Bradenton Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you have been arrested in Manatee County, the next few weeks matter more than most people realize. The State Attorney’s Office has not decided yet what to charge, or whether to charge at all, and that decision is still open to influence. Our Bradenton office is on Manatee Avenue, steps from the Judicial Center where your case will be heard, and one of our partners lives in Manatee County.

Goldman Wetzel defends people charged with crimes in Bradenton, Palmetto, Parrish, Ellenton, Lakewood Ranch, Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, and throughout Manatee and Sarasota Counties, in state court and in the federal court in Tampa. Both of our attorneys work on every case. Summer Goldman is a former prosecutor.

Criminal Cases We Handle in Bradenton

Also: prostitution and solicitation, injunctions and restraining orders, and DUI.

What Happens After an Arrest in Manatee County?

You are taken to the Manatee County Jail on Harlee Road in Palmetto. If you do not bond out overnight, you see a judge at first appearance, which in Manatee County is held at 1:00 p.m. the day after the arrest, by video from the jail. The judge tells you the charge and sets a bond.

In our experience, if no lawyer appears for you, the bond is set from the standard schedule and the judge moves on. When we appear, we can argue for a lower bond, for release on your own recognizance, or for supervised release through the county’s pretrial release program, and we can address the no-contact order that comes with any domestic charge. For most people, that hearing is the first real decision in the case, and it is worth having someone there for it.

Booking releases the first appearance results around 11:30 each morning, so family calling the jail about a bond should know the number will not be available before then.

The Filing Decision

An arrest is not a charge. After the arrest, the State Attorney’s Office for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit reviews the report and decides what to file, and in Manatee County that usually takes a few weeks. During that time the assigned prosecutor has the officer’s account and little else.

In our experience, this is where a defense lawyer can do the most. We get our client’s side of the story, the witnesses the police did not interview, the video, and the text messages in front of the prosecutor before the charge is set. It is also the stage at which a prosecutor most often files something less than the arrest charge, or declines to file. Once the information is filed, the same facts are much harder to use.

Cases We See Often in Manatee County

Online sting operations. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office runs undercover operations in which a detective poses online as a minor, or as the parent of one, and arrests the adult who arrives to meet them. The charges are usually traveling to meet a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communications device, and solicitation, and they carry prison time and sex offender registration. We have defended these cases in Manatee County court. In our experience, they turn on what was actually said in the messages and on who steered the conversation, and the full chat log often reads differently from the arrest affidavit. Our traveling to meet a minor page covers the charge in detail.

Federal cases from Manatee County. When the FBI, DEA, HSI, or Postal Inspectors are involved, the case is prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa and heard at the federal courthouse there. Federal cases move on a different timeline, with a grand jury rather than a filing decision and sentencing guidelines rather than a scoresheet. We handle federal cases from Manatee County regularly, including by appointment under the Criminal Justice Act.

Drug trafficking. Trafficking in Florida is defined by weight, not by intent to sell, and the mandatory minimums under section 893.135 apply in Manatee County exactly as they do everywhere else. The defense usually begins with the stop and the search.

Domestic violence. A domestic battery arrest in Manatee County brings an automatic no-contact order at first appearance, which can keep you out of your own home. We can ask the court to modify it, and we start building the case the same week, because these charges are frequently filed on one person’s account alone.

Diversion in the Twelfth Circuit

For many first-time charges, the State Attorney’s Office offers pretrial intervention, a program that ends in a dismissal if the conditions are completed. In our experience it is available for a wider range of charges than people expect, including some felonies, but it has to be requested, the prosecutor has to agree, and the application is best made early, before the case has a court history. We raise it with the prosecutor at the start of every eligible case. It is not right for everyone; a client with a strong defense is sometimes better off fighting the charge, and we talk that through before anything is decided.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is my Manatee County case heard?

At the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Avenue West in downtown Bradenton. Misdemeanors are heard in county court and felonies in circuit court, both in the same building. Our office is at 1023 Manatee Avenue West, on the same block.

How do I find out someone’s bond after an arrest in Manatee County?

First appearance is at 1:00 p.m. the day after the arrest, and the jail posts bond information after the hearing. If you call us before the hearing, we can appear and argue the bond rather than wait for the schedule.

Do you have to be in Bradenton to use your office?

No. We represent clients from all of Manatee County, including Palmetto, Parrish, Ellenton, Lakewood Ranch, and the island communities, and from Sarasota County. The Bradenton office is by appointment; we also meet clients in St. Petersburg and Tampa.

Will the charge on my arrest report be the charge I face?

Not necessarily. The arrest charge is the officer’s choice; the filed charge is the prosecutor’s, made a few weeks later. In our experience the two differ more often than people expect, in both directions, and the weeks between them are the best time to be heard.

Can a Manatee County arrest be sealed or expunged?

A dismissed or unfiled charge can usually be expunged, and many charges that end with a withhold of adjudication can be sealed. Some offenses, including most sex offenses and DUI, cannot. Our Bradenton expungement page explains eligibility.

Related Pages

• Bradenton sex crimes lawyer and child pornography lawyer
• Bradenton federal criminal lawyer
• Bradenton drug lawyer
• Bradenton assault lawyer and domestic violence lawyer
• Sarasota criminal defense lawyer
• What to do if you are pulled over for DUI

Speak With a Bradenton Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you or someone in your family has been arrested in Manatee County, contact Goldman Wetzel or call (941) 405-5193 for a confidential consultation. The weeks after an arrest are when we can do the most, and they go by quickly.