Katz & Associates | Jensen Beach, Florida
Jensen Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer
Defense for the charge, clarity for the people helping you.
Katz & Associates defends adults facing criminal charges in Jensen Beach. You may need help yourself, or be calling for a relative who was arrested. We can discuss the charge and the work it may need. Ask how legal help could be arranged.
If you call for someone else, say so. Tell us who needs help and where the case is. Legal choices need the client's input.
Treasure Coast office in Stuart
Discuss how the firm would defend the charge
Katz & Associates defends drug and DUI cases, as well as battery, assault, domestic violence, theft and fraud allegations. The firm's Florida criminal defense practice covers misdemeanors and felonies. Tell us which charge needs review.
Your defense may turn on what you did or what the state says you meant to do. Lawful self-defense may also need review. If an encounter is disputed, separate what a relative saw from what they heard later. Counsel should check each account for direct knowledge, conflicting details and unexplained gaps. A family's account needs review like any other.
Counsel can check a search, ask for state evidence or raise a defense that fits the facts. At trial, counsel can question the state's witnesses and present evidence for the defense. The Florida criminal rules govern the process. Ask which tasks the firm would take on. Find out how it would prepare for trial.
Show counsel any DUI license-suspension notice while you arrange help. Section 322.2615 gives you 10 days after issuance of the suspension notice to request formal or informal review. A later court hearing does not extend that period. Ask about any restricted-driving options.
Confirm the county before looking for the case
A Jensen Beach mailing name is not enough to choose a court-record system. Check the county on the actual case papers. Under Florida's venue law, trial generally takes place in the county where an offense was committed. A court may order a change. Do not choose a court based only on a home address.
Use the Martin County court search for a Martin case. For a St. Lucie case, use its public court search. The St. Lucie Clerk explains the limits: one county clerk cannot access another's court records, even in the same circuit.
If a relative is jailed, give the firm their name, the facility and any booking or case details you have. Ask what else the firm needs to find the matter. You do not need to work out the whole case through a public search before calling.
The adult client keeps the key defense choices
A relative can arrange a call, sort records or ask about paying a fee. That help does not give the relative the client's role in the defense.
Under Florida Bar rules, the client chooses the plea after talking with the lawyer. The client also decides whether to waive, or give up, a jury trial and whether to testify. Counsel gives advice on risks and choices. A family preference cannot replace the adult client's decision.
Tell the firm about any guardianship or other formal legal authority to act for the client. The order or terms need individual review. Being a parent or spouse, or paying the fee, does not by itself establish that authority.
Separate payment help from access to private advice
Florida's third-party fee rule requires the client's informed consent. The lawyer must explain the important risks and available alternatives before the client agrees to someone else paying. The lawyer's professional judgment must stay independent. The client's information must stay protected. Paying does not buy control of the defense or a right to every update.
Before paying, ask who the client would be and which work the fee covers. Ask how the fee terms will be set out. The client and lawyer should address what may be shared with a supporter. Helping with costs does not make every legal talk open to you.
If private counsel is beyond the budget, ask the court whether the client qualifies for appointed counsel in the pending case. A relative does not have to fund the defense to raise that question.
Lawyer-client privilege protects certain private legal talks from being disclosed. Florida's privilege statute allows disclosure to some people to help provide legal services. It also allows those reasonably needed to pass along the message. Being family is not enough by itself. Ask who should join before discussing the facts. This privilege differs from the lawyer's broader duty to protect case details. That duty also has legal exceptions.
Use the jail's legal-contact route for legal advice
Family contact and attorney contact can follow different jail rules. The Martin jail mail rules say ordinary inmate mail may be read, censored or rejected. They set separate terms for legal mail. Sending a family letter does not make it privileged legal mail.
The St. Lucie jail visit guide also lists separate routes for personal and professional visits. Its on-site professional video route calls for credentials to be checked and approval confirmed. Do not assume a family video visit provides confidential attorney communication.
If the client is in custody, ask counsel and the jail how to arrange attorney contact. Use a family visit to stay in touch. Ask how private legal advice should be arranged. Check current rules before sending documents or making plans.
Ask about arranging counsel for an adultQuestions for clients and family callers
A witness says I was there. What should counsel check?
Tell counsel how the witness knows you and how they came to name you. A lawyer may need to check the first description or a lineup. Ask what the person could see at the time. That evidence still needs review as part of the defense.
Two relatives are charged in the same event. Can one lawyer defend both?
Do not assume so. Their accounts or interests may differ. Under Florida's conflict rules, a lawyer must check whether acting for both is allowed. Consent cannot fix every conflict. Raise this before making a joint plan or sharing one person's private account for the other.
May I contact a witness to help my relative explain what happened?
Give defense counsel the person's details and ask how they should be approached. If the court issued a no-contact order, its terms may bar messages sent through relatives. Florida's release law covers that indirect contact. Check whom the order names before acting for anyone else.
Make clear who needs counsel and how you can be reached
Contact Katz & Associates about the charge and the help you need. If you are a supporter, explain your role. You may be arranging a call, finding public records or asking about fees. The firm can discuss those plans while keeping the adult client's choices clear.
Katz & Associates was founded in 2005. The About page introduces the firm. Ask about a meeting through the Stuart office. If the person is jailed, ask how contact would be arranged there.
Call 772-933-5289 or reach the firm through its contact page. Mention any date or request that needs attention. A license notice may need review while you are still arranging counsel.
Request a Jensen Beach defense conversation
Leave contact details and the type of criminal matter. If you are calling for an adult relative, say so. Ask how to share records that include private details.
This page gives general legal information. Advice depends on the facts and who seeks counsel. A form request alone does not create an attorney-client relationship.