Going to college is a tremendous milestone in any young person’s life. For college students who have just turned 18 and may be leaving their parents’ homes for the first time in their lives, the newfound freedom that higher education presents can sometimes lead to unwise decisions—and more importantly, decisions that violate Florida state law and lead to students facing adult criminal charges.
Dealing with criminal allegations as a college student can be difficult in both legal and personal terms, which is why it is so important to seek a seasoned private defense attorney’s help as soon as possible after being charged. Through both your criminal trial and any school disciplinary proceedings stemming from your charge, a Lake County college student defense lawyer from the Umansky Law Firm can be a dependable ally from start to finish of your case.
You have probably heard terms like “misdemeanor” and “felony” before, and likely understand that the latter is a lot more serious of a charge than the former. More specifically, a misdemeanor conviction is only punishable by a maximum of a year in local or county jail, whereas a felony conviction can result in a sentence of at least five years in state prison. Convicted felons in this state also lose the right to vote, hold public office, own a firearm, and perhaps get certain professional licenses or enter certain other countries.
On the other hand, you also have some rights guaranteed to you when facing criminal charges that you may not have during school conduct hearings or an equivalent proceeding your college has. For example, while it is almost always best to seek help from a skilled attorney when facing criminal charges as a Lake County college student, you have a right to have legal counsel provided to you free of charge if you cannot afford or do not want to retain private counsel.
This right and many others—such as the right not to incriminate yourself, the right to a speedy trial before a jury of your peers, and even the right to remain silent—may not be guaranteed to you by your school’s code of conduct. Along the same lines, the standard of proof they must meet to sanction or even expel you from school may be much looser than a “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard required for criminal conviction.
The takeaway from everything written above should not be that it is impossible to contest both criminal charges and school disciplinary action, but rather that doing so in each situation can be difficult in somewhat unique ways. Help from a college student defense lawyer in Lake County can be especially important when handling allegations like:
Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to help you contest your charges by proving that you were only arrested or accused based on mistaken identity, that your actions did not meet all the criteria necessary to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, or even that you were “entrapped” by police into committing a crime when you otherwise would not have.
If you were recently arrested by the Lake County Police Department for an offense you allegedly committed while studying at a local college (like Lake Technical College or Lake-Sumter State College), you may have questions about how to handle the criminal justice process and your school’s internal disciplinary action. While these proceedings can be very different from each other in practice, you have help available from the knowledgeable team at the Umansky Law Firm.
We know how stressful it can be to face fines, jail time, and a permanent criminal record as a young person. Once retained, we can dedicate all our experience and knowledge towards fighting the accusations on your behalf, for both the school and the state. Call today to learn how a Lake County college student defense lawyer could help in your unique situation.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
