Florida criminal lawyers work hard every day to guide their clients not only through the arrest, booking and bonding process, but through the courts and sentencing process as well. When a client is arrested, his first move should be to call a lawyer as afforded by his Miranda rights. All clients should keep in mind their right to remain silent, especially when the charges are serious and could involve lengthy prison sentences and large monetary fines. Waiting for a criminal defense lawyer to answer questions can keep the client from admitting to a crime they are unaware they are being charged with or worse, from implicating themselves in further crimes.

Once questioning begins, Florida criminal lawyers will advice you which questions will be answered and which will not be. A hearing will be scheduled to discuss bond amounts and eligibility and the formal reading of the charges will take place. The Florida criminal lawyer will also remind both the police and his client that if they do not formally charge him with a crime, they are limited in the amount of time that they can legally hold him in jail.

After the bond hearing, the criminal lawyer will work on the case at hand. There will be an exchange of information between both sides in the case (Prosecution and Defense). Everything that the prosecution has to use against the client, including lists of witnesses and photos, files, documents and other evidence that could be used in a trial will be sent to the defense. The defense will do the same for the prosecution. This exchange is known as discovery and is very important to a fair trial. This way each side can prepare for what may happen. A list of witnesses is the people who may possibly be called and doesn’t indicate the actual number of witnesses or the order they will be called in.

Most Florida criminal defense lawyers will explain to their clients that their attitude and demeanor may be the most important factors in their case. If they are willing to prove that they are going to better themselves or seek help for anything that may have led to being arrested, they will likely see less punishment than someone who appears resigned to lengthy jail time.

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