Katz & Associates | Palm City criminal defense
Palm City Criminal Defense Lawyer
Account for every case the new accusation may affect.
Katz & Associates represents people in Palm City facing felony and misdemeanor charges. A new arrest may also affect probation in an earlier case. An unresolved warrant can add another issue to address.
Tell us about the current charge and any older matter that may be involved. We can discuss the defense each needs. Ask which work the firm could take on.
A Florida law firm founded in 2005
Work out a defense to the current charge
Have a lawyer assess the defense even if this is your only case. A guilty plea is a choice to weigh after looking at the accusation, its proof and any legal challenge.
Katz & Associates handles DUI and drug charges, theft and fraud, assault, battery and domestic allegations. Our Florida criminal defense practice describes these services. Discuss what happened and which part of the accusation you dispute.
Counsel may need to test an identification, find a missing witness or seek a fuller recording. The work should address any lawful defense and what could support it. An allegation about intent may need a different response from a dispute about who was present.
Trial work can involve questioning witnesses and presenting the defense to a judge or jury. A motion may ask the court to exclude material obtained unlawfully. The Florida criminal rules govern those steps. Ask which work the firm proposes and how it would prepare if the case does not end in an agreement.
Two files can call for two defense decisions
A new criminal case concerns the alleged offense. A probation case asks whether you broke a term imposed in an earlier case. The same event may be used in both, but the courts do not decide them by the same standard.
At a criminal trial, the state must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. To revoke probation in a contested case, it must prove a willful and substantial breach. Counsel should examine both the reason for the breach and how serious it was. The probation proof standard is the greater weight of the evidence. That is lower than the criminal-trial standard, as State v. Mitchum explains.
If probation is involved, counsel also needs the earlier order and the alleged breach. Before admitting a violation or agreeing to a new plea, ask how that choice could affect the other case.
A DUI arrest may bring a separate license notice too. To seek formal or informal review under section 322.2615, you have 10 days from the suspension notice's issue date. Ask about any restricted-driving options as well. Have the notice checked without waiting for a court hearing.
Know what the probation allegation is based on
Under Florida's probation-violation law, a technical violation is an alleged breach that does not involve a new felony, misdemeanor or criminal traffic offense. A missed report, test or required class needs a different factual review from an accusation of a new crime.
Read the exact term and the date of the claimed breach with counsel. Appointment notices, attendance records, test results and messages about reporting may help explain what happened. Separate proof of something you completed from an explanation of why something was missed.
Payment claims need care. In Del Valle v. State, the Florida Supreme Court required an ability-to-pay inquiry and a finding of willfulness before imprisonment for failing to pay a probation obligation. The state must first present evidence of willfulness, including ability to pay. The defense may then need to show why payment was not possible.
Share receipts, income records, job-search efforts and the costs that affected your ability to pay. An unpaid balance alone does not answer the legal question. Explain the full circumstances so counsel can assess the evidence and any available response.
Find the order behind each Martin County allegation
The Martin County Clerk's records search provides criminal dockets and non-confidential case documents. Use the case number to look for the earlier judgment and probation order. Check for later changes. Look for the new charge in its own file. If an order is not available online, ask the Clerk how to obtain a copy. If the older matter is in another county, that court's file needs review too.
For each case, identify the county, the current order and the next required step. A payment receipt or short docket entry may leave out a term that matters. Counsel may need the complete order or a copy of what was said in court.
The Clerk's probation-payment guidance distinguishes the local routes. For misdemeanor probation, court fees, fines and costs go through the Clerk. It directs questions about other terms and supervision costs to C.O.R.E. For felony probation terms, it directs people to the Department of Corrections.
Check where a payment was made and which obligation it covered. Paying one balance does not show that every class, reporting duty or other case requirement has been met. Bring the records from each source to the same defense discussion.
Before arranging bond or a surrender
A bond set on a new charge may not resolve detention in an older probation case. Under section 948.06, a court may hold a person or allow release while a disputed violation awaits a hearing. The law requires detention for some felony-probation groups. One is a person classed as a violent felony offender of special concern, unless the allegation is only unpaid costs, fines or restitution. That status turns on the offense and criminal history. The payment exception does not guarantee release. Have counsel check every reason the person is being held before arranging payment.
A warrant also calls for a planned, lawful response. Ask a lawyer to verify its status and the procedure for asking the court to address it. Do not assume you can arrive at a routine hearing and have the warrant resolved that day.
One local example is Judge Metzger's published Martin felony procedure. It allows an in-court surrender only in extraordinary circumstances and with prior court approval. This is one division's direction. Have counsel check the assigned judge's procedure before arranging a surrender or a warrant request. Filing a request does not grant it.
Discuss the cases that need attentionQuestions about the current charge and any earlier case
I was elsewhere when the event happened. How should I raise that?
Tell counsel where you were and who or what could confirm it. Keep travel records, work logs and full messages. Your lawyer can assess how that account fits the state's timeline and what information should be sought. Ask how to approach witnesses and provide the records.
The state dropped the new charge. Is the probation allegation over?
Not automatically. The Mitchum decision confirms that dropping a criminal charge does not by itself end a probation claim based on the same event. Have counsel check the ruling in the probation file and keep its required dates until you know what the court has ordered.
I need to report an arrest to probation. Can I wait until the charge ends?
Have your lawyer read the reporting term now. Do not assume the pending charge extends a reporting deadline. Ask how to meet that duty and how to respond to questions about the event while the new case is open. Keep reporting as ordered while seeking advice.
The violation report lists the wrong appointment date. Does that matter?
It may. Show counsel the original notice, your attendance records and any message changing the appointment. The lawyer can compare them with the allegation and decide how to raise an error. Keep the originals intact rather than changing a record to match your explanation.
Would hiring the firm for the new charge include an out-of-county case?
Ask the firm to identify each county and case number the proposed representation covers. Discuss the work and legal fee for the older matter as well as the new charge. If another lawyer already represents you, explain that so the scope of each lawyer's role can be confirmed.
Set the scope of the defense before signing
A useful first discussion should leave you clear on which cases need review, what work is proposed and how the fee applies. Ask who would handle each matter and how updates would be shared when there is a change in either file.
For an office meeting, ask about the Stuart location: 770 SE Indian Street, Suite A-16, Stuart, FL 34997. Read the firm's background and ask how meetings would be arranged for your matter.
Call 772-933-5289 or contact Katz & Associates. Mention any pending warrant, detention or date that needs attention so the conversation can start with that concern.
Request a Palm City defense consultation
Leave a way to reach you and say whether the concern involves a new charge, probation or both. Ask how to provide court orders and other private records.
This page provides general legal information. Your facts and court orders need individual review. Contact through this form alone does not mean the firm has agreed to represent you.