Defending Your Rights And Future

A criminal conviction can have a damaging, long-term impact on your future. A conviction can limit your employment options, affect your ability to rent an apartment and put strain on your relationships.

If you have been charged with a crime, you need a lawyer who can help combat the charges against you, one who understands how to help limit the harm your conviction can cause to you and your future.

Our Criminal Defense Practice

Melisa L. Militello, P.A., defends clients facing a variety of misdemeanor and felony charges including:

• DUI and traffic offenses: Our DUI and traffic offense representation is designed to help you protect your driving privileges, your wallet, and even your freedom from harm caused by first offenses and repeat citations. Our experience includes defending those accused of drunk driving charges, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and other driver offenses. Throughout your proceedings, we offer the advice you need to understand your options to address your citations in the most effective manner possible.
• Drug offenses: Our drug crimes defense is designed to help limit or eliminate the penalties that stem from a conviction. By carefully examining the events leading to and following your arrest, we strive to gather information that can be used against the prosecution to drop or reduce your charges, or find alternative sentencing avenues.
• Felony drug crimes: Felony drug offenses carry serious and often mandatory penalties, including mandatory prison sentences, if conviction occurs. We aggressively defend the rights of those facing felony drug charges such as drug manufacturing, trafficking, possession with intent to sell or distribute controlled substances, drug conspiracy, and prescription drug fraud.
• Domestic violence and injunctions: Florida laws take a strict stance on violence among family members and spouses. This strict stance, combined with the implementation of temporary or permanent injunctions following your arrest, lead to the need for aggressive defense during your proceedings. Our lawyers work to help you avoid domestic abuse convictions and the social stigma relating to them.
• Sealing criminal records: We provide detailed guidance throughout the process of sealing existing criminal records in an effort to help you move forward with a clean and clear record.
• Juvenile delinquency: If your child has been accused of a misdemeanor or felony offense, you need experienced support to defend their rights and future. Our firm has extensive experience representing teens and children accused of various crimes, and will work diligently to minimize the consequences they face.
• General misdemeanors: Our firm regularly handles all types of misdemeanor offenses, defined in Florida as crimes that carry a one-year maximum jail sentence. Misdemeanors are broken down into first and second-degree misdemeanors, which have varying limits on jail time, fees and probationary time. We have experience with all of them, including traffic violations (listed in full above), indecent exposure, soliciting a prostitute, assault and battery, shoplifting, petit theft, possession of marijuana, simple drug possessions, and more.
• Felony charges: Felony crimes are serious matters. According to Florida law, they carry penalties of more than one year of prison time; many carry mandatory penalties. Therefore, our lawyers aggressively defend those accused of such crimes, including homicide, grand theft and grand theft auto, robbery, various types of fraud, forgery, felony drug offenses (listed above), weapons violations, sex crimes, sexual assault or battery, stalking, resisting arrest and battery of law enforcement officers (LEOs), felony DUIs, and juvenile felony offenses.
• Probation violations: Those on probation have several restrictions and requirements. Missing appointments with the probation officer, failing to appear in court or attend court-ordered counseling, associating with known criminals or gang members, and abusing drugs or alcohol are all violations that could lead to further charges. Usually those who are re-arrested for alleged probation violations are not granted a bond, and must stay behind bars throughout the duration of the case. Our firm has handled many such cases. We will aggressively seek to have the court issue you a bond and protect your rights throughout the proceedings.

Contact A Skilled Florida Criminal Defense Attorney

Contact our office online or call 352-419-0364 to schedule a consultation to discuss your specific legal concerns.