Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer

Most of our work in Tampa is in federal court. The Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse on Florida Avenue is where the Middle District of Florida’s Tampa Division hears the cases that begin with a target letter, a search warrant, or agents at the door, and where the two of us appear regularly, both for clients who hire us and by appointment under the Criminal Justice Act. We also defend state cases of every kind in Hillsborough County, from sex offense and drug trafficking charges to DUI and a forgotten firearm at the airport, at the Edgecomb Courthouse a few blocks away.

Goldman Wetzel defends people in Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Temple Terrace, Westchase, Carrollwood and throughout Hillsborough County. Both of our attorneys work on every case. Summer Goldman is a former prosecutor. Our Tampa office is on Rocky Point, at the Hillsborough end of the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and we meet clients there by appointment.

Criminal Cases We Handle in Tampa

Also: injunctions and restraining orders, violent crimes, and white-collar investigations.

Federal Cases in Tampa

A federal case rarely starts with an arrest. More often it starts with a target letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a grand jury subpoena, agents from the FBI, HSI, DEA or IRS asking to talk, or a search warrant executed early in the morning. In our experience, what a person does in the days after that first contact shapes the entire case. Talking to agents without a lawyer almost never helps, and getting counsel in front of the prosecutor before an indictment sometimes changes what is charged, or whether anything is.

Once a case is charged, the first hearing is an initial appearance before a magistrate judge at the Gibbons courthouse, and the question of detention is usually taken up right there. Federal court does not use a bond schedule. The judge decides whether you go home on a signature bond, with or without conditions, are released to a third-party custodian, or are held until the case is over, and for some charges, including child pornography and drug trafficking, the law presumes detention and the defense has to overcome it. In our experience that hearing is the most important early event in a federal case, and having a release plan ready before we walk in, a custodian, a residence, and a Pretrial Services interview that goes well, is what makes the difference. See our federal criminal defense page for how federal cases differ from state cases, from the grand jury through the sentencing guidelines.

What Happens After an Arrest in Hillsborough County?

You are booked at the Orient Road Jail or the Falkenburg Road Jail. If you do not bond out on the schedule overnight, you see a judge at first appearance, which in Hillsborough County is held every day by video from the jail; you appear from a courtroom at the jail and the judge sits downtown. The judge tells you the charge, decides on bond, and sets any conditions of release, including a no-contact order in a domestic case.

Florida treats some charges differently from the start. For what the statute calls a “dangerous crime,” a list under section 907.041 that includes sexual battery, lewd or lascivious offenses against a child, domestic violence, fentanyl trafficking, aggravated battery, and the computer and child exploitation offenses used in sting cases, there is no release before first appearance, no release without a monetary bond, and, when the charge is a first-degree, life or capital felony, the State is required to move for pretrial detention, with a hearing within five days. A new arrest while on felony probation also means no bond. We handled a Hillsborough County sexual battery case under this statute recently; in our experience, that detention hearing is won or lost on preparation, because it comes days after the arrest and the State arrives with the officer’s affidavit and little else to contradict it.

For everything else, if no lawyer appears for you, the judge works from the bond schedule and moves on. When we appear, we can argue for a lower bond, release on your own recognizance, or supervised release through the county’s pretrial program, and the judge hears something other than the officer’s version.

After the arrest, the State Attorney’s Office for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit reviews the case and decides what to file. That decision is still open to influence, and the weeks before it is made are when a defense lawyer can often do the most.

Cases We See Often in Tampa

Federal child pornography cases. Most of these begin with a tip from an internet platform to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is passed to HSI or the FBI, and end with a search warrant and a forensic examination of every device in the house. The federal statutes carry mandatory minimums, and the case is often decided by the forensic evidence and the sentencing guidelines long before anyone talks about trial. Our Tampa child pornography lawyer page explains the charges, the detention presumption and how these cases are defended.

Online sting operations. Hillsborough County law enforcement runs undercover operations in which a detective poses online as a minor, or as a parent offering one, and arrests the adult who arrives. The charges, usually traveling to meet a minor and unlawful use of a two-way communications device, carry prison time and sex offender registration. In our experience these cases turn on the full chat log and on who steered the conversation, and the log often reads differently from the arrest affidavit. See traveling to meet a minor.

Drug trafficking. In state court, trafficking is defined by weight under section 893.135 and brings a mandatory minimum regardless of intent. In federal court the same conduct is charged as conspiracy or distribution, and the weight drives the guidelines. Either way, the defense usually begins with the stop, the search, or the wiretap.

Firearms at the airport. Tampa International Airport sees a steady stream of travelers who forgot a handgun was in the carry-on until TSA found it. Some are arrested; some are handed a citation and a court date. Either way it is a state charge in Hillsborough County, and it is a case we like to take, because in our experience it rewards proactive work: getting the client’s permit, training, and clean history in front of the prosecutor before the filing decision, rather than waiting to be told what the charge will be. Our TPA firearm page covers it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is my Hillsborough County case heard?

State cases are heard at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 East Twiggs Street in downtown Tampa. Federal cases are heard at the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse, 801 North Florida Avenue, a few blocks away.

Is my case state or federal?

If the arresting agency was the Tampa Police Department or the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the paperwork names the State of Florida, it is a state case. If federal agents were involved, or the paperwork says United States of America, it is federal. Some cases start in state court and are adopted federally, which is one more reason to involve a lawyer early.

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

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office posts arrest and bond information online, and for most charges a bond is set from the schedule at booking. If the charge has no scheduled bond, it will be set at first appearance. Call us before that hearing and we can appear and argue it.

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

No. The Rocky Point office is by appointment, and we also meet clients in St. Petersburg and Bradenton. For federal cases, clients come to us from across the Middle District.

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

Not necessarily. In state court, the arrest charge is the officer’s choice and the filed charge is the prosecutor’s, made weeks later. In our experience the two differ more often than people expect, and the weeks between them are the best time to be heard. In federal court the charge is set by the grand jury’s indictment, which can be superseded as the case develops.

Related Pages

• Federal criminal defense lawyer
• Tampa child pornography lawyer
• Tampa drug lawyer
• Tampa gun lawyer
• Tampa domestic violence lawyer
• Know your rights after an arrest in Florida

Speak With a Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you or someone in your family has been arrested in Hillsborough County or contacted by federal agents, contact Goldman Wetzel or call (888) 727-4652 for a confidential consultation. The time before charges are filed is when we can do the most, and it goes by quickly.