Posted on April 16, 2013 in DUI

The night began with a few drinks at a nearby bar, celebrating a work promotion with your friends, and then quickly escalated. After stumbling out to your car and managing to get halfway home, you noticed flashing red and blue lights in your rearview mirror. That sinking feeling hit you, and within a few moments, you found yourself in the backseat of a police car with a pounding headache, facing serious DUI charges. What are you to do now?

If you find yourself in this alarming situation, do not panic. The Hoffman Firm has an expert legal team lead by Miami DUI Defense Attorney Evan Hoffman, who is a former prosecutor and an experienced criminal lawyer. The Hoffman Firm can help you if you are under investigation for this serious crime; to learn more about us and our services, call 305-249-0090 or contact us online.

Our DUI services include:

• BUI (Boating)

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 Posted on March 27, 2013 in Gun & Weapons Crimes

Weapons offenses are serious charges that often stem from crimes in which firearms are involved. Oftentimes when such a weapon is involved in a crime, state and federal prosecutors seek the most severe charges and harshest penalties possible. Weapons offense charges include any arrest on any charge that involves a gun, from weapon trafficking to domestic violence that involved a gun.

If you find yourself in this alarming situation, do not panic. The Hoffman Firm has an expert legal team lead by Miami Criminal Attorney Evan Hoffman, who is a former prosecutor and an experienced criminal lawyer.

The Hoffman Firm can help you if you are wrongly accused. Pick up the phone and call us today for a FREE consultation 305-249-0090 or contact us online.

Our weapons offenses services include:

• 10-20-Life Law
• Assault/Aggravated Assault
• Battery On LEO
• Battery/Aggravated Battery
• Carjacking

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 Posted on March 14, 2013 in White Collar Crimes

Mortgage and real estate fraud cases are not uncommon in today's economy and are often complex and convoluted issues that involve piles of financial documents and hard-to-follow paper trails. Getting to the bottom of such a case requires the services of someone who has advanced knowledge of real estate law, banking, and criminal defense. If you find yourself under investigation for this accusation, you will want to employ the services of someone who has experience defending appraisers, real estate companies, realtors, appraisers, buyers and sellers, individual mortgage brokers and mortgage companies that they work for.

If you find yourself in this alarming situation, do not panic. The Hoffman Firm has an expert legal team led by Miami criminal attorney Evan Hoffman, who is a former prosecutor and an experienced criminal lawyer. The Hoffman Firm can help you if you are under investigation for this serious crime. Pick up the phone and call us today for a FREE consultation 305-249-0090 or contact us online.

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 Posted on February 27, 2013 in Gun & Weapons Crimes

In light of many recent school shootings and other well-publicized acts of violence including the Travon Martin case, guns and crimes involving guns are a big topic of discussion right now. In Florida, crimes that involve the use of guns are very harshly prosecuted. The 10-20-Life Law, also known as "Use a gun and you're done" is a statute which greatly increases the penalties of several crimes.

To learn more about how Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer, Evan Hoffman can help you with your case, contact The Hoffman Firm today.

The 10-20-Life Law is covered under section 775.087 of Florida's Criminal Code and reads as follows:

(1) Unless otherwise provided by law, whenever a person is charged with a felony, except a felony in which the use of a weapon or firearm is an essential element, and during the commission of such felony the defendant carries, displays, uses, threatens to use, or attempts to use any weapon or firearm, or during the commission of such felony the defendant commits an aggravated battery, the felony for which the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows:

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 Posted on February 14, 2013 in White Collar Crimes

Forgery is a crime which falls under the greater category of fraud. Forgery usually involves a person creating, signing, or altering a document in an attempt to deceive others.

Under Florida state law Forgery is defined as "The creation of a false written document or alteration of a genuine one, with the intent to defraud". The Hoffman Firm is very experienced in fighting forgery cases. For more information contact Miami Criminal Attorney, Evan Hoffman today!

Additional charges of forgery may come if a person attempts to use someone else's credit card, submits unemployment claims while employed, or tries to cash a bad check. Another form of forgery is counterfeiting.

Even without actually defrauding another person, charges for forgery may be brought if it can be proven that the accused person had the intent to act in a criminal manner.

Forgery charges can be prosecuted under either state or federal law. Usually, in cases involving multiple states, the charges will be brought federally.

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 Posted on February 06, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Have you had a restraining order or injunction placed against you or been threaten with them? If so, then there are some things you need to understand.

What Are Restraining Orders and Injunctions? What's the Difference Between the Two?

A restraining order is an official command issued to an individual by a court that orders the individual to refrain from a certain activity which can include the total avoidance of contact with a certain person(s.) Restraining orders are sought by plaintiffs in a variety of instances for the same reason: the plaintiff wishes to prevent the defendant from doing something that he or she has threatened. Restraining orders are used in a variety of contexts, including employment disputes, copyright infringement, and cases of harassment, domestic abuse, and stalking. All restraining orders begin with an application to the court, which decides the merits of the request by using a standard test.

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 Posted on October 24, 2012 in Criminal Defense

What Is a Probation Violation and How Do I Defend Myself Against It?

Probation explained: Florida code chapter 948 deals with Probation and defines it as:

(1) "Administrative probation" means a form of non-contact supervision in which an offender who presents a low risk of harm to the community may, upon satisfactory completion of half the term of probation, be transferred by the Department of Corrections to non-reporting status until the expiration of the term of supervision.

A Violation of Probation proceeding is very different than being charged with a new crime because the person has already been sentenced to probation; so the person has less protection than if they were charged with a new crime.

What Are the Conditions of Probation?

The conditions of Probationall depend on what is worked out with the court and judge. But in general, Probation means that a person is assigned a Probation Officer who they must meet with on a regular basis, and who may check in on them unannounced to ensure that they are not in violation of their Probation.

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 Posted on October 18, 2012 in Gun & Weapons Crimes

There is a lot of confusion when it comes to the laws concerning self-defense. Also referred to as "Stand Your Ground," self-defense laws can vary from state to state.

Even if you have not been involved in a case of self-defense, it is important to understand the laws because you never know when God forbid, you may find yourself in a position of having to defend yourself and or someone else.

If you are in the need of counsel, contact us at The Hoffman Firm for a FREE consultation with one of our experienced South Florida Defense Attorneys. We can help you understand your rights, call now at 305-249-0090!

Florida Law Pertaining to the Justifiable Use of Force

Chapter 776 of Florida Statutes was amended by the Legislature in 2005. The changes that took effect on October 1, 2005, extended the provisions of what is known as the "Castle Doctrine," declaring that a person has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force if that force is necessary to prevent death, great bodily harm or the commission of a forcible felony.

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 Posted on October 02, 2012 in Juvenile Criminal Defense

Overview

Criminal cases involving minors in the state of Florida are handled by the Juvenile Justice System or "Department of Juvenile Justice" (DJJ), and generally, progress through the system a little differently than adult crimes.

Usually, juvenile crimes are moved through the system faster than adult cases. Unlike adult court, there are no juries in Juvenile Court and a Judge decides all trials. The Juvenile Justice System also differs from the adult system in that it focuses more on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

In some limited instances, juvenile cases are "Direct Filed" to adult court. While infrequently done, direct filed cases are usually the result of a repeat juvenile offender who has committed a serious crime.

Below is an overview of the typical process of a juvenile criminal case as it goes through the justice system:

Arrest, Release, and Detention

When a minor is taken into custody by law enforcement, they are then taken to the DJJ at the Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC.) A DJJ counselor then assesses each child and makes a report as to whether the child meets certain criteria for "secure detention;" or if they qualify for "non-secure detention" which allows them to be released into the custody of their parents/guardians. In cases of non-secure detention, the child remains under daily supervision from the DJJ counselor and failure to meet the requirements of non-secure detention may result in the child being held at the detention center.

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 Posted on September 20, 2012 in Drug Crimes

When arrested for Drug Possession in the state of Florida you will more than likely get put into the drug court system. The nation's first drug court was established in 1989 in Miami-Dade County by Chief Judge Gerald Wetherington, Judge Herbert Klein, then State Attorney Janet Reno and Public Defender Bennett Brummer. Drug Court was designed with the purpose to include drug treatment into the criminal system for people that are believed to be getting into legal trouble due to drug abuse problems.

Drug courts combine mandatory substance abuse treatment, sanctions, and incentives, and focused judicial supervision to break the cycle of drug addiction and associated crime. Miami Criminal Attorney Evan Hoffman is well versed in all procedures in drug possession arrests and drug court procedures.

Florida Statutes have authorized two types of "drug courts" The First type is PTI or Pre-Trial Intervention Programs and the second type is Probationary Programs. Since the first drug court, there have been major expansions and we now have misdemeanor drug court, felony drug court, juvenile delinquency, and dependency divisions. There are over 106 different drug courts in the Florida State Court System.

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