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Police encounters in Jacksonville – officer contact

The Mussallem Law Firm

As a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney, I constantly review arrests in Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties. When evaluating any criminal case, I first look at when the police officer initially makes contact with my client, also referred to as “police-citizen encounters”. In Florida, there are three levels of these encounters. The first is called a consensual encounter, where you can wither voluntarily comply with the officer’s requests or ignore them. Because you are free to leave during a consensual encounter, your constitutional rights are not in play. The second level of police contact is called an investigatory stop. In order to detain you, the officer has to have a well-founded suspicion that you are involved in criminal activity. To determine whether you are detained, the courts apply the standard of whether a reasonable person would feel free to leave even though a police officer is talking to them. Factors to consider are: did the officer activate his squad car lights, where did the officer park when approaching you, what words did the officer say when making contact with you, how many officers approached you, were their guns drawn or were the officers touching their weapons, if at night, did the officer shine a light on you. This evaluation is very important because if an officer does not follow the law, anything he or she found on you could be suppressed because your constitutional rights were violated. The third level of police encounters is when you are actually arrested. In order to be arrested in Jacksonville or anywhere in Florida, the police must have probable cause to believe you committed or are committing a crime.

If you are facing criminal charges in Northeast Florida, it is important to discuss your case with an experienced criminal defense attorney. Your future is worth it. Our Jacksonville Criminal Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem has represented thousands of people charged with crimes in Jacksonville, Clay County, Nassau County and St.Johns County. Contact The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Law Firm is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Client Reviews

Daughter needed a lawyer for a recent domestic violence charge. I contacted the law firm and she got to work, my daughter did not have to show up to court and charges were dismissed. Life is good. Thank you Mussallem Law Firm.

D.H.

I don’t know where to start!!! Everything about Tori was more than what I expected she kept my parents on board with everything made sure they were included in every single detail about my case. She also went to court for me without me having to be present , call me before an after all of my court...

A.S.

Five stars are not enough for Tori! My partner and I reached out to 3 lawyers in the span of a week. One took 4 days to get back to us, the other we never heard from. Tori had called the day we filled out a form and had done her research before calling. She has been incredibly professional and...

M.G.

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