Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida
I was received an Open Alcohol Ordinance by drinking beer on the Clearwater beach in Clearwater, Florida 33762. My question is if I go down to the clerk of circuit court on the day of the hearing, is there any chance if I plea no contest and ask the judge to withhold the crime from my record and pay the fine, that it will not go on my permanent record? I am of age to drink and I have never committed a crime before. I just want to make sure in the future for jobs that I dont have to state that I have committed a crime because I hear this will come up in a background check. I would hate to look unfavorable for a job for an ordinance which is below a misdemeanor. Please let me know in your experience with ordinances if they are able to be expunged or have you heard of judges withholding judgement and just enforcing the fine.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Depending on whether or not you have any prior criminal record, the State Attorney and the Judge may agree to "withhold adjudication" and assess a Fine. From a purely legal standpoint, it is illegal to grant someone a "withhold of adjudication" and only impose a Fine without probation. Sometimes the State and Judge will agree to do that anyway (and if no one objects, then it really doesn't matter because no one will be appealing the unlawful sentence.
Sometimes, the State and the Judge will put the Defendant on "court supervised" probation for a day (which is also a "legal fiction" but gets around the no probation rule).
Once again, depending on whether or not you have a prior criminal record, you may be eligible to have your arrest record "sealed" depending on the outcome of your case.
In most cases, its advisable to have an attorney with you to make sure that you get the right plea that will allow you to seal your record (assuming you are otherwise eligible for that type of relief). You are correct, in today's job market, any blemish like this could be a disqualifier from a good job, so you want to take care of this correctly.
If you have any questions or need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact my law office.
Good luck,
Aaron J. Slavin, Esq.
SLAVIN LAW FIRM, LLC
727.474.3785
www.slavinlawfirm.com
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