State v. RD – Trespass – CASE DISMISSED

Client was arrested and charged with a 1st degree misdemeanor F.S. 810.08(1)(2)(b) punishable by a maximum of one year in Broward County Jail. According to the arrest report the Deputy stated that “he had warned the Defendant many times for improperly soliciting transportation from the airport and that he knew the Defendant had been previously ‘trespassed’ from the airport.”

After meeting with the client and receiving full discovery from the Office of the State Attorney it became apparent that the Broward Sheriff’s Deputy arrested the client for criminal trespassing when the violation that the Deputy allegedly witnessed should have at most been a civil infraction punishable only by a small monetary fine.

The Office of the State Attorney initially offered that the client plea to a criminal trespassing charge and be barred/restricted from the Fort Lauderdale Airport. It should be noted that my client’s livelihood and ability to feed his family rests on his ability to conduct his transportation business to and from the airports and seaports. Such a restriction would literally be a death sentence for him!

Holding firm of my client’s innocence a mutual decision was made to reject the offer and demand a trial by Jury. It was our position that a civil infraction CAN NOT be turned into a criminal charge (which could result in JAIL) by disguising a civil infraction as a criminal Trespass charge. In other words, if I went to the Courthouse and did not pay the parking meter the most that could happen was I would be given a parking ticket. So long as I paid the parking ticket I could do the same thing over and over as much as I wanted to and I should not go to JAIL. Same logic applied in this situation. You can not turn a civil infraction into a criminal case by disguising it as a CRIMINAL TRESPASS!

We appeared on October 21, 2019 ready for trial in front of the Honorable Judge Jill Levy. After stating that we were willing and ready to move forward with the Jury Trial the Office of the State Attorney announced that they were no longer interested in pursuing the charges and dismissed the case. Although we got the right outcome and got the case dismissed, I find it unfortunate that it even went this far. Regardless, the client was extremely pleased with the outcome secured by the Ansara Law Firm and will finally get the good night’s sleep he rightfully deserves.

If you or a loved one has been arrested for Trespassing or any other criminal offense call the Ansara Law Firm at (954) 761-4011 today for a free consultation!