Practical guides on Florida criminal defense, personal injury, and civil litigation from the Law Offices of Andre A. Rouviere. Written for people facing a legal situation right now, not abstract overviews.
Plenty of Florida law firms will take your call, hear you out, and tell you where you stand for free. The details differ from firm to firm, and a few of them affect your privacy, so they are worth knowing before you dial. The Short Version Many Florida firms offer a free first consultation. Each
Can I Call a Lawyer and Ask a Question for Free in Florida? Read More »
An arraignment is where a Florida criminal case formally begins in front of a judge, and for most people who hire a lawyer, it is a hearing they never have to attend in person. Questions About Arraignment in Florida What is an arraignment? An arraignment is the formal court proceeding where a defendant is advised
What Happens at an Arraignment in Florida? Read More »
Every person charged with a serious crime in Florida has the right to a jury trial. Far fewer people know they can give that right up and have a judge alone decide the case instead, or that the decision between the two is not always theirs to make. Questions About Jury Trials and Bench Trials
Jury Trial vs. Bench Trial in Florida: What’s the Difference? Read More »
An arrest and a formal criminal charge are different from each other, and the gap between them can run for weeks. Understanding what happens in that gap changes how someone should handle the period right after getting out of jail. Questions About Arrests and Formal Charges in Florida Can I be arrested and never formally
What’s the Difference Between an Arrest and Being Charged in Florida? Read More »
A federal court ordered OpenAI to hand over 20 million ChatGPT conversation logs. A different federal court ordered a litigation expert to turn over the exact AI prompts she used to build her case. A criminal defendant found out the hard way that his exchanges with an AI chatbot offered him no legal protection at
Can Your ChatGPT Conversations Be Used Against You in Court? Read More »
The woman who fatally shot a man during a parking space dispute at a North Lauderdale Walmart will not be charged. The Broward State Attorney’s Office announced on September 3, 2026, that Florida’s “stand your ground” law makes her immune from prosecution for the June 30, 2026 shooting. What follows is why that legal outcome
Why the North Lauderdale Walmart Shooter Wasn’t Charged: Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law Read More »
In Miami-Dade, I handle most criminal defense cases on a flat fee, broken into phases: pretrial, plea negotiation, and trial, if it gets that far. That way you know the cost of each phase before it starts, rather than watching an hourly clock run during a stressful period. For civil litigation I bill hourly generally,
What Does a Criminal Defense Lawyer Cost in Miami Read More »
Sealing or expunging a record in Florida is supposed to mean the case is behind you. As of July 1, 2026, that is still true for almost every purpose, but there is now one context where a sealed or expunged arrest can surface anyway, and a new law makes it a legal requirement to acknowledge
Florida has a law on the books making it illegal to wear a mask or hood in public: Fla. Stat. Section 876.12. Many people assume this means wearing a hoodie, a ski mask on a cold day, or a Halloween costume outside is against the law. It is not, at least not by itself. Another
Florida’s Mask and Hood Law: When Does Wearing a Hoodie Break the Law? Read More »
Florida’s felony battery and habitual offender laws changed in an important way on July 1, 2026. CS/CS/SB 436 was sponsored by the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice and Senator Leek. It expanded who qualifies as a prison releasee reoffender, tightened penalties for repeat battery offenders, and widened the pretrial detention criteria for defendants with a
Florida’s New Career Criminal Sentencing Law (SB 436): What Changed on July 1 Read More »
