Criminal Defense in Manatee County

The five criminal defense attorneys at Sammis Law Firm represent those facing felony and misdemeanor charges prosecuted at the courthouse in Bradenton for Manatee County, FL.

We represent clients on a variety of charges including:

  • Driving under the Influence (DUI) – commonly referred to as Drunk Driving which includes:
  • Suspended or Revoked Driver’s License – driving while license revoked or suspended either with or without knowledge;
  • Reckless driving;
  • Habitual traffic offender (HTO) – felony criminal charges for driving on a revoked driver’s license while a habitual traffic offender, and fighting to remove the HTO designation so the revocation is removed;
  • Violation of probation (VOP);
  • Early Termination of Probation;
  • Theft offenses including grand theft, dealing in stolen property, employee theft, fraud, credit card fraud or shoplifting;
  • Domestic violence, including:
    • assault;
    • battery;
    • stalking;
    • child abuse; or
    • violation of protective order;
  • Domestic Violence Protective Order or Restraining Orders in Bradenton, Manatee County, FL;
  • Drug Crimes such as possession of marijuana;
  • Juvenile crimes in Bradenton, Manatee County, FL,
  • Possession of Alcohol by a Minor;
  • Extradition to Manatee County or Bradenton County, FL.

Cases are handled differently in Manatee County, particularly for violation of probation cases and emergency bond hearings.

Contact us to discuss what you might need to do right now to protect your rights and increase your chances of finding the best resolution to your case.

Attorney for Criminal Defense in Manatee County, FL

If you have been arrested for a criminal offense in Bradenton, Manatee County, Florida, then contact an experienced lawyer at the Sammis Law Firm, P.A.

Contact us to find out more about the charges pending against you, the potential penalties, and the best defenses to avoid those punishments. For all felony and misdemeanor cases, we can help you fight the charges aggressively.

We also represent clients in Manatee County, FL, after they are rejected from a criminal traffic deferred prosecution agreement or pre-trial intervention program (PTI).

If the state attorney’s office enters a memorandum indicating that the person failed to complete PTI or the criminal traffic deferred prosecution agreement, then a warrant might be issued for their arrest.

Criminal traffic deferred prosecution agreements are common for misdemeanor traffic offenses such as DRIVING WHILE LICENSE CANCELLED, SUSPENDED OR REVOKED WITH KNOWLEDGE as a first or second offense.

We also represent clients after a bench warrant is issued if they miss a court date.

Call (813) 250-0500.


Fighting a Warrant for Your Arrest in Manatee County

If you have a warrant then contact an attorney to discuss a possible resolution without a delay. The worst thing that you can do is avoid turning yourself in or otherwise dealing with the warrant. When you are eventually picked up, it will look particularly bad that you did not voluntarily surrender.

Instead, take a proactive approach. Your attorney can help you find out whether the warrant exists, whether any bond can be posted on the warrant, and whether the prosecutor or court would agree to reduce the bond.

If the bond is not reasonable, the attorney can petition the court to lower the bond, allow for the individual to be released ROR (without posting a money bond), or even withdraw the warrant entirely during a “motion to surrender” hearing. If you have a warrant, not only do you have to worry about getting out of jail but you also have to worry about how the case will ultimately be resolved.

Contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer for your Manatee County warrant to find out what we can do to help you resolve your case for the best possible disposition.


Extradition to Manatee County, FL

In many cases, an individual will have an old warrant in Manatee County. The individual lives in another state outside of Florida and is told that Florida will not extradite.

Sometimes the warrant is for a violation of probation case in Manatee County. In other cases, a new felony or misdemeanor criminal offense is alleged.

At some point, the individual is picked up on the warrant in their home state. To their surprise, this time the authorities tell them that Florida is now interested in extradition. The individual is then detained in jail while awaiting extradition to Manatee County, FL.

In these cases, a criminal defense attorney for Manatee County can file a motion to withdraw the warrant in Florida so that the individual can voluntarily return to Bradenton to face the charges and avoid extradition.

The extradition process is long and expensive for the State of Florida. Judges often welcome a common-sense approach by a criminal defense attorney that allows the defendant to avoid the extradition process, but at the same time guarantees that the individual returns to Florida to face the charges and resolve the case.

The extradition process is expensive. Often the fees paid to the private company that facilitates the extradition can cost upwards of $3,000.00. The State of Florida will often try and require that the Defendant pay those costs as part of his sentence. Therefore, if you avoid extradition you can often avoid paying those costs later when your case is resolved.

Hiring a lawyer to fight extradition to Manatee County, FL, often makes sense because of the potential of saving both money and time spent in jail in order to resolve the case.


Additional Resources

Manatee Criminal Cases – Visit the website for the Clerk’s Office in Manatee County. Use the search feature to find a case using the defendant’s name or case number. Find information on the docket entries, upcoming court dates, and filings for any pending criminal or civil case.

Manatee Arrest Inquiry – Search the website for the Sheriff’s Office in Manatee County to find anyone arrested in this county. The search feature allows you to search by date of arrest, date of release, name, or type of charge.


Finding a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Bradenton, FL

Before you decide how to proceed with your criminal case, discuss all of your rights and options with an experienced criminal and DUI defense attorney that practices in Bradenton, Manatee County, Florida.

During the free consultation, we can explain the charges pending against you, the potential punishments for those charges, and the best defenses that can be used to aggressively fight the case.

Call (813) 250-0500 today for your free consultation with a Criminal Defense Lawyer for Bradenton, FL.


This article was last updated on Thursday, December 15, 2022.