Criminal defense guides, in one place.

A plain explainer on AI-fabricated case citations and how they have drawn sanctions, with the steps to verify a brief before filing. Companion to the free citation verifier.

A working reference to CJA-20 billing in eVoucher: the service-entry format, the twelve service-type codes, the tenth-hour rounding rule, and how the documented format keeps a voucher from bouncing. Companion to the free CJA formatter.

What a page:line transcript pincite is, why it matters for impeachment and cross-examination, how a paginated line-numbered transcript is structured, and how a cross-page range like Tr. 45:12-46:3 reads. General practice, stated as such. Companion to the free transcript citation copier.

What a Florida DUI carries under Fla. Stat. § 316.193: the fine ranges and jail ceilings by conviction, the higher penalties when the alcohol level is 0.15 or above or a minor is in the car, the mandatory minimums on repeat convictions, and when a third conviction becomes a felony. Every figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the free sentencing-outcomes data study.

What possession of a controlled substance carries in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 893.13: why most possession is a third-degree felony, when 20 grams or less of cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, and when possession of more than 10 grams of listed Schedule I/II substances is a first-degree felony, with the maximum prison term and fine that follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Every figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. Trafficking is a separate track, not computed. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the Chapter 893 statute reference.

What theft carries in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 812.014: where the petit-theft misdemeanor line sits, when theft becomes grand theft, and how grand theft is graded into three felony degrees by property value, with the maximum prison term and fine that follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Every value band and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. Robbery is a separate, harsher offense, not computed. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the Chapter 812 statute reference.

What battery carries in Florida under Chapter 784: why a first simple battery is a first-degree misdemeanor under § 784.03, when a battery becomes felony battery under § 784.041 or aggravated battery under § 784.045, and how a prior conviction reclassifies a new battery as a felony, with the maximum prison term and fine that follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Every degree and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. Assault is a separate offense, not computed. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the Chapter 784 statute reference.

What burglary carries in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 810.02: why an unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure or conveyance is a third-degree felony, when burglary of a dwelling or an occupied structure or conveyance is a second-degree felony, and when an assault or battery, being armed, or major damage makes it a first-degree felony punishable up to a term of years not exceeding life. Every degree and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. Trespass and possession of burglary tools are separate offenses, not computed. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the Chapter 810 statute reference.

What fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer carries in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 316.1935: why base fleeing is a third-degree felony, when high-speed or wanton-disregard fleeing is a second-degree felony, and when fleeing causing serious bodily injury or death is a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum, plus the driver-license revocation, with the maximum prison term and fine that follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Every degree, figure, and the mandatory minimum quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the § 316.1935 statute reference.

What driving while license suspended carries in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 322.34, starting with the load-bearing knowledge element: driving without knowing of the suspension is a noncriminal moving violation, while driving knowing of it is a crime. A knowing first offense is a second-degree misdemeanor, a second or subsequent conviction is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third or subsequent conviction becomes a third-degree felony only where the qualified DUI-related elevation applies, with driving as a habitual traffic offender a felony on a separate track, and the maximum prison term and fine that follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Every degree and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the criminal traffic statute reference.

What resisting an officer carries in Florida under Chapter 843, starting with the load-bearing distinction: resisting without offering or doing violence to the officer under § 843.02 is a first-degree misdemeanor, while resisting with violence under § 843.01 is a third-degree felony, with the maximum prison term and fine that follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Both offenses require the officer to have been in the lawful execution of a legal duty. Every degree and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the Florida criminal statute reference.

What trespassing carries in Florida under Chapter 810, graded by three questions: was the place a structure or conveyance or open land, was a person present, and was the offender armed. Base trespass in a structure or conveyance under § 810.08 is a second-degree misdemeanor, rising to a first-degree misdemeanor with a person present and a third-degree felony if armed; base trespass on property other than a structure under § 810.09 is a first-degree misdemeanor, rising to a third-degree felony if armed, with posted or designated land elevating the property offense in specified circumstances. The maximum prison term and fine follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Every degree and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the Florida criminal statute reference.

What disorderly conduct, also called breach of the peace, carries in Florida under § 877.03. It is a single-degree offense: a second-degree misdemeanor, whose maximum jail term and fine follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. The statute is written broadly and is one of the more commonly charged Florida offenses, but longstanding case law has narrowed it so that acts amounting only to protected speech cannot themselves be the basis of a conviction. Every degree and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source, with the first-amendment limit stated generally. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the free Florida sentencing-outcomes data study.

What drug paraphernalia carries in Florida under Fla. Stat. § 893.147: why use or possession under subsection (1) is a first-degree misdemeanor, and how manufacturing, delivering, or transporting paraphernalia, and delivering it to a minor, are separate and harsher felony offenses, with the maximum jail term and fine that follow from the offense degree under § 775.082 and § 775.083. Every degree and figure quoted from the statute, cited to the primary source. The higher-degree offenses are named, not computed. General information, not legal advice. Companion to the Chapter 893 statute reference.

How a Florida Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet works: the primary-offense, prior-record, victim-injury, and enhancement point values, the severity-level lookup, and the lowest-permissible-sentence formula, each figure verbatim from Fla. Stat. § 921.0024. Companion to the free scoresheet calculator.

The categories of financial consequence of a Florida conviction: court costs and statutory fees, fines, restitution, and the downstream costs when a balance goes unpaid, with the statewide recorded medians from public FDLE data. Descriptive figures, not a prediction. Companion to the free cost-of-conviction data study.

What a withhold of adjudication is under Fla. Stat. s. 948.01, how it differs from a conviction, its effect on sealing under s. 943.059 and on federal immigration status, and what the aggregate FDLE data shows about how often withholds are recorded. Descriptive figures, not a prediction. Companion to the free adjudication-withheld data study.

How Florida criminal charges are resolved in the public FDLE Clerk-of-Court data: what the four court-disposition families (dismissed, diversion, acquitted, convicted) mean, why a dismissal rate is not a prosecutor's declination rate, and how the shares vary by charge category. Descriptive figures, not a prediction. Companion to the free charge-disposition data study.

How long Florida sentences run in the public FDLE Clerk-of-Court data: what median, mean, and mode confinement mean, why a recorded length is a floor and varies by charge category and county, and why it is descriptive, not a prediction for any one case. Descriptive figures, not a forecast. Companion to the free sentencing-outcomes data study.

How Florida record sealing under Fla. Stat. § 943.059 differs from expunction under § 943.0585, and the core eligibility framework: one-time-only relief, no prior conviction, the current offense not a § 943.0584 disqualifying offense, the disposition requirement (a withhold can support sealing; a conviction cannot), the FDLE certificate of eligibility, and the court's residual discretion to deny even an eligible petition. Every rule is a general statutory rule cited to the primary source. General information, not legal advice or an eligibility determination. Companion to the free adjudication-withheld data study.

What inter-district federal sentencing disparity is, what the aggregate USSC data shows across the judicial districts and within a single charge type, and how the data informs the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) unwarranted-disparities factor. Descriptive figures, not a prediction. Companion to the free federal sentencing-disparity data study.