Orlando Criminal Lawyers

Although you have no legal obligation to retain a private attorney to represent you when you are arrested or made the target of a criminal investigation by a government entity, there are excellent reasons to retain a skilled, experienced Orlando criminal lawyer. Most people do not have extensive knowledge of Florida laws, criminal procedure, the evidence code, or local court rules. This unfamiliarity can make the criminal justice system a maze of incomprehensible rules, standards, and terminology. Our Orlando defense lawyers can guide you through the process. Our attorneys also have handled many cases through the years in the criminal courts of Orlando. We have developed positive relationships with people that will be involved in your case, which can improve your outcome. When you work with our experienced private attorneys as opposed to a public defender, you also benefit from our extensive resources and lighter caseloads.

Sex Crime Defense Lawyers in Orlando

Even the mere allegation that you have committed a sex offense can devastate your reputation, but a conviction usually means incarceration in jail or prison, staggering fines, and lifetime registration as a sex predator or sex offender. Our lawyers work doggedly to safeguard your legal rights and ensure you receive the most effective defense. Allegations of sex offenses often result from complicated family dynamics and innocent circumstances that are misinterpreted. The criminal justice process is not a flawless search for the truth by police and prosecutors. Their focus will be to obtain information that supports your arrest and conviction. The judge’s role in the process is to be impartial, so he or she does specifically protect your rights or advocate for your best interests. Our function is not to judge, but to focus on utilizing proven criminal litigation strategies to obtain a positive disposition of your case.

Our Orlando Sex Crime Lawyers Defend the Entire Body of Sex Crimes

We defend the entire body of sex crimes, such as:

• Rape
• Human Trafficking
• Computer/Internet Sex Crimes
• Voyeurism
• Sexual Battery
• Solicitation
• Sexual Activity with a 16 or 17 Year Old
• Sexting
• Prostitution
• Sale or Distribution to a Minor
• Indecency with a Child
• Federal Sex Crimes
• Incest
• Pimping & Pandering
• Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
• Stalking
• Sexual Assault
• Sexual Tourism
• Retail Display of Pornography to a Minor
• Sexual Predator Act
• Child Molestation
• Lewd and Lascivious Offenses

Domestic Violence Lawyers in Orlando

Pursuant to Section 742.28 of the Florida Statutes, domestic violence refers to any stalking, assault, kidnapping, battery, sexual assault, false imprisonment, sexual battery, or other crime that causes an injury or fatality committed against a past or present member of the accused’s family or household. The statute specifies that the covered relationships include:

• Spouses and former spouses
• Persons related by marriage or blood
• Biological co-parents

Generally, the accused and the complaining witness must have lived together at some point in time. The focus on domestic violence by the media and lawmakers combined with Florida’s mandatory minimum sentencing makes skilled and experienced legal representation imperative. The blemish of a conviction of this type of offense cannot be removed from your criminal record through the process of expungement or record sealing even if the judge withholds adjudication. While jail time, participation in a batterer’s treatment program, community service, probation, and a criminal record constitute serious consequences, a conviction also might result in an injunction of protection (e.g. restraining order). This order can force you to move out of your shared home and remain a minimum distance from the home and vehicle of the complaining witness.

Reliable Domestic Violence Defense Attorneys in Orlando

Our domestic violence attorneys recognize that fabricated claims of domestic violence often become a weapon to gain an advantage in divorces and child custody matters. We explore all evidence and potential defenses, which include motivations of the complaining witnesses to fabricate their accusations to build the best possible defense.

Orlando DUI Lawyers

An arrest for driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol in Florida can be upsetting, intimidating, and confusing. The experience of having a police officer stop your vehicle and slap handcuffs on your wrist constitutes a first-time experience that most people would prefer to avoid. Whether you are personally arrested or you are assisting a loved one or a friend, maximizing your understanding of DUI law and your legal rights becomes critically important.

Types of DUI Cases our Orlando DUI Lawyers Represent

Our Orlando DUI lawyers have successfully represented clients in DMV administrative hearings to protect their driver’s license and criminal hearings to keep clients out of jail and shielded from steep fines and costs. This experience means we have familiarity with the procedural mistakes made by officers when pulling over a vehicle, conducting standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) and/or chemical tests of blood alcohol level (BAL), and undertaking arrest procedures. DUI-related cases we handle include but are not limited to the following:

• Felony DUIM
• License Revocation Hearings
• DUI Manslaughter
• Repeat Offender DUI
• DUI Accidents
• Commercial Driver DUIs
• DUI Boating

Orlando Criminal Defense Law Firm

Because our Orlando criminal attorneys have decades of collective experience, we represent individuals facing the charges above and the full litany of other crimes, such as:

• Organized Crime (RICO)
• Violent Offenses
• Financial Offenses (i.e. White-Collar Offenses)
• Drug Crimes (possession, possession of marijuana, distribution, trafficking, etc.)
• Crimes Involving Weapons & Firearms

Criminal Lawyers in Orlando

Whether the police have arrested you after showing up at your home or business or after stopping your vehicle, you should immediately and clearly assert your right to remain silent until you have Orlando criminal lawyers present to provide an aggressive defense.

The criminal defense team at Musca Law in Orlando has over 150 years of combined experience. We can confidently defend your rights before the court and fight for your life, as we have for so many others. We treat our clients like our family. With matters of this much importance, we have no tolerance for mistakes.

If you have been accused of a criminal charge, seek legal counsel before speaking to law enforcement. We guide our clients through every step of the legal battle so that they are never left to fight alone. Call our Orlando criminal defense office today for a free case evaluation.

White Collar Crimes

According to Florida law, white collar crimes are crimes that include the “commission or conspiracy to commit any felony theft or fraud.” White collar crimes took their name from the fact that they are most usually connected with people who are in corporate jobs. These crimes are normally a lot more complicated than your ordinary everyday robbery. White collar crimes also tend to include a much larger sum of money than a traditional home or store robbery.

White collar crimes are illegal actions such as forgery, counterfeiting, racketeering, passing bad checks, taking advantage of the disabled or the elderly, offenses involving financial transactions, insurance fraud, embezzlement, extortion, and pyramid schemes. They often require the aid of high-end technology, and law enforcement and prosecutors hit these kinds of cases very eagerly.

It is imperative to bear in mind that just because no one was influenced by the threat of bodily harm or actual bodily harm does not indicate that you will not have to spend any time in prison. The bulk of white-collar crime offenders are facing anywhere from five to thirty years in Florida state prison. In certain cases, it could actually be even longer. Sentencing guidelines fluctuate greatly and will mostly rely on the class of crime that you committed, how much money was stolen, the number of victims affected, and whether or not you have a prior criminal history. Not being declared guilty is our main object in cases involving white-collar crimes. In the event that there is a  strong amount of evidence against you, this could mean setting up a plea agreement for a lessening of your criminal charges, and therefore, a lessening of your penalties as well. You will need to have a defense attorney in Orlando who is skilled in handling these types of extremely complex and time-consuming cases, and who has previously worked with the other people who will be involved in your case, such as law enforcement, judges, and prosecutors. Our 150 years of collective experience at Musca Law have demonstrated repeated, positive outcomes for our clients, making Musca Law and its team of criminal defense attorneys a commonly relied on and trusted law firm in criminal defense in the state of Florida.

Drug Crimes

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there are 115,000 arrests for drug-related charges every year in Florida. These charges are primarily for lower-level drug crimes, such as possession.

In the state of Florida, drug crimes are normally charged as either felonies or as misdemeanors, although, certain offenses pertaining to drug possession could be deemed civil violations, depending on the laws of the city or county in which the crime took place. For instance, Broward County allows law enforcement officers to issue civil citations for low-level marijuana possession, but the officer does retain the right to go ahead and make an arrest if they should choose to do so.

Our Orlando drug crime criminal defense attorneys have successfully defended numerous clients were arrested for these types of offenses, making good use of legal tactics that range from questioning the legality of a traffic stop and any subsequent search techniques to arranging favorable terms in the event of a plea bargain.

The sentences for drug-related crimes are subject to a wide array of varying factors, including whether or not an alleged sale even really took place, and the kind of drug involved and the quantity that was seized. Previous criminal charges will also factor into the equation. A previous conviction for a charge of drug trafficking can earn you decades behind bars, but even a conviction for a smaller charge will have the ability to change your life entirely. It will negatively impact your finances, your personal liberties and freedoms, and also your choices in where you are able to live, whether or not you receive an education and whether or not you are eligible to apply for certain jobs for the rest of your life. Here at Musca Law, we work diligently to reduce the negative impact that these type of drug allegations will have on your quality of life.

Federal Crimes

There are some criminal acts that are unlawful according to both state and federal laws. If you are charged with one of these crimes you can be tried in either state or federal court. That determination will be made by the U.S. attorney. Other criminal acts, however, are only classified as federal crimes. Some instances of these crimes that are able to be prosecuted at the federal level include:

• Controlled Substance Trafficking: Trafficking is able to be charged as either a state crime or a federal crime. You may be charged with trafficking for possessing even tiny quantities of illegal drugs. You can also be charged with trafficking even if you are not really involved in drug trafficking because these laws classify the offense of trafficking by how much of a given illegal drug is found on your person or on your property.
• Wire Fraud: Mail fraud and wire fraud are similar crimes that involve your use of the federal mail system or wire transmission to participate in committing fraud or some other similar crime
• Tax Fraud: Deliberately misleading the Internal Revenue Service, or purposely neglecting to file and pay your yearly income taxes, will be considered a federal crime. Cheating the IRS is a singularly federal crime that is only tried in federal court, and never on the state level.
• Federal Gun Crimes: The ownership of a gun by any felon is prohibited under both state and federal law. You could possibly be charged with this offense or any number of other federal gun crimes and tried in federal court, according to the wishes of the U.S. attorney.

These are just some examples of the kinds of criminal acts that can pave the way for federal charges. Also, any time that you participate in criminal behavior that crosses state lines, or when you participate in organized crime, you run the risk of being charged in federal court.