Misdemeanors
“It’s only a misdemeanor” is the most expensive sentence in criminal law. The jail exposure is the small part.
Florida grades misdemeanors into two degrees. A second-degree misdemeanor carries up to 60 days in county jail and a $500 fine. A first-degree misdemeanor carries up to a year and a $1,000 fine. Most people charged with one will not serve the maximum — and most people charged with one badly underestimate what a conviction actually costs them.
Collateral consequences
A conviction follows you into places the courtroom never mentions. Employment background checks. Professional and occupational licensing — nursing, real estate, insurance, education, commercial driving. Rental applications. Firearm rights, for certain offenses. Immigration status, where a single theft or domestic-violence conviction can be catastrophic regardless of the sentence. Security clearances. Custody proceedings.
These are the reasons to take a misdemeanor seriously, and the reasons to understand a plea offer completely before you accept it.
Withhold of adjudication
Florida allows a court to withhold adjudication — imposing conditions without formally convicting you. It is not available for every charge or every defendant, but where it is available it can preserve your eligibility to have the record sealed later. Whether a resolution includes a withhold is often the single most consequential term in the whole negotiation, and it is not something a defendant negotiating alone tends to know to ask for.
Common misdemeanor charges
- Petit theft, shoplifting and retail theft
- Simple battery and assault
- Possession of cannabis under 20 grams, and drug paraphernalia
- Disorderly conduct and disorderly intoxication
- Resisting an officer without violence
- Trespass and criminal mischief
- Driving while license suspended
- Violation of an injunction or a probation condition
Common questions
Can I just plead guilty and get it over with?
You can, and for a small number of people that is genuinely the right answer. But a plea entered without understanding the collateral consequences, or without asking whether a withhold of adjudication is available, is a decision you will be living with long after the fine is paid.
Will I go to jail?
For a first misdemeanor with no aggravating facts, a jail sentence is uncommon — probation, a fine, community service or a diversion program is far more typical. That said, no lawyer can promise an outcome, and anyone who does is selling something.
What is a diversion program?
Many first-time defendants are eligible for a pre-trial diversion or intervention program. Complete the conditions and the charge is dismissed. Eligibility varies by charge and by the State Attorney's office, and it is one of the first things we check.
Can this be removed from my record later?
Often, yes. Florida permits sealing where adjudication was withheld, and expungement where the charge was dismissed or never filed — subject to eligibility rules and a once-in-a-lifetime limit. Certain offenses are excluded entirely, which is precisely why the charge you resolve to matters.
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