My friend just asked me to bail him out. What should I do?

by Adams & Luka

Suppose you receive a phone call from a friend asking you to bail them out of jail after their arrest. For most of us, this is an uncommon decision to make. Before you make any determinations, it is important to understand the bail process. Upon arrest in Florida, a person is processed at a local county jail. Bail is a process of posting bail or money at the jail (or court) to ensure a defendant’s return to court. It is designed to help ensure that individuals show up for subsequent court appearances. Before you post bail or assist a friend in the posting of a bond, you should be aware of several considerations.

First, it is imperative to assess the quality of your friendship. Is this a really good friend or just an acquaintance you are assisting? In your decision, you may also wish to consider the nature of the charges and the amount of the bond at issue. Further, keep in mind that being charged with a crime is a stressful experience and may provoke behaviors that could lead to the defendant’s absence in court.

The most popular way of bailing someone out of jail is with the assistance of a bail bondsman. The bondsman will issue a bond for you, which essentially guarantees the court system your friend will be present at future hearings. Generally, bail bondsmen in Florida post the bond themselves and charge a non-refundable fee (10% of the total bond). The money paid to a bail bondsman is known as bail premiums, and this amount is non-refundable. Nonetheless, there are many advantages to hiring a bail bondman to bail your friend. The bail procedures are technical matters that require vast knowledge and experience, and your bail bondsman may guarantee a smooth bailing process. There is a significant amount of paperwork that comes with the bail process, and your bondsman can provide you with the expertise required to handle these documents with accuracy. Keep in mind, when using a bail bond company, it is likely they will require some basic information such as your friend’s name, date of birth, and the name of the detention center where he or she is currently being held. Furthermore, you will need to provide your credit card and driver’s license information for surety purposes. The support of a bail bondsman can go a long way to ensure that all financial and legal matters are handled properly.

February 1, 2021

My date lied about her age and the police want to speak with me

by Adams & Luka

The police showed up at my door and accused me of having sexual relations with a woman who was underage. There was consent and she told me she was 20 years old. She turned out to be 16 years old. What should I do?

If the police show up asking questions, you should not answer any of their questions or make any statements to them regarding the accusations. Once they leave, call an attorney who specializes in criminal defense and explain the police are making these alleged accusations against you. The attorney will provide you with legal advice by explaining your next steps and advising you to not contact the other party involved, or speak to the police without an attorney present.

In Florida, having sexual relations with a minor can result in criminal charges, leading to prison time and hefty fines. The age of sexual consent is 18 years old- anyone under the age of 18 is considered a minor. Regardless of the minor giving consent, Florida law declares minors to be incapable of giving informed consent.

January 5, 2021

I did not actually kill a person, so I must be off the hook

by Adams & Luka

As much as we would wish that to be true, it is not. Attempted murder, under Florida statutes 777.04: Attempts, Solicitation, Conspiracy and 782.04: Homicide; Murder, is prosecuted and punishable with a murder prison sentence.

To be convicted of murder, two elements must be proven. In legal terms, they are called ‘mens rea’ or a guilty mind, and ‘actus reus’ or a guilty act.

Mens Rea= A Guilty Mind

January 5, 2021

I was driving a car/boat and another person died. Can I be charged with their death?

by Adams & Luka

Vehicular homicide occurs when a person is driving a vehicle and fatally harms an individual or unborn child. If the unborn child dies, even if the mother of the unborn child survives, it can still be charged a vehicular homicide. The driver must be proven to be driving recklessly when the incident occurred. Florida courts define recklessness as behavior likely to cause death or great bodily harm, or willful disregard for the safety of others. Even if the individual does not die at the scene of the accident but succumbs to their injuries soon after, you can still be charged with vehicular homicide. Intent is not an element when being charged; the prosecution will not care that you did not want to kill another person. They just need to prove that someone died, that you caused the accident, and that you were behaving recklessly.

Many scenarios highlight a vehicular homicide charge. You could be turning right at an intersection and hit a person on the crosswalk during their right-of-way because you are trying to beat the red light. You could be driving excessively at 70 MPH in a 45 MPH zone and hit another person’s car, causing them to lose control and crash. You could be trying to pass another car in a “No Pass” zone and hit an oncoming car. In some cases where a person fell asleep at the wheel and killed another person when their car crashed, they were convicted of vehicular homicide because they knew of their tired state but drove anyway, acting recklessly and putting others in harm’s way. All these scenarios come from Florida court cases where the defendant has a vehicular homicide charge because their reckless driving was endangering others.

Florida also has a charge for vessel homicide. Whereas a ‘vehicle’ is defined as a land motor vehicle, such as a car, a motorcycle, a semi, etc., a ‘vessel’ is defined under Florida Rules as a watercraft vehicle: an airboat, a barge, boat, canoe, commercial fishing vessel, and commercial parasailing. Vessel homicide follows the same requirements and charges as vehicular homicide. The same as above, even if the individual does not die at the scene of the accident but succumbs to their injuries soon after, you can still be charged with vessel homicide.

September 14, 2020

Extradition From Another State To Florida

by Adams & Luka

If you are residing or traveling through another state and you have contact with law enforcement, which leads to an arrest warrant showing up, you may be sent back or extradited to Florida. This often occurs as a result of a traffic stop and your driver’s license is checked. So, what started as a potential speeding ticket in, let’s say, Indiana, has now turned into your being arrested for a grand theft arrest warrant in Orange County, Florida, and being held in a DeKalb County, Indiana jail. The next step is extradition back to Florida.

Extradition is the transfer of a person from one state to another state (called the demanding state) for crimes committed in the demanding state. That person is called a fugitive. Depending on whether Florida is the demanding state or extraditing state, Florida State Attorneys will follow Florida State Statute 941.05 or 941.06, describing extradition protocol. Each state must also follow the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, which says the state must extradite the fugitive to the demanding state, but the implementation of the extradition guidelines is at each state’s discretion. In the example, the fugitive would be extradited to Orange County Police custody from DeKalb County Police custody for the grand theft warrant. By law, the fugitive must be extradited within 30 days of the arrest (except in extenuating circumstances).

In the extraditing state (our example would be Indiana), the fugitive arrested has three options.

Orlando Criminal Lawyer Blog