampa theft defense attorneys today

Surveillance video and diversion deadlines do not wait for your court date. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will challenge the value, test the intent evidence, and push for diversion or dismissal from the first week. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

A Florida prosecutor deciding what to offer, and a judge deciding what to impose, look at two numbers before anything else: the degree of the charge and the score on the sentencing scoresheet. Knowing both is the starting point for any defense. As founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys, I have worked with those numbers for more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms. Our attorneys use them to negotiate reductions from felony to misdemeanor across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.

This guide explains how Florida classifies crimes, the maximum penalty for each degree, what a first-degree felony is, how the scoresheet works, and how felony charges get reduced.

What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor in Florida?

The difference is where the sentence can be served and for how long. Section 775.08, Florida Statutes defines a felony as an offense punishable “by death or imprisonment in a state penitentiary,” and a misdemeanor as an offense punishable “by a term of imprisonment in a county correctional facility… not in excess of 1 year.” A noncriminal violation, such as many traffic infractions, is punishable only by a fine or civil penalty and “does not constitute a crime.”

The label matters beyond the sentence. A felony conviction can affect voting, firearm rights, professional licenses, and immigration status, and a felony record is harder to seal. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm treat the degree of the charge as the first thing to negotiate.

What are the degrees of crimes in Florida and their maximum penalties?

Section 775.081, Florida Statutes sets five felony degrees and two misdemeanor degrees. A felony with no degree stated is a third-degree felony, and a misdemeanor with no degree stated is second-degree.

The prison terms come from section 775.082, Florida Statutes and the fines from section 775.083, Florida Statutes. A court may also impose a fine of up to double the gain or loss caused by the offense. Common misdemeanors include simple assault and petit theft under $100, both second-degree misdemeanors, and battery, a first-degree misdemeanor. A first DUI is also a misdemeanor, with its own penalties under section 316.193.

What is a first-degree felony in Florida?

A first-degree felony is the most serious felony below a life or capital felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Some first-degree felonies are “punishable by life,” which raises the maximum to life in prison. Examples from Florida’s offense severity chart include leaving the scene of a crash involving death and attempted premeditated murder (first-degree felonies) and second-degree murder (a first-degree felony punishable by life).

A first-degree felony also closes off one common outcome. Under section 775.08435, Florida Statutes, a court “may not withhold adjudication of guilt” for “Any capital, life, or first degree felony offense,” and may withhold on a second-degree felony only in limited situations, such as when the State Attorney requests it in writing. A withhold is available on third-degree felonies and misdemeanors in most cases. That is why negotiating a first-degree charge down to a second- or third-degree charge is often the most important step in the case. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm build that negotiation around the evidence and a mitigation report.

How does Florida decide the actual sentence for a felony?

The Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet decides the minimum. Under section 921.0022, Florida Statutes, every felony is ranked on 10 levels, “from least severe, which are level 1 offenses, to most severe, which are level 10.” The level, the prior record, and other factors produce a point total under section 921.0024, Florida Statutes.

The math is fixed. At 44 points or fewer, the lowest permissible sentence is “any nonstate prison sanction,” which means probation or county jail is allowed. Above 44 points, the lowest permissible prison sentence is calculated by “subtracting 28 points from the total sentence points and decreasing the remaining total by 25 percent,” expressed in months. A score of 60 points, for example, produces (60 minus 28) times 0.75, or 24 months. The judge can sentence anywhere from that minimum up to the statutory maximum, and any state prison sentence must exceed 1 year.

One more rule protects lower-level defendants. Under section 775.082(10), when a third-degree felony is not a forcible felony and the scoresheet totals 22 points or fewer, the court “must sentence the offender to a nonstate prison sanction” unless it makes written findings that a nonstate sanction could present a danger to the public. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm prepare the scoresheet ourselves and check every point the State assigns.

What enhancements can raise a felony sentence?

Several statutes raise the maximum or impose a minimum:

• Habitual felony offender. Under section 775.084, Florida Statutes, a person with two or more prior felonies who commits a new felony within 5 years can face up to 10 years on a third-degree felony, 30 years on a second-degree felony, and life on a first-degree felony.
• Prison releasee reoffender. Section 775.082(9) requires mandatory terms served at 100% for listed offenses committed within 3 years of release from prison. Our post on prison releasee reoffender sentencing explains it.
• 10-20-Life. Section 775.087 sets firearm minimums for listed felonies such as robbery, burglary, and aggravated battery. Aggravated assault was removed from that list in 2016.

When an enhancement is filed, the question is whether the State can prove each prior conviction and each date. The Brancato Law Firm pulls the court records and checks them against the statute’s requirements.

Can a felony be reduced to a misdemeanor in Florida?

Yes, through negotiation or a successful defense. Prosecutors reduce charges when the evidence does not support the felony, when an element such as a weapon or the value of property is in doubt, or when mitigation shows the case belongs at a lower level. Recent results from our firm:

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More results are on our case results page.

How many felony and misdemeanor cases does Hillsborough County handle?

Roughly as many of each. The Florida courts’ FY 2024-25 Statistical Reference Guide shows 12,317 felony cases filed in the 13th Judicial Circuit, which covers Hillsborough County. Drug cases were the largest category at 3,780, followed by theft, forgery, and fraud at 2,464. The county criminal chapter shows 13,002 misdemeanor filings in Hillsborough the same year, plus 4,008 DUI and 16,970 criminal traffic cases.

Florida’s prisons take in tens of thousands of people a year. The Florida Department of Corrections’ Annual Report FY 2024-25 counted 27,171 prison admissions statewide and a prison population of 89,087 on June 30, 2025. Drug offenses were the largest admission category at 25.2%. A state research report helps explain why sentences vary so much: the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability found in Diverting Low-Risk Offenders From Florida Prisons (Report No. 19-01, 2019) that about 96% of felony sentences result from pleas and that 59% of offenders who scored above 44 points received prison.

What happens after a felony arrest in Hillsborough County?

The case moves through a set sequence. The arrested person sees a judge at first appearance within 24 hours, where bond is set; our guide on how a bond hearing works in Tampa explains that hearing. The State then has 30 days to file formal charges if the person is in custody, or 60 days if released, under Rule 3.134. After the charge is filed, the case is set for arraignment, discovery, motions, and pretrial conferences.

The period before the charge is filed is often the best chance to influence the degree. Our attorneys provide representation before charges are filed by presenting evidence and mitigation to the prosecutor making the filing decision. Our post on the steps in a Hillsborough County criminal case covers the rest of the process.

Frequently asked questions about felonies and misdemeanors in Florida

Can a felony charge be dropped in Florida?

Yes. A felony can be dropped before or after filing when the evidence does not support it, and it can also be reduced to a misdemeanor through negotiation. The Brancato Law Firm works the filing decision first, then moves to motions if the case is filed, as explained in our guide on whether criminal charges can be dropped or dismissed in Florida.

Can you get probation for a felony in Florida?

Often, yes. When the scoresheet totals 44 points or fewer, the lowest permissible sentence is a nonstate prison sanction such as probation, and a judge can also depart downward for a valid legal reason. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm prepare the scoresheet and the mitigation that supports a probationary sentence.

Can you get a withhold of adjudication for a first-degree felony?

No. Section 775.08435 prohibits a withhold for any capital, life, or first-degree felony, and limits withholds on second-degree felonies. The Brancato Law Firm negotiates the charge down to a degree that allows a withhold when the facts support it.

Is a third-degree felony serious in Florida?

Yes. A third-degree felony carries up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and a conviction is still a felony record. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm look first at whether the case qualifies for pretrial intervention or a reduction to a misdemeanor, and you can learn more on our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

What is the difference between a first-degree and second-degree misdemeanor?

A first-degree misdemeanor carries up to 1 year in county jail and a $1,000 fine, while a second-degree misdemeanor carries up to 60 days and a $500 fine. The Brancato Law Firm often seeks diversion for first-time misdemeanor charges, which can end in a dismissal.

How many points do you need to go to prison in Florida?

Prison becomes the minimum sentence when the scoresheet totals more than 44 points. At 44 points or fewer, prison is not required, so our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm challenge any points the State cannot support.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our guide to each stage of a Florida criminal case.

Call our Tampa criminal defense attorneys about the degree of your charge

The degree on the charging document can often be changed. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will check the scoresheet, test the elements that raise the degree, and negotiate for a reduction or dismissal. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

If you were just arrested, or charged and given a court date, the first question is usually whether this can go away. Often it can, and the work that makes it happen starts long before trial. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm, and former Chief Operations Officer of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office, where I oversaw a staff of over 100 attorneys. Our attorneys work every case for an early dismissal when the facts allow it, in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties.

This guide explains who can drop a case, the difference between dropped and dismissed, how the 2026 rule change affects motions to dismiss, the Hillsborough diversion programs, and how often Florida cases actually end this way.

Who decides whether charges are dropped in Florida?

The State Attorney does. In State v. Bloom, 497 So. 2d 2 (Fla. 1986), the Florida Supreme Court held that “the decision to charge and prosecute is an executive responsibility, and the state attorney has complete discretion in deciding whether and how to prosecute.” A judge cannot order a prosecutor to file or to drop a charge.

That means the alleged victim cannot drop charges either. The person who called the police can ask the prosecutor not to proceed, and that request often matters, but the decision belongs to the State. Our guide for alleged victims, Can a Victim Drop Domestic Violence Charges in Florida?, explains how that works in the most common setting. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm aim our early work at the prosecutor who makes the filing decision.

What is the difference between dropped, nolle prossed, and dismissed?

The words describe who ended the case and when.

Florida’s court statistics use the term “No File” for a case where “All charges in a criminal matter are dropped because the prosecutor did not obtain an indictment, file an information, or pursue the initial complaint.” Our attorneys explain to every client which of these outcomes is realistic, because they affect sealing and expungement differently.

Can charges be dropped before they are filed?

Yes, and that is often the best time. After an arrest, the State Attorney reviews the case before filing a formal charge. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.134, the State must file within 30 days for a person in custody, or the person is released on the 33rd day (the 40th with good cause). For a person out on release, the deadline is 60 days, with release from bond conditions available after 63 days. Under Rule 3.133, a person charged with a felony who has not been formally charged within 21 days can request an adversary preliminary hearing.

During that window, our attorneys present the prosecutor with what the arrest report left out: video, witness statements, texts, injuries to our client, and sworn affidavits. That work is called pre-file advocacy. Recent results include an aggravated assault case where we were hired the day of the arrest and the alleged victim’s affidavit led the State to decline charges within 24 days (February 2026), and a husband-and-wife felony drug possession case where charges were never filed after we addressed constructive possession in shared luggage (March 2026). Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

How does a motion to dismiss work in Florida?

A motion to dismiss asks a judge to end the case before trial. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190, all defenses other than not guilty must be raised by a motion to dismiss, “including immunity under section 776.032.” The best-known version is the sworn motion based on undisputed facts.

That motion moved and changed in 2025 and 2026. In In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190, 421 So. 3d 424 (Fla. 2025), effective July 13, 2026, the Florida Supreme Court moved the old Rule 3.190(c)(4) motion to subdivision (d)(2) and added a deadline: “The court must dismiss any motion not filed before the deadline set by the court, unless the defendant demonstrates good cause, for the delay, or the motion is based on fundamental grounds.” On October 1, 2026, the Court restored the requirement that the motion be sworn.

Under Rule 3.190(d)(2), the defendant may move to dismiss “on the basis that there are no material disputed facts and the undisputed facts do not establish a prima facie case of guilt.” The State can answer with a traverse, a sworn denial of the facts, or a demurrer, which accepts the facts and argues they still prove a crime. In State v. Kalogeropolous, 758 So. 2d 110 (Fla. 2000), the Florida Supreme Court held that a general traverse is not enough; the State must “specifically dispute a material fact alleged by the defendant or add additional material facts that meet the minimal requirement of a prima facie case.” The Court added that “If a material fact is disputed, denial of the motion to dismiss is mandatory.”

Two recent cases show the limits. In State v. Yanes-Blanco, 401 So. 3d 592 (Fla. 5th DCA 2025), the Fifth District reversed a dismissal, holding that “the trial court does not determine factual issues or weigh evidence” on this motion. In State v. Adams, No. 3D23-2305 (Fla. 3d DCA June 25, 2025), the Third District reversed a dismissal granted on an unsworn oral motion. The lesson is that the motion must be written, sworn, specific, and filed on time.

What other grounds can get a case dismissed?

Several. A judge can dismiss based on Stand Your Ground immunity under section 776.032, Florida Statutes, which puts the burden on the State to overcome a prima facie claim by clear and convincing evidence; our post on how a Stand Your Ground immunity hearing works explains the process. A case can also end for a speedy trial violation, covered in our guide to the right to a speedy trial in Florida, for an expired statute of limitations, for double jeopardy, or for a defective charging document.

A successful motion to suppress does not dismiss a case by itself, but when it removes the key evidence, the State often drops the charge because it can no longer prove it. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm often file suppression and dismissal motions together.

Can diversion get charges dismissed in Hillsborough County?

Yes. Florida’s pretrial intervention statute, section 948.08, Florida Statutes, makes “Any first offender, or any person previously convicted of not more than one nonviolent misdemeanor, who is charged with any misdemeanor or felony of the third degree” eligible, with the consent of the victim, the State Attorney, and the judge. The defendant waives speedy trial, the charges are continued for 90 days with up to 90 more, and at the end the program may recommend “dismissal of charges without prejudice.” The State Attorney makes the final decision.

The Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office lists its programs on its programs page:

In October 2026, a client of ours completed diversion on multiple drug possession counts, the charges were dismissed, and the client is now eligible for expungement. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

How often are criminal charges dropped or dismissed in Florida?

More often than most people expect. The Florida courts’ FY 2024-25 Statistical Reference Guide shows that 18,616 of 155,206 felony dispositions statewide were dismissals before trial, or 12.0%. Another 76.4% ended in pleas, and 1.3% went to a jury.

Misdemeanors are dropped even more often. The county criminal chapter of the same guide counts 41,433 “No File” dispositions (17.7%) and 41,060 dismissals (17.6%) among 233,667 misdemeanor dispositions statewide in FY 2024-25, together about 35%. The figures exclude criminal traffic and DUI cases.

Hillsborough County has been studied directly. Researchers from Florida International University and Loyola University Chicago reviewed Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office cases from 2017 and 2018 in Race, Ethnicity and Prosecution in Hillsborough County, Florida (2019) and found that about 23% of cases ended in prosecutorial dismissal: 28% of misdemeanors and 8% of felonies. National research suggests dropping low-level cases can help public safety too. A study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics by Agan, Doleac, and Harvey, Misdemeanor Prosecution (2023), found that not prosecuting a marginal nonviolent misdemeanor defendant cut the likelihood of a new criminal complaint within two years by 53%.

What actually gets charges dropped?

Evidence that changes the prosecutor’s view of the case. In our experience, that usually means video, a witness the police never interviewed, proof that the client was the one attacked, a suppression issue, or a sworn statement from the alleged victim. Recent results from our firm:

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More results are on our case results page.

What should you do to give your case the best chance of dismissal?

Act during the filing window. Do not talk to police or the alleged victim about the case, save texts, photos, and video, and write down the names of witnesses while you remember them. Tell your lawyer everything, because a sworn motion to dismiss commits the defense to a set of facts, and those facts must be accurate. Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney team starts with the filing decision, then moves to motions if the case is filed.

Frequently asked questions about dropped and dismissed charges in Florida

Can the alleged victim drop charges in Florida?

No. Only the State Attorney can drop charges, although the alleged victim’s wishes and a truthful sworn statement often influence the decision. The Brancato Law Firm presents that information to the assigned prosecutor during the filing window.

How long does the State have to file charges in Florida?

For a person held in jail, 30 days, with release required on the 33rd day or the 40th day for good cause under Rule 3.134. For a person out on release, 60 days before bond conditions can be lifted, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm use that time for representation before charges are filed.

What is a 3.190(c)(4) motion to dismiss in Florida?

It is the sworn motion to dismiss based on undisputed facts, which became Rule 3.190(d)(2) on July 13, 2026. It must now be filed by the deadline the judge sets, and The Brancato Law Firm calendars that deadline at arraignment.

Does a dismissed charge stay on my record in Florida?

The arrest record remains until it is sealed or expunged, even after a dismissal. A dismissal often makes the record eligible to be cleared, and our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm explain the next step when a case ends.

Can a dropped charge be refiled in Florida?

Often, yes. A no information or a nolle prosequi usually allows the State to refile within the statute of limitations, while an acquittal ends the matter for good. The Brancato Law Firm explains which outcome is realistic before a client accepts any resolution, and our Hillsborough County criminal defense page covers the local programs.

Does completing diversion get my case dismissed?

Yes, when the program is completed. Under section 948.08, the program can recommend dismissal without prejudice, and the State Attorney makes the final decision. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm negotiate entry into these programs and track compliance so the dismissal happens on schedule.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our overview of how a Florida criminal case moves from investigation to appeal.

Call our Tampa criminal defense attorneys while the case is still open

The best time to get a case dropped is before it is filed, and the next best is before the motion deadline the judge sets. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will contact the prosecutor, gather the evidence, and file the right motion on time. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

Speedy trial is the rule most defendants have heard of and the one least often won by counting days. In Florida’s courts, discharges under the rule are rare, and the 2025 rewrite narrowed the remedy. I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I have spent more than 25 years in Hillsborough County courtrooms, including more than 150 jury trials to verdict, and our attorneys use speedy trial today as a negotiating tool and as a constitutional claim.

This guide explains the rule as it reads after July 1, 2025, how the notice and recapture process works, how continuances waive the rule, and when the constitutional right can still win a dismissal.

What is the right to a speedy trial in Florida?

It is a right protected by the Sixth Amendment, by Article I, Section 16 of the Florida Constitution, and by statute. Section 918.015, Florida Statutes provides that “In all criminal prosecutions the state and the defendant shall each have the right to a speedy trial,” and directs the Florida Supreme Court to set the procedure by rule. That rule is Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191.

The rule and the constitutional right are different tools. The rule sets fixed time periods and a fixed remedy. The constitutional right has no fixed deadline but can lead to dismissal with prejudice. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm evaluate both in every case that has been pending a long time.

How long does the State have to bring you to trial in Florida?

Under Rule 3.191(a), “every person charged with a crime shall be brought to trial within 90 days if the crime charged is a misdemeanor, or within 175 days if the crime charged is a felony.” The periods apply whether you are in jail or out on bond.

“Formally charged” means charged “by information, or by indictment, or in the case of alleged misdemeanors by whatever documents constitute a formal charge.” An arrest or a notice to appear does not start the clock anymore.

What changed in Florida’s speedy trial rule on July 1, 2025?

The Florida Supreme Court rewrote the rule on its own motion in In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191, 411 So. 3d 385 (Fla. 2025), effective July 1, 2025. Four changes matter most.

Justice Labarga dissented. He warned that the formal-charge trigger risks leaving people under long investigations in “procedural limbo,” that 10 days of recapture was “sufficient,” and that discharge with prejudice was “an appropriate check on the State.” For cases that were already pending on July 1, 2025, Florida’s appellate courts so far have applied the earlier version of the rule, as in State v. Hipolito, No. 6D2025-0212 (Fla. 6th DCA Apr. 10, 2026), which also held that a trial court cannot discharge a defendant without first holding the inquiry the rule requires.

How does the notice of expiration work?

The remedy under the rule is no longer automatic. Under Rule 3.191(o), the defense must take these steps:

1. Wait for the period to expire. The 90 or 175 days must run without the case being tried, and without the delay being charged to the defense.
2. File a Notice of Expiration of Speedy Trial Time. The rule gives no remedy until this notice is filed.
3. Attend the hearing. The court must hold a hearing “no later than 5 days” after the notice and, if the defendant is not the cause of the delay, order trial within 30 days.
4. Move for discharge if the State misses the 30 days. A defendant “not brought to trial within the 30-day period through no fault of the defendant, on motion of the defendant, shall be discharged from the crime.”

The rule then adds the key limit: “This discharge shall be without prejudice unless there is a determination that the defendant’s constitutional right to speedy trial has been violated.” Without a constitutional violation, the State can refile.

How do continuances affect your speedy trial rights?

A defense request for a continuance usually waives the rule’s time periods. In State v. Naveira, 873 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 2004), the Florida Supreme Court held that a defendant who asked for a continuance during the recapture window was unavailable for trial and could not be discharged. The Court quoted the general rule that “a defense request for continuance, absent state misconduct, inexcusable delay in providing discovery, or other violation of defense discovery rights, waives the 175 day ‘speedy trial’ time.”

Florida’s Third District has applied that rule so often that it began one opinion, State v. Guzman, 697 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997), with “For at least the sixteenth time.” The practical point is that the decision to ask for more time is also a decision about speedy trial. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm make that choice deliberately, because sometimes the investigation needs the time and sometimes the client needs the State to be ready.

What is the constitutional right to a speedy trial?

The constitutional right has no fixed deadline. Courts weigh four factors from Barker v. Wingo, 407 U.S. 514 (1972): “Length of delay, the reason for the delay, the defendant’s assertion of his right, and prejudice to the defendant.” The length of the delay is “to some extent a triggering mechanism,” and no single factor is “either a necessary or sufficient condition.”

Barker identified three interests behind the prejudice factor: preventing “oppressive pretrial incarceration,” minimizing “anxiety and concern of the accused,” and limiting “the possibility that the defense will be impaired,” which the Court called “the most serious.” A recent Florida case shows how hard these claims are to win without a strong record. In State v. Stouffer, No. 4D2024-0546 (Fla. 4th DCA Feb. 18, 2026), a racketeering case filed in 2012 was dismissed on constitutional speedy trial grounds. The Fourth District reversed. It held the long delay was presumptively prejudicial, but “the state was not the primary cause of the delay, the defendants did not assert their right to speedy trial, and finally the defendants did not meet their burden of showing actual prejudice.”

The lesson from Stouffer is to assert the right on the record early and document every way the delay has hurt the defense: lost witnesses, faded memories, destroyed evidence, and time in custody. When a constitutional violation is proven, the rule now allows discharge with prejudice.

How long does the State have to file charges before trial deadlines even start?

Separate deadlines govern the charging decision. Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.134, the State must file formal charges within 30 days for a person held in custody; if it does not, the court orders release on the 33rd day, or the 40th day if the State shows good cause. For a person out on pretrial release, the deadline is 60 days, with release from bond conditions available after 63 days and up to 30 more days for good cause. The remedy under Rule 3.134 is release, not dismissal.

Under Rule 3.133, a person charged with a felony who has not been formally charged within 21 days of arrest can request an adversary preliminary hearing. Because the speedy trial clock now waits for the formal charge, these earlier deadlines matter more than they used to. Our post on how domestic violence charges are filed in Hillsborough County shows how the 30-day window works in practice.

How long do criminal cases take in Hillsborough County?

Longer than the rule’s periods suggest. The Florida courts’ FY 2024-25 Statistical Reference Guide shows the 13th Judicial Circuit received 12,317 felony filings and disposed of 10,862 felony cases that year, a clearance rate of 88.2%, down from 100.5% the year before. A rate below 100% means the pending caseload grew.

Speedy trial discharges are rare. Of 155,206 felony dispositions statewide in FY 2024-25, the same report counts 8 as speedy trial dispositions. Jury trials are uncommon too: the 13th Circuit held 108 felony jury trials that year, about 1.0% of its dispositions. Florida’s court rules set a presumptively reasonable time standard of 180 days from arrest to final disposition for a felony and 90 days for a misdemeanor in Rule 2.250 of the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration.

Scholars saw the recapture debate coming. In Florida’s New Speedy Trial Rule: The “Window of Recapture”, 13 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. 9 (1985), Professor John Yetter explained the 1984 creation of the recapture window and argued it must stay short to keep the State’s incentive to meet deadlines. The 2025 rule tripled it.

When should you demand a speedy trial?

Only when you are ready for trial. A Demand for Speedy Trial tells the court the defense is prepared, and once filed, the trial must be set within 60 days. If the State is not ready, the demand can force a dismissal, a better offer, or a trial on a thin case. If the defense is not ready, the demand can backfire.

Holding the State to its deadlines still changes outcomes. In a September 2025 case, a gang beating and kidnapping prosecution ended in a misdemeanor battery plea and probation after our firm declined to waive speedy trial. In February 2025, our attorneys had a felony warrant that had been pending for more than four years quashed and the case dismissed. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. More results are on our case results page.

What should you do if your case is dragging on?

Take three steps:

1. Find the formal charge date. The information or indictment date now starts the rule’s clock.
2. Check every continuance. Know which ones the defense requested, because those usually waive the rule.
3. Assert the constitutional right in writing. A written assertion is the record a court looks for under Barker.

Our Hillsborough County criminal defense attorney team reviews the docket, the continuance history, and the prejudice to the defense before deciding whether to file a demand, a notice of expiration, or a constitutional motion to dismiss. Our guide on whether criminal charges can be dropped or dismissed in Florida covers the other ways a case can end before trial.

Frequently asked questions about speedy trial in Florida

Can speedy trial get my charges dropped in Florida?

Sometimes. Under the current rule, a missed deadline usually leads to a dismissal without prejudice that the State can refile, while a proven constitutional violation can end the case for good. The Brancato Law Firm evaluates both before deciding which motion to file.

Does the speedy trial clock start at arrest in Florida?

Not anymore. Since July 1, 2025, the 90-day and 175-day periods start when you are formally charged by information, indictment, or a misdemeanor charging document. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm track that date and the separate Rule 3.134 filing deadlines from the first week.

What happens if I waive speedy trial?

You give up the rule’s time periods, usually in exchange for time to investigate or for a diversion program that requires a waiver. The Brancato Law Firm weighs that trade case by case, and you can learn about diversion options on our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

How long is too long for a criminal case in Florida?

There is no fixed number under the Constitution. Courts first ask whether the delay is long enough to be presumptively prejudicial for that kind of case, and then the reason for the delay, your assertion of the right, and the harm to your defense decide the claim. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm document that harm as the case goes, not at the end.

What is the recapture period in Florida?

It is the mandatory 30 days the State gets to bring a case to trial after the court holds the hearing on a Notice of Expiration of Speedy Trial Time. The Brancato Law Firm files the notice and holds the State to the 30 days, as explained in the Florida Bar’s summary of the 2025 amendments.

Does speedy trial apply if I am out on bond?

Yes. Rule 3.191 applies whether you are in custody or on pretrial release, and the constitutional right protects everyone who has been charged. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm use it for clients on bond whose cases have stalled.

For how this fits into the rest of a case, see our step-by-step guide to what happens in a Florida criminal case.

Talk to our Tampa criminal defense attorneys about a delayed case

If your case has been pending for months, the next decision about speedy trial may be the most important one in it. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato, will review your docket, the continuance record, and the harm the delay has caused, then tell you whether to demand trial, file a notice, or move to dismiss. Call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential consultation. You can call us at any hour. Our firm has Spanish-speaking staff, and attorney Jean-Luc Adrien speaks Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French. Read about our Spanish and Haitian Creole criminal defense services.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense page.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.

620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602

(813) 727-7159

Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.