Jacksonville Criminal Attorney Blog

As a Jacksonville DUI Law Firm, we represent many people who have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence. Today, the Florida Gators play the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has issued a statement telling citizens of Jacksonville and visitors JSO will be out in force.

Even though JSO will not put a checkpoint right outside EverBank Field, they will be on patrol watching for anything that will justify a traffic stop. Most DUI arrests in Jacksonville begin with a traffic stop. The police have to articulate particular reasons they pull you over. Most commonly cited - speeding, weaving in or outside the lane of travel, and running a stop sign or red light.

Once the officer pulls you over he or she is looking for anything to detain you further, such as the odor of alcohol, slurred speech, or even you having a red face. The police are supposed to issue you a civil citation and let you go on your way unless they notice something that will justify questioning you further. If you are pulled over and the police officer wants to ask you questions about drinking, etc, exercise your right to remain silent. You do NOT have to answer an officer's questions, especially if he or she is asking questions to incriminate you. Ask to speak to a Jacksonville DUI Attorney to discuss your rights.

As a Clay County criminal defense law firm, we represent many people who have been arrested in Clay and the surrounding areas. There are several law enforcement agencies that conduct arrests in Clay County. They are:

Clay County Sheriff's Office
Green Cove Springs Police Department
Orange Park Police Department
Department of Environmental Protection
Department of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
Florida Game Commission
Florida Highway Patrol

The Clay County Sheriff's Office arrested the most from January to June of this year, with 3,955 total arrests. Green Cove Springs PD arrested 256, Florida Highway Patrol arrested 148, and Orange Park arrested 140.

The Forbess Law Firm is a Northeast Florida Criminal Defense Law Firm. We practice 100% criminal law and all of our clients have been accused of a crime, whether or not they have been arrested. As criminal lawyers, we analyze Florida crime information, particularly statistics that relate to Jacksonville and the surrounding counties.

In Jacksonville / Duval County, there are 13 law enforcement agencies that have the power to arrest you. They are:

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Jacksonville Beach Police Department
Atlantic Beach Police Department
Neptune Beach Police Department
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
University of North Florida Police Departmenttarg
Jacksonville Port Authority
Duval County School Board
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Department of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
Florida Game Commission
Florida Highway Patrol

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, by far, arrests the most people. From January to June 2010, JSO arrested 19,013 people. The Florida Highway Patrol came in second, with 1,312 arrests. Jacksonville Beach PD arrested 846, Atlantic Beach arrested 417, and Neptune Beach arrested 219.

Arrests of citizens is a daily occurrence in every county in Florida. As a Jacksonville Criminal Lawyer, I see firsthand how many people are arrested in Duval County. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement compiles arrests numbers every six months for all of the counties in Florida.

There was a total of 509,058 arrests from January to June 2010. Of that total, 350,664 were adult males, 107,624 were adult females, 37,424 were juvenile boys, and 13,346 were juvenile girls.

There was 387 arrests for murder, 1,330 arrests for forcible sex crimes, 4,835 robbery arrests, 14,129 burglary arrests, 2,863 grand theft auto arrests, 489 kidnapping arrests, 213 arson arrests, 7,517 fraud arrests, 74,139 drug arrests, 24,069 DUI arrests, and 3,046 weapon arrests.

We are a Jacksonville Domestic Violence Law Firm and represent many people charged with crimes involving violence. Our Jacksonville Domestic Battery attorneys constantly analyze crime reports involving reported claims of violence.

There are several crimes that are enhanced by there being a domestic relationship between the defendant and victim. The state of Florida compiles the statistics of reported domestic violence and issues a Crime in Florida Report semi-annually. This year, from January to June, here are some of the numbers relating to domestic violence:

Domestic forcible rape crimes went down by 5.3%. Domestic aggravated assault crimes went down by 5.1%. Aggravated stalking went down by 23.9%. Simple assault went down by 1.8%.

The relationship of the parties also varies. Of the 1049 domestic forcible sex offenses, 61 offenders were the spouse of the victim, 58 were the parent, 285 were the child, and 150 were the sibling. Of the 44,371 domestic simple assault charges, 9,820 were committed by the spouse of the victim, 5,119 by the parent, and 2,754 by the child.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement compiles information and statistics from law enforcement agencies all over the state about crime. The most recent report the department issued is the 2010 Semi-Annual crime report.

As a whole, crime went down 4.8% from January to June of 2010. Reported rape crimes in Florida went down by 5.3%. Robberies went down by 17.1%. Aggravated Assault charges went down by 8.9%. Reported burglaries also dropped by 5.5%. Theft crimes, such as petty theft, shoplifting, and purse snatching went down by 1.7%.

For the first 6 months of 2010, 509,058 total adults and 458,288 juveniles were arrested. Of the adult number, 388,088 were men and 120,970 were women.

A total of $674,097,499 worth of property was reported stolen, with only $141,041,583 recovered. $64,440,717 of the property stolen was actual cash, $108,807,064 was jewelery and precious metals, $182,810,992 was stolen cars, and $4,718,517 was firearms.

As Jacksonville Sex Crimes Attorneys, we represent many people who are charged with sex crimes, such as sexual battery (rape), lewd and lascivious molestation, and lewd and lascivious battery. It is very easy to be accused of these crimes and very few crimes carry the stigma of a sex charge.

We often hear about sex offenders, but what exactly is the definition of one? A sex offender is a person who has been:

Convicted of committing, or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit, any of the criminal offenses of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation, lewd and lascivious battery, etc. or any SIMILAR crime committed in Florida.

"Conviction" means the person has been determined guilty as a result of a plea or a trial, regardless of whether adjudication is withheld. That means, even if you are not convicted of the sex charge in Jacksonville, you can still be deemed a sex offender and will have to comply with all of the requirements.

At The Forbess Law Firm, we are Jacksonville Criminal Attorneys who handle criminal cases exclusively. There is one crime in particular that is very easy to be arrested for. That crime is Domestic Battery. Domestic Violence is a first degree misdemeanor punishable for up to one year in jail. There are two elements the prosecutor has to prove with domestic battery in Florida. There has to be a domestic relationship between the parties, such as having a child in common or having ever lived together. There also has to be an intentional touching against the other party's will or intentional harm inflicted on them.

Many of our Jacksonville domestic battery clients tell us that the police inform them, when they are dispatched to a battery, they have to take someone to jail. This is incorrect. A police officer should only arrest someone if there is probable cause to believe that person committed a crime. A phone call from a neighbor, for example, who did not see any touching is not probable cause to arrest someone for domestic battery.

According to the Florida Times Union, Duval County will now have a special court that handles domestic battery cases only. The court will allow representatives from victim agencies, such as Hubbard House in Duval County, Quigley House in Clay County, or Micah's Place in Nassau County to be present during the process.