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Jurisdiction of the States Attorney in Florida
Anonymous7 views2 answers
I have a business in Palm Beach county (fifteenth District) that does work in Broward County (Seventeenth District). One of my customers in Ft. Lauderdale said I ripped them off and called the police. The Sheriff came out and said it was a civil matter.
However, that customer is friends with the States Attorney in West Palm Beach and I guess he now is taking the case as Information was done and I was arrested.
The alledged crime took place in one county, and they refused to prosecute so now the States attorney where I live has taken the case.
How the heck are they able to do this... They lost their civil case 2 weeks ago against me
and that had to be done in Broward county what is the difference?
To answer your question one has to know more about what the alleged crime was and where it allegedly took place. Generally a crime can only be prosecuted in the county in which it occured. However, if a crime occurs in two or more counties, then it can be prosecuted in any of those counties. Sometimes venue of a crime is a technical legal matter.
It seems to me that if you just won the civil case you might have had an attorney. Also that if you have been arrested you do have an attorney. Why aren't you asking him/her these questions?
Civil court has a lower standard of proof that in criminal court- the greater weight of the evidence. If the crime alleged is the same act that the civil suit addressed, the state might have a difficult time proving guilt beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt to a jury if the plaintiff in the civil case couldn't prove it to a preponderance of the evidence to a judge.
If you really have a problem with the State Attorney prosecuting you as a result of friendship with the complaintant, you may have grounds for a recusal of the state attorney's office. That would mean that the case would be prosecuted by another state attorney's office, not that it will be dropped. But to do any of this you need an attorney -- so get going.
The foregoing was offered for informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice.
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First all hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer to defend your criminal case. An experienced attorney will have to look at the papers to determine what happened. As far as the civil case goes, civil and criminal cases are different and either or both my be commenced against you. Remeber OJ Simpson was aquitted on the criminal case but lost the civli case. However, when one starts a civil case and loses, because of the lower level of proof that could not be sustained, that may prove to be fatal to a criminal prosecution. But it all depends......
