Criminal defense · Miami
Miami criminal defense lawyer
Your felony case is heard at Gerstein, and the plea you take there is read by a federal immigration court afterward
Jose A. Dapena defends felonies and misdemeanors in Miami-Dade from the office on Sunset Drive in South Miami. DUI, domestic violence, drugs, theft, weapons, sex offenses, homicide and juvenile matters. Criminal cases are handled on a flat fee set by the charges and the scope, and the consultation is with the attorney who would appear.
- Miami office
- 5975 Sunset Drive, Suite 102
South Miami, FL 33143 - Phone
- (305) 662-4323
- Hours
- Monday to Friday
08:30–17:00 - Who handles it
- Jose A. Dapena
Florida Bar 152358
A Miami-Dade criminal case does its most irreversible work in the first week — at first appearance, where bond and the conditions of release are set, and in whatever is said before anyone is appointed. Both happen before most people have called a lawyer.
The second thing that makes a Miami-Dade case different is who is in it. In a county this size a very large share of defendants are not United States citizens, and for them the plea is frequently the most consequential decision of their lives. The law behind the charges is on the Florida criminal defense page.
01 Handled from this office
Criminal defense matters handled from Miami
Each one has its own page, with the Florida statutes and what actually decides the case.
- The first 24 hoursNothing that happens today is as reversible as it feels
- DUITwo cases start at once, and the one with the ten-day deadline is not the criminal one
- Sealing and expungementFlorida does not erase convictions, whatever the advertising says
- Domestic violenceThe person who called cannot call it off, and the no-contact order starts before anyone has a lawyer
- Drug traffickingTrafficking is a weight, not an activity, and nobody has to have sold anything
- Drug chargesFor most substances there is no small amount — quantity changes the charge, not whether there is one
- Assault and batteryFour different offenses, and a touch can be one of them
- Theft and robberyTheft is measured in dollars. Robbery is measured in whether anyone was pushed.
- Weapons chargesThe enhancement is usually worse than the charge it attaches to
- Sex offensesThe sentence ends. The registration requirement is the part that does not.
- HomicideWhat separates these charges is a state of mind, and the felony murder rule does not require one
- Juvenile defenseA juvenile case does not necessarily stay in juvenile court, and that decision is not a judge’s
- Probation violationsThe original sentence comes back, and the hearing is nothing like the trial you did not have
- Driving with a suspended licenseIt is a crime rather than a ticket, and the State has to prove you knew
- FraudThe documents are the case, and there are always more of them than anyone expects
- Federal chargesA different courthouse, a different prosecutor, and a bail rule that starts from detention
02 Where a Miami-Dade criminal case is heard
Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building
1351 NW 12th Street, Miami, FL 33125
Felony criminal cases in Miami-Dade are handled at the Gerstein Justice Building on NW 12th Street — not at the civil courthouse on West Flagler, and not at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center where family cases are heard. The Clerk maintains felony and misdemeanor divisions in the building, and traffic court as well.
First appearance happens fast and it sets the terms. Bond and conditions of release are addressed within about a day of arrest. The Clerk reports that felony bond hearings are conducted virtually, with weekend and holiday hearings held in a courtroom on the first floor. Those conditions — no contact with a named person, surrender of a passport or firearm, a curfew, GPS — govern daily life for months, and arguing them then is easier than moving them later.
A DUI arrest also starts a clock the criminal court will not mention. Ten days to request review of the administrative license suspension, with the suspension beginning the day the notice is issued. It runs whatever is happening at Gerstein.
Being in South Miami, nine miles from the building, matters for a specific reason: bond hearings, emergency motions and first appearances do not wait for a convenient appointment.
03 How it starts
- The consultationAt the South Miami office on Sunset Drive, a few blocks west of US-1, with parking on site. By phone where someone is in custody and the first appearance is imminent. It is with Jose A. Dapena.
- What to bringThe charging document, the bond paperwork, the property receipt, any citation, any notice from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the certified disposition of any prior case in any state. Certified records, not recollections.
- Say it at the startIf you are not a United States citizen, say so in the first minutes rather than the last. It changes which outcomes are acceptable, and that has to be known before any negotiation begins rather than after an offer is taken.
- What it costsA flat fee set by the charges and the scope of the representation, agreed in writing. There are no payment plans on criminal matters, and any consultation charge is disclosed when the appointment is made.
What people ask in Miami
Where is my court date?
For a felony in Miami-Dade, the Gerstein Justice Building at 1351 NW 12th Street. Misdemeanors and traffic are also handled there. It is a different building from the civil courthouse on West Flagler and from the family courthouse downtown, and people lose a morning to that confusion.
They let me out. Is it over?
No. Release is not resolution — the case is open, there is a court date, and the conditions of release apply. People who are released often assume the matter is minor because nothing dramatic happened, and that assumption is how deadlines pass and no-contact orders get broken.
I am not a citizen. Does that change the case?
It changes what a good outcome is. A withhold of adjudication, which Florida treats as not a conviction, is frequently a conviction for immigration purposes, and a sentence of exactly one year can close off nearly all relief. This office handles immigration as well, which is why both can be read before a plea rather than after.
Can I get the bond lowered?
Sometimes, by motion. What moves a judge is concrete: time in Miami-Dade, employment, family here and their status, a fixed address, and no history of failing to appear. It is easier to argue the bond well at first appearance than to reargue it in March.
The other person wants to drop it.
They cannot. Prosecution is the State Attorney’s decision. In domestic violence cases prosecutors frequently proceed regardless, and a complaining witness who contacts a defendant under a no-contact order creates a second case for both of them.
What does a defense cost?
A flat fee set by the charges and the scope, with no payment plans — different from the contingency fee on the injury side of this office and from the hourly rate on family and immigration. The scope is written down before anything is signed.
Criminal matters are handled on a flat fee, set by the charges and the scope of the representation. Any consultation charge is disclosed before the appointment. There are no payment plans.
Talk to Jose A. Dapena about a Miami criminal case
The South Miami office is on Sunset Drive. If a first appearance is tomorrow, call rather than wait for an appointment.
Criminal matters are handled on a flat fee, set by the charges and the scope of the representation. Any consultation charge is disclosed before the appointment. There are no payment plans.