Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

My brother has violated his probation 4 times since getting a traffic violation (for driving while license was revoked - habitual). Since October of last year he has been doing great, up until this past month. He was arrested for petty theft, which violated him again. In the previous vop's he was violated for the use of marijuana. My question is....What is the most probable sentence he will most likely get? I wasn't sure if it would make a differance being that the vop was for a differant cause. Also, he's not sure whether to plead guilty,not guilty or no contest to this petty theft thing. And will spending an arm and a leg for a lawyer (for the vop) be worth it and would the public defender be sufice? Any help will be great.


Asked on 5/31/10, 3:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Craig Epifanio Craig Epifanio, P.A.

Since your brother is on a third degree felony probation, he is facing up to 5 years prison. And yes he could go to prison on a DWLS charge. It's hard to say what he is actually facing without reviewing his score sheet. It is unlikely that he will continue to get probation again, especially since the reason for the new violation is a new charge. Whether he should get a private attorney, I guess the question is how much is his freedom worth. Public defenders are actually good attorneys but extremely overworked and they will not be able to spend the time with your brother that he deserves. Once he talks to his attorney, he can decide what to plea for the new charge as well as the VOP. Feel free to contact me at my website below if you wish.

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Answered on 5/31/10, 7:27 pm


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