Sammis Law Firm, P.A.
Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney
The criminal defense attorneys at the Sammis Law Firm in Tampa, Florida, take an aggressive approach to representing individuals charged with felony, misdemeanor and DUI criminal offenses. Our offices are located downtown Tampa just a few blocks from the courthouse with free and convenient parking for our clients.
Contact our office to schedule an initial consultation, either over the phone or in the office, so that you can speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney about the particular facts of your case. Obtaining the best results often requires aggressive and experienced legal representation at every stage of the criminal case from the pre-arrest or pre-file investigation, emergency bond reduction hearing, arraignment, disposition hearings, pre-trial conferences, evidentiary motion hearings, through a jury trial.
Protecting Your Future After a Criminal Accusation
Many of our clients have no prior criminal record and never imagined that they would be on the wrong side of the law. After an accusation is made, many of our clients report having a difficult time processing the events surrounding their interrogation and arrest. Many find the entire process a frustrating experience which tears away their sense of dignity and right to privacy. We understand the indirect or collateral consequences of a criminal arrest and prosecution can be devastating, especially for someone with no other criminal record.
Many of our clients are professionals with careers as doctors, nurses, public school or private school teachers, or members of state and federal law enforcement agencies or members of the military. We also represent clients who are required to carry a firearm as part of their employment. For theses professionals or college students charged with a criminal offense, the consequences to their career can be severe even if they are ultimately not convicted of the crime.
We work with our clients to deal with all aspect of the case, both the direct and indirect consequences, to protect our clients during every step of the process. Only by obtaining an experienced criminal defense attorney to aggressively fighting the criminal charges against you can you avoid many of these consequences to your educational opportunities, career, and reputation. Find out more about protecting your important right to seal or expunge any record of your arrest and prosecution.
Fighting for the Best Possible Result
Whether you have been wrongly accused or the prosecutors from the State of Florida have insufficient evidence, the best result is getting all charges dropped by the State Attorney's Office or dismissed by the trial court. We work with seasoned private investigators and the most highly qualified expert witnesses, while still maintaining reasonable fees with payment plans available when needed. Hiring an experienced Tampa criminal defense attorney who will use every resource available for your defense is key to obtaining the best result after your arrest.
Our website provides a wealth of information on criminal offenses in Florida, the possible punishments, possible collateral consequences and possible legal defenses available under Florida law. We use the most cutting edge legal research techniques to pursue a scholarly approach to finding all viable issues that can be aggressively litigated in the following ways:
- Administrative Hearings;
- Motions to Suppress Evidence; and
- Motions to Dismiss the Criminal Charges.
We represent clients charged with all criminal offenses in State and Federal Court (including DUI, serious driving, drug offenses and white collar crimes) throughout the Tampa Bay area including Hillsborough County, Polk County, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Manatee County and the surrounding areas of central Florida.
Pre-Arrest Investigations in the Tampa Bay Area
If you have been contacted by a federal or state law enforcement officer, contact us immediately. We advise our clients to invoke their right to remain silent until we can complete our investigation. Although any statement that you make to law enforcement may be misconstrued, and ultimately used against you, your side of the story can best be told through your Tampa criminal defense lawyer.
We strive to convince law enforcement that an arrest is not warranted. In the event law enforcement does intend to make an arrest, your Tampa criminal defense attorney can often negotiate your surrender under terms that may speed up your release, contact the prosecutor to discuss lowering the bond amount and handle other important details that will minimize the embarrassment, stress and expense that might normally accompany an arrest in Florida.
Effective Pre-File Negotiations in the Tampa Bay Area
If you have been arrested on a felony charge, but not yet formally charged by the State Attorney's Office in Florida, we work quickly to present all mitigating factors and exculpatory evidence to the prosecutor. The mitigating factors and evidence that shows you are not guilty of the crime may convince the prosecutor not to file any felony charges, or to file only greatly reduced charges. The State Attorney's Offices through the Tampa Bay area in Florida typically make a filing decision within 21 days of your arrest, so you must act quickly to preserve all avenues of attack.
DUI and Drunk Driving Defense in Tampa
If you have been charged with drunk driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, contact an experienced Tampa DUI Attorney to discuss the innovative ways that we fight these charges including a refusal to submit to a breath test, blood test, or urine test. The good news about a "refusal" case is that the prosecutor does not have the piece of evidence they often consider most important to a successful prosecution - the chemical test result. Although the prosecutor may attempt to argue that the refusal itself is an indication of a "guilty conscience," most people realize that other reasons can exist for refusing the evasive chemical testing. Find our more about how we fight DUI cases involving a "refusal" to submit to a chemical test after an arrest.
Fighting to Obtain the "Source Code" of the Intoxilyzer 8000 Breath Test Machines
The drunk driving defense attorneys at the Sammis Law Firm also have numerous motions pending in the Tampa Bay area to force the State of Florida to turn over the "source code" of the Intoxilyzer 8000 in order to show serious flaws in how the breath test machine actually works.
Did you know that Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has sued the manufacturer of the breath test machine (a company called CMI, Inc.) because they are unsure of their rights to even inspect the "source code?" Although the State of Florida spent millions of dollars on these machines which are entirely computer driven, they never hired any software engineer to examine the source code to determine if the machines actually work as advertised. DUI Attorneys throughout the State of Florida are fighting to obtain the source code to determine why serious glitches are occurring that call into question the accuracy and reliability of the machine. Many believe it is just a matter of time before judges throughout the Tampa Bay area take a similar position.
Similar "source code" motions filed by other criminal defense attorneys throughout central Florida have been successful. In many cases, by aggressively fighting to exclude the breath test results the person charged may be able to avoid a DUI conviction even if their breath test reading was considered a high result well over the legal limit of .15 which otherwise requires certain enhanced penalties including the dreaded ignition interlock device.
The Video Tapes: Scandal at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is currently involved in quite a scandal because of videotape evidence showing the breath test inspectors are unplugging the machines (or otherwise causing unexplained "power outages") which effectively erase any evidence that the machine is not working properly during routine monthly inspections.
Recently, a departmental inspector with the FDLE was fired over her involvement in teaching employees with the Miami Police Department how to avoid sending the machine out for needed repairs by "unplugging the machines" after failing routine monthly inspections. Considerable evidence shows that this FDLE Departmental Inspector was actually unplugging the machine in order to pass departmental inspections. A judge in another jurisdiction concluded that those videotapes from Hillsborough County are evidence of a larger statewide problem in the way the machines are used and maintained. Before you enter a plea to DUI, contact us for a free evaluation of the particular machine involved in your case.
Experienced and Aggressive Criminal Defense
Whether you are charged with DUI, Driving while License Suspended or Revoked, Habitual Traffic Offender, Reckless Driving, Domestic Violence, Aggravated Assault with a Firearm, Theft, Fraud, Shoplifting, Violation of Probation (VOP) or Drug Offenses (from Simple Possession of Marijuana to Drug Trafficking), an experienced Tampa criminal lawyer at the Sammis Law Firm can aggressively defend you against the criminal charge.
We provide assistance to our clients with driver license administrative hearings, asset and vehicle forfeiture issues, injunctions for protection and restraining orders, petitions for early termination of probation, false arrest and malicious prosecution claims and clearing a criminal record through the seal and expunge process.
Contact us now to discuss what you might need to do today to protect yourself, your family and your future from the criminal accusation. Hire an experienced and aggressive Tampa criminal defense attorney at the Sammis Law Firm to listen to all of your concerns, thoroughly investigate the facts of the case and prepare a strategy best suited to defend you against the criminal charges.
Find more information on our Hillsborouh County DUI Attorney blog, or visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense Attorney blog for more information.