Citations Instead of Arrests for Crimes?
have under the Florida and State Constitution.
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Once you pay the citation, you have a criminal record and a criminal charge that is available for the public to see. You can hire a lawyer to seal the citation charge, but it will never be a hundred percent sealed from public view. If you are a first offender and qualify for a diversion program, you will lose the opportunity to get the charge dropped as you will never have the opportunity to get the state to drop the charge. Unfortunately, the State is using the citation to save money and resources for the court system, but it in fact is not always in your best interest, especially if you are a first offender who has never been in trouble with the law.
In theory, you can get a citation for marijuana possession, a citation for theft, a citation for trespass and many other misdemeanors. If you get a citation or ticket for a criminal charge, contact an attorney who can sit down and go over your rights with you in detail and determine if you want to:
- Just pay the fine
- Contest the citation for the criminal charge in court or
- Try to get into the diversion program.
If you have a bright future ahead of you, please make sure you go over your rights that are not stated on the citation with a lawyer and determine what your best course of action is.