Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

There are many departments that have arrest power in Jacksonville. The largest agency, by far, is the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Last year, they arrested 44,801 people. Out of that number 39,991 were adult Jacksonville arrests and 4,810 were Jacksonville juvenile arrests. When a juvenile is arrested, the child has specific rights not afforded to adults. If your child is arrested, you should call a Jacksonville Juvenile Attorney as soon as possible to discuss his or her rights.

Here is a breakdown of the arrests made in Jacksonville in 2009 by crime:

66 murder arrests in Jacksonville
271 rape / sex crime arrests in Jacksonville
625 robbery arrests in Jacksonville
1,345 aggravated assault arrests in Jacksonville
1,158 burglary arrests in Jacksonville
5,660 theft arrests in Jacksonville
368 grand theft auto arrests in Jacksonville
4 manslaughter arrests in Jacksonville
25 kidnapping arrests in Jacksonville
19 arson arrests in Jacksonville
4,054 misdemeanor assault arrests in Jacksonville
6,794 drug arrests in Jacksonville
1,228 fraud arrests in Jacksonville
58 forgery arrests in Jacksonville
2,732 DUI arrests in Jacksonville
571 gun / weapons arrests in Jacksonville

Our Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys practice criminal defense in all Northeast Florida counties, including Nassau County. Nassau County, Florida includes Yulee, Fernandina Beach, and Amelia Island. If you are arrested in one of these areas, you should consult with a Nassau County criminal lawyer as soon as possible to discuss not only your criminal case, but your rights.

The number of reported crimes in Nassau County in 2009 according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement:

Nassau Grand Theft Auto - 96
Nassau Theft - 1,119
Nassau Burglary - 498
Nassau Aggravated Assault - 370
Nassau Robbery - 35
Nassau Rape Charges - 6

As a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm, we are always interested in how many crimes are reported in our area in a given year. FDLE, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, issues a Uniform Crime Report every year showcasing the arrest and reported crime statistics from every county in Florida.

There were 101 reported murders in Jacksonville, 238 rapes in Jacksonville, 2,491 Jacksonville robberies, 4,383 Jacksonville Aggravated Assaults, 11,978 reported Jacksonville Burglaries, 30,296 reported Jacksonville Theft Crimes, and 2,869 reported Grand Theft Auto cases.

Our Florida Criminal Law Firm handles cases in all counties of Northeast Florida, including Clay County. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issues a uniform crime report every year with crime statistics from the previous year.

Here are the number of reported crimes in Clay County, including Green Cove Springs and Middleburg, for the year 2009:

Clay County Murder - 13
Clay County Grand Theft Auto - 199
Clay County Theft - 3,465
Clay County Burglary - 1,070
Clay County Aggravated Assault - 742
Clay County Robbery - 122
Clay County Rape - 52

As Criminal Defense Lawyers who practice in Baker County, we are interested in statistical data concerning reported crimes in that county.

For 2009, these are the numbers of reported crimes in Baker County reported in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Annual Uniform Crime Report:

Baker County Homicide - 1
Baker County Rape - 12
Baker County Robbery - 8
Baker County Aggravated Assault - 42
Baker County Burglary - 68
Baker County Theft - 298
Baker County Grand Theft Auto - 13

If you have been arrested in Baker County, contact a Baker County Criminal Defense Law Firm to discuss your rights.

As Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyers, we represent many people on a variety of theft crimes, including uttering a forged instrument. Uttering is a third degree felony in Florida and is punishable for up to 5 years in prison.

In order to prove the crime of uttering, the prosecutor has to prove:

1. That you passed or attempted to pass a forged instrument, such as a check.

2. That you knew the instrument was false, altered, forged, or counterfeited.

3. That you had the intent to injure or defraud.

It is not enough for the prosecutor to show that you should have known it was forged. They have to prove you had actual knowledge. If you have been arrested on an uttering charge, you should consult with a Jacksonville Uttering Attorney as soon as possible to discuss your rights and your case.

A guidance counselor was arrested in Jacksonville on charges of sexual battery. Tara Thompson, a Baldwin High School teacher, is accused of having sexual intercourse with a 17 year-old student. The actual charge she was arrested for is sexual battery on a victim under 18 years-old by someone having familial or custodial authority.

If you are over 18, you can be arrested for sexual battery in Florida for having sex with someone who is 17 years-old, even if the act was consensual. Sexual battery is defined as oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object. Sexual battery does not include an act done for a bona fide medical purpose.

If you are being accused of any type of sex crime in Jacksonville, contact a Jacksonville Sex Crime Attorney as soon as possible. No other accusations carry more stigma than sexual accusations, particularly when a child is involved. There is usually no physical evidence in these cases, just someone's unsworn testimony. A Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer can investigate motivations to lie in a criminal case and many times discredit witnesses/alleged victims.

People call our Jacksonville Criminal Law Firm all the time with questions about police searches. People usually ask whether or not JSO is allowed to search their car, home, etc.

Warrantless searches are generally not allowed by the police, but there are a few exceptions. Police can search you, your car, or your home if it is "incident" to your arrest. If you are arrested in your car, they can search it only if you are unsecured (not in handcuffs) and within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search or when JSO has reason to believe evidence relevant to the crime might be found in your car. This search is allowed in the interest of officer safety and evidence preservation.

In a recent Florida criminal case, the 2nd District Court of Appeals found the police conducted a bad search when they found a gun in a locked glove box during a search of the suspect's car. The suspect was arrested for fleeing and eluding and was immediately separated from his car, put in handcuffs, and was being watched by police officers when his car was searched. There was no longer a threat to officer safety and the police could not have reasonably believed any evidence of the fleeing would be found in the glove compartment.

At the beginning of every criminal arrest in Jacksonville, the police try to get information out of the suspect. The police are taught and encouraged to lie in certain interrogations to get information.

When a suspect makes admissions to the police, those admissions have to be knowingly, freely, and voluntarily made. It is illegal for the police to threaten a suspect with violence and the police are not allowed to make direct or implied promises, however slight. That means they are not allowed to promise to make your case better if you talk.

The court, when determining whether a confession was legally obtained, must look at the totality of the circumstances to assess whether or not the confession was the result of a free and rational choice. If the officer induces the suspect to confess by using language that amounts to a threat or promise of benefit, the confession is untrustworthy and should be excluded. That is why it is so important to consult with a Northeast Florida Criminal Attorney as soon as possible after an arrest. A Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer can look at your case and any alleged confession and determine whether or not it was freely and voluntarily made.

Getting an injunction in Jacksonville is a civil matter, not a criminal one. That means in injunction court, there is no determination of guilt in a domestic battery situation.

A court can issue an injunction when it appears that the person seeking the injunction is either the victim of domestic violence or has reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic battery. The court has to make the determination whether or not the alleged victim's fear is reasonable. Some factors that the court considers are:

1. The current accusations of domestic violence.
2. The parties' behavior within the relationship.
3. The history of the relationship as a whole.

More times than not, injunctions are granted because most courts don't want to take any chances when someone says they are in fear and accuses someone of violence. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Law Firm handles many injunctions that come along with a criminal domestic battery case. If you are either the respondent or petitioner, everything you say in an injunction hearing in Jacksonville is recorded and can be used against you in the criminal case. That is why it is so important to consult with a Jacksonville Domestic Battery Attorney about your case.