Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Based on the description you provided, I am assuming that your friend was charged with a Simple Battery and has never been charged with any criminal offenses in the past. As is true with every Criminal Case, your friend should consult an attorney and be provided with all of the reports and related information before relying on any �off the cuff� advice.

That being said: First time offenders accused of small offenses such as Simple Battery can often get the opportunity to participate in some sort of �Diversion Program�, often referred to as PTI (Pre-Trial Intervention) or MIP (Misdemeanor Intervention Program). Diversion Programs are operated at the discretion of the State Attorney�s Office, and require a Defendant to request being placed into the program. Each county in Florida operates their Diversion Program differently, but the common factor is that if a Defendant can get into a Diversion Program and complete it, the State will dismiss the charges. For the Defendant, the program will normally seem identical to being on Probation. The Defendant may have to report to a probation officer monthly, pay court costs and/or restitution, possibly attend Anger Management or Dispute Resolution classes, and stay out of trouble for up to a year.

The potential benefit of participating in a Diversion Program is that upon completion, the charges get Dismissed and the Defendant can normally have the incident sealed or expunged from his record. Additionally, in the event that the Defendant gets accepted to a Diversion Program, and then gets put out of the program for some sort of violation, that violation is not viewed as a Violation of Probation. If put out of the Diversion Program, the case goes back into the court system where the Defendant can choose to enter an actual plea to the charges or continue to dispute the charges.

Again, you should consult an attorney, because in some counties you may lose certain defenses if you are entered into a Diversion Program and then later terminated from the program unsuccessfully.

For a 1st time offender, if the State does not allow participation into a Diversion Program, the Defendant may be able to negotiate a plea bargain wherein he can receive a �Withhold of Adjudication�. �Adjudication� is Florida�s legal term for a Conviction. If the judge Adjudicates you guilty, that means you have been convicted. If the judge Withholds Adjudication, that means that he is withholding his judgment of guilt and you have not been convicted. This distinction is important to 1st time offenders because in Florida, as long as you have never been formally convicted of any offense, you may qualify to have one incident of criminal accusations sealed or expunged from your record. Therefore, if your friend is a 1st time offender, he should discuss with an attorney his prospects of getting a Withhold of Adjudication if he is not admitted to a Diversion Program, and if he decides to enter a plea to the charges.

If your friend chooses to enter a plea of either No Contest or Guilty, the difference will likely have no impact on any civil suits. If he pleas Guilty, that plea could be held against him in a civil suit�.If he enters No Contest, the judge will likely find him guilty (regardless of adjudication) prior to sentencing. In either event, restitution (if any exists) is normally ordered as part of probation. So, if your friend enters a plea and is placed on probation, he will probably be ordered to pay any restitution that exists. Restitution would include doctors� bills incurred as a result of any injuries sustained by the victim.

Again, you would want to discuss the matter fully with an attorney, but very generally speaking, if the victim was not injured, there is probably very little chance of any substantial civil suit�no injury normally translates to no damages to be recovered�.But again, you would need to discuss the matter fully with an attorney.

Whether or not your friend seeks a Diversion Program, or seeks a plea offer should depend on whether he has any defenses to the charge. Without knowing the full facts and circumstance, I cannot determine if there are any viable defenses. Your friend should retain an attorney and have that attorney fully and properly evaluate his/her case.