THE FIVE BEST WAYS TO AVOID FELONY CHARGES & NOT LET A FELONY RUIN YOUR LIFE

A felony charge in Florida is defined as a criminal act for which a judge may give probation, house arrest or a prison term of more than one year; whereas for a misdemeanor a judge may give probation or jail only up to one year. When officers conduct any criminal investigation or make an arrest for any type of criminal charge one's reputation, freedom and future are always at risk. 


When a felony is charged the risks become much graver, yet even a felony need not ruin someone's life if the charge is handled in an effective manner. 
Here are the best ways a clever criminal defense lawyer can work with you so that even a felony charge need not ruin your life.

1. Attempt to have the charged felony dismissed. The facts of the case should be filtered thru any laws that may prosecution of the case impossible. For example, one defense to a felony aggravated battery charge would be self defense, which if successfully deployed could result in complete dismissal of the criminal charge. In an aggravated assault case a successful defense could in dismissal of the charges if facts establish that the victim was not in actual fear of immediate bodily harm from the alleged misconduct.
2. Make every effort to have the felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor. If the charge can be reduced then the criminal justice system is limited to control of a defendant's life for a maximum time of one year. For example, in an aggravated battery the charge should be reduced to a misdemeanor battery if the victim's injuries are not severe. In a felony grand theft case the charge could be reduced if the amount were proven to be under the felony threshold in Florida of $300.
3. Make certain that if you plead to a felony charge you're given a withholding of adjudication. In some felonies, such as third degree felonies or cases involving a juvenile, the judge may have the discretion to literally withhold adjudication of guilt, meaning that a defendant may later honestly claim to a future employer that he was not adjudicated for the felony.
4. Reduce punishment so that you do not serve time in prison. When a criminal case is unlikely to be won because of significant evidence of guilt, then it may be necessary to reduce the punishment by persuading prosecutors that there is no justification for prison time. For example, it's important to remind prosecutors that in most nonviolent crimes serving prison time for someone who has no prior record is unlikely to prevent further crime and in fact may have the opposite effect of making the person a hardened criminal.
5. Help you articulate why the felony happened and why it will never happen again so that you can become a functional member of the community. If you can demonstrably understand the underlying causes that triggered the crime you'll be much more effective in living a full life again. For example, in job interviews someone convicted of a felony can help assure a prospective employer by showing what was learned from the felony charge and punishment and why going thru that has made you a better person - a person more fit for the job than others who didn't have that learning experience.

If you and your criminal defense lawyer work hard to reduce the consequences of any felony charges, then the criminal justice system in Tampa Bay, Florida need not ruin your life.

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