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First-Time Offenders

When you think of Florida, you think of the Sunshine State – known for both its vacations and its endless entertainment.  While this can drive our state’s economy onward and upward, situations can happen to visitors and residents alike where they get involved with criminal activity, frequently as first-time offenders.

Getting arrested for the first time because of ignorance of the law, an honest mistake, or even a misunderstanding can be a very stressful experience; but you don’t have to face your criminal charges in Hernando County or the surrounding areas alone. Make sure to explore all your defense options during this fearful time as a first offender, and contact an experienced Brooksville defense lawyer.

Brooksville First-Time Offender Defense Attorney

Being arrested for the first time is a frightening experience. Many first-time offenders only have a knowledge of their rights and their offense that goes as far as Hollywood has told them. If you have been arrested for the first time anywhere in the Hernando County, Citrus County, Sumter County, and Pasco County area, including Brooksville, Spring Hill, Timber Pines, Brookridge, High Point, Hernando Beach, Inverness, Inverness Highlands, Beverly Hills, Hernando, Center Hill, Webster, the Villages, Dade City, Shady Hills, and Hudson, the defense approach of The Law Office of Ashley Aulls, P.A. could be right for you.

Ashley Aulls believes in offering each of his clients an education of their charges and their case during every step of the Florida criminal process and offers open communication by allowing clients access to his cell phone, including communication by text message. He has practiced law since 1996 and knows what it takes to win a criminal case in the Hernando County area, as well as how to help put the anxiety and stress of a first-time offender at ease. The Law Office of Ashley Aulls, P.A. handles many types of first-time offender cases, including cases involving the following:

  • Pretrial intervention
  • Alternative sentencing
  • Dismissal of charges
  • Drug court
  • Affect on professional licenses

To find out what The Law Office of Ashley Aulls, P.A. can do for your case as a first-time offender in the Brooksville area, call (352) 593-4115 today and set up your initial case consultation with Ashley Aulls.

Florida Information Center for First-Time Offenders

Common First Offenses in the Hernando County Area

The atmosphere surrounding the tourist and entertainment of the state, including amusement parks and golf resorts, can sum up the nature of most first-time offenses in Florida.  Poor decision-making in a lively atmosphere can lead to a nonviolent, minor situation that leads you to a first-time offense.

Conversely, the relative quiet of the smaller towns in Hernando, Sumter, and Citrus County lead to the creation of one’s own diversions, which also leads one down the path to a potential criminal offense. Common first offenses in the surrounding area include:

  • Possession of drugs
  • Possession of drugs with the intent to sell
  • Possession of alcohol by a minor
  • DUI
  • Street racing and/or reckless driving
  • Reckless conduct or assault/battery

The state of Florida takes all of these offenses extremely seriously – but the defendant poses practically no repeat-offender threats when it’s his or her first time.  As with every offense, first and subsequent, time is critical if you have been charged with one of these offenses. Don’t waste time that could be spent building a strong, comprehensive defense. Contact an experienced criminal defense attorney to increase your chances of a favorable outcome in your Brooksville first offender case.

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Options for First-Time Offenders in Brooksville

Despite Florida’s punitive stance on many offenses, like DUI and drug charges, it can be moderately progressive when it comes to rehabilitating first-time offenders and making an effort to be sure that they don’t come back. Various options and programs may be available to a first-time offender, depending on the case, including:

  • Meeting with the prosecution before any formal charges are brought against you – This is to showcase your clean record and any supportive evidence that this type of offense will never happen again.  Your attorney can also go over the case facts with you and detail the flaws and mistakes. In doing so, your charges could be lowered or completely dismissed.
  • Pretrial Diversion/Intervention – Local state attorney’s offices have these types of programs that can be offered to first-offenders with simple, non-violent, third-degree felony charges or those with misdemeanor charges.  Once the defendant has completed the terms of the program, set by the local state attorney’s office – which includes things like counseling, community service, or payment of restitution – the charges will be dismissed.
  • Drug Court – The Florida Adult Drug Court Program is set up for defendants who can prove that their drug-related or nondrug-related offense was motivated by addiction, not malice and that the individual would, therefore, benefit from the program.  To enter the drug court, defendants must meet certain requirements, which could include pretrial intervention, probation, and/or a clinical assessment.  Once completed, the defendant could be eligible for dismissal of charges and thus avoid a misdemeanor or non-violent felony conviction.
  • Plea Bargains – Emphasizing your lack of criminal history in a plea bargain could work in your favor to negotiate specific recovery programs, special probation terms, or the withholding of adjudication in exchange for a guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) plea on your part. Your experienced Hernando County criminal defense attorney will most likely know the best strategies for approaching and working with the prosecution in a plea bargain.

After successfully having  your first-time offense charges reduced, withdrawn, or dismissed by the courts with your experienced criminal offense lawyer serving Hernando County, your record will still indicate a criminal arrest. The sealing or expunging of your criminal record is what can take care of this, and your experienced Spring Hill criminal attorney will be able to assist you.

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Resources for Hernando County First Offenders

Hernando County Drug Court – The drug court in Hernando County is a court-supervised program for non-violent offenders of certain drug-related crimes. The defendant pleads guilty, receives treatment for addiction, is required to follow strict guidelines, and, upon successful completion of the program, may be eligible to have his or her charges dismissed. For more specific information than is found on this link to their website, contact:

Alternative Courts Coordinator
20 N Main Street, Room 242
Brooksville, FL 34601
(352) 540-6279

Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida – Hernando County – The Florida state court system has two types of courts, circuit courts and county courts. County courts are usually responsible for violations of municipal or county ordinances, traffic violations, and misdemeanors, and circuit courts are generally for juvenile, domestic violence, domestic relations, and felony cases. Visit their website via this link for more information.

20 N Main Street
Brooksville, FL 34601
(352) 754-4201

2012 Florida Statutes – What many first-time offenders in Hernando County, Sumter County, and Citrus County don’t realize is that all of Florida’s laws are available online on a free, easy-to-navigate website. Follow this link to Online Sunshine, where you can search your charges within the Florida Statutes and educate yourself on your criminal charges.

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The Law Office of Ashley Aulls, P.A. | Defense Lawyer for Hernando County First Offenders

If you have been arrested and are facing your first criminal charges anywhere in the Hernando County area, including Brooksville, Spring Hill, Homosassa Springs, Masaryktown, Spring Lake, Citrus Hills, Crystal River, Black Diamond, Coleman, St. Leo, Crystal Springs, Quail Ridge, and San Antonio, contact experienced criminal defense attorney Ashley Aulls to defend your first-offender case.

He will put your fears at ease while fighting ruthlessly to get your Florida criminal charges reduced, dismissed, withheld, deferred, or achieve another favorable outcome using your clean record as a mitigating circumstance. To schedule your consultation on what The Law Office of Ashley Aulls, P.A. can do for your first-time arrest, call (352) 593-4115 today.