College Arrest 101 Blog | Parents’ Handbook to Navigate Your College Student’s Arrest | #4 Closing the Case

At some point after your college student's arrest and court litigation the case will finally be ready to close.  In every state there are a multitude of different ways a criminal case can be disposed of.  But generally a criminal case must either go to trial or settle - unless your lawyer is able to get the charges thrown out entirely.  The vast majority of cases will be settled.  In the case of a college student who is a first time offender with an alcohol or drug violation the case very likely will be eligible for a pretrial diversion or [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:37:59+00:00October 5th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Parents’ Handbook to Navigate Your College Student’s Arrest | #2 Hiring An Attorney

As soon as a parent hears that their college student child has been arrested one of their first thoughts is about hiring an attorney.  Many questions will surround this decision.   Do I even need to hire an attorney for my child?  How much will an attorney costs? How do I find an attorney for my college student? First, I always recommend that any college student who is arrested have his or her own attorney - no matter how minor the charge.  The reason for this is two-fold.  A college student is simply not sophisticated or familiar enough with court [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:39:16+00:00September 22nd, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Back to School

Students have returned to Colleges and Universities all over the country for another academic year. This means a return to campus, friends and partying.  Law enforcement is also out in force around campus knowing that students are returning.  New Freshman and even returning students should be particularly aware during this time of typical police investigations of underage drinking of college students, including policing and ID checking in bars close to campus, patrolling football tailgating, and DUI checkpoints on roads surrounding campus. Underage drinking or possessing alcohol as a minor is a crime - normally just a misdemeanor, but still a [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:42:05+00:00September 16th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | College Students and Drug Arrest

We posted here that statistics show that the majority of college student arrests relate to alcohol and drugs. Probably by far the most arrests for drugs by college students is for marijuana or pot possession. This is not surprising information to students or their parents.  However, most student and parents have no idea what is involved in a drug arrest and criminal court case. First, depending on the charge the student who is caught possessing a drug may or may not be physically arrested and brought to jail which would require bonding out of jail, etc.  In some states for [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:42:51+00:00July 13th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Pretrial Diversion Programs Are Perfect for College Students

The legal term "Pretrial Diversion" is something every college student (or parent of a college student) who has been arrested for the first time should be made aware of.  Pretrial Diversion has been around in the United States court system since the 1970's and approximately 45 states currently have legislation enabling these programs.  Click here for a detailed report about the Pretrial Diversion practices across the country. What is Pretrial Diversion?  Pretrial Diversion Programs are voluntary programs in which certain types of criminal defendants can participate.  Their case is then removed out of the court litigation track and into a [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:43:36+00:00July 10th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | College Students and DUI Arrest

When statistics show that over 3 million students ages 18-24 have driven drunk, it is not surprising that many college students across the country are arrested every year for DUI.  In many states there is a zero tolerance policy for underage drinking and driving. This means that even if your state law has a breath alcohol limit of .10 or .08 this does not apply to those under 21.  In Miami, Florida, for example, a student who is under the age of 21 and stopped for DUI it does not matter what the alcohol level is - any amount of [...]

By |2018-04-11T14:22:13+00:00July 4th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | College Students, Careers and Criminal Records

Juvenile and Adult criminal records will haunt college students when applying for a job or a professional license - perhaps forever.  See a more recent post here about mugshot websites. Therefore, the main goal should be to avoid leaving a criminal conviction on a student's record and also properly seal or expunge arrest records whenever possible. But, many times  a criminal record exists and must be dealt with when thinking realistically about a future career BEFORE attending a costly college program or obtaining a graduate degree in a field which the student may be barred from entering because of a [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:46:16+00:00June 30th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | DREAM Act and Immigrant College Students

Today President Obama announced that U.S. Immigration would halt deportation of young illegal immigrant students (under 30 years old) who were brought to the US before age 16.  Instead, they can remain in the United States and apply for a work permit.  You can read the about the announcement here. This is the first step toward the Dream Act, immigration reform legislation which is currently pending that would give relief to the many illegal immigrant students who were brought to this country by their parents at a young age but have no way to gain legal status. Both these immigration [...]

By |2014-08-05T01:51:16+00:00June 15th, 2012|Legal Discussion, News Article Commentary|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | Arrest or Suspension Affects Both Financial Aid and Scholarships

A college student who was arrested has more to worry about than just going to criminal court and the direct consequences of a criminal charge. A student who is arrested may also face discipline at the university level which could result in suspension or expulsion.  Both an arrest and a disciplinary suspension can have serious consequences on a student's financial aid or scholarships. First, if a student receives a conviction in criminal court for a drug charge he will be ineligible for financial aid for a period of time.  To learn more about the length of financial aid disqualification check [...]

By |2014-08-05T02:08:30+00:00May 25th, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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College Arrest 101 Blog | University Disciplinary Records

As soon as a college or university student is charged within the school's disciplinary system records are being generated. These include records of the incident (criminal or otherwise), reports of university officials, statements, complaints, charging documents and then the ultimate sanction - be it probation or suspension or expulsion. Fortunately, these records are considered "educational records" and are NOT public.  They are kept confidential by the university pursuant Federal Law.     The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), protects the rights of confidentiality in a student's educational records and governs circumstances [...]

By |2018-04-11T14:35:55+00:00May 21st, 2012|Legal Discussion|0 Comments
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We Defend Criminal Arrest and Investigation Cases in State and Federal Court and College Disciplinary Cases through out South Florida including:
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