Jonathan Hackworth’s Guides

Everyone has seen what criminal trials look like on television and in movies, but as with so many other matters in the criminal justice system, fact is very different than fiction. Before selecting a criminal defense attorney for your case, make sure you find out when the last t...

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Floridas Anti-Murder Act created the designation of violent felony of special concern or VFOSC. Ultimately, a VFOSC constitutes a person who is on felony probation or community control for a qualifying substantive offense, generally involving violence or a threat of violence. T...

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As way of background, pretrial intervention (PTI) or misdemeanor intervention program (MIP) are pretrial intervention programs for first time offenders. Ultimately, the programs are run by the State Attorneys Office, but administrated by a third-party. For example, the Salvation ...

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Yes, they can both violate you for one (1) singular charge. Ultimately, this can lead to one (1) charge leading to a significant amount of jail or prison time. This is especially frustrating where the charge is something relatively minor, like driving while license suspended or r...

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Unfortunately, this is most common issue raised to the Tampa criminal lawyers of Blumenauer Hackworth. If one were to count the number of criminal cases currently on the dockets of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties, the overwhelming majority of the charges would in somehow...

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Arraignment is essentially the first step of the criminal process. It is an important step in the criminal process because it is your first opportunity to enter a formal plea. Generally, we recommend people always plead not guilty at arraignment, so they may consult with an attor...

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Unfortunately, it is simply human nature to forget things at times, but forgetting a court appearance can have major consequences. Most importantly, if someone misses a misdemeanor criminal court appearance, generally a warrant will be issued for their arrest. They will ultimatel...

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It is principally the same as a driving under the influence or DUI. Unfortunately, the waters of Tampa Bay and Central Florida provide two things critical for BUI arrests lots of people and water. It is also worth noting that during holidays, like the Fourth of July and Memorial...

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Unfortunately, prostitution charges carry a very severe and unusual stigma and harsh circumstances as compared to other charges. Many courts in Central Florida, including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties require those charged with sexual related crimes to undergo testing...

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This is arguably the most common question posed to the violation of probation attorneys of Blumenauer Hackworth. The scenario generally proceeds as follows. An individual is placed on probation and charged with a new substantive law violation. An affidavit of violation of probati...

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