Cases We Handle

We handle all criminal prosecutions in the State of Florida. We also handle all types of Federal Prosecutions in the State Of Florida and other states..if you or a family member have a federal case in another state there is a procedure for the attorney to be allowed to practice in that particular federal court as long as the attorney is a member in good standing of any other Federal Bar. Phil Reizenstein is a member in good standing of the Federal Bar for the Southern District Of Florida and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Appeals and Post-Conviction Relief

Phil Reizenstein handles appeals in the appellate courts of the State Of Florida and in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals which handles appeals from Federal Courts in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

Post Conviction Relief:

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU OR A LOVED ONE HAS LOST  A CASE AT TRIAL AND ON APPEAL? THERE STILL MAY BE A WAY WE CAN HELP.

Both Federal and State Courts have procedures for motions for post conviction relief. The motions first require that all other procedures (usually appeals) have been concluded. These motions generally fall into two types: A motion for new trial based on NEW EVIDENCE; and a motion for a new trial based on the deficient performance of the attorney at trial or on appeal.

THERE ARE STRICT TIME LIMITS FOR FILING THESE MOTIONS. Usually the time limit is two years in State Court from the time the appeal is over (one year in death penalty cases) and one year in Federal Court from the time the appeal is over.

These are specialized motions that require intensive work and are usually a clients’ last resort. If you know someone who needs this type of legal help it is important that you start the process as soon as possible.

Criminal State Court Cases

We handle everything from traffic criminal cases to felony assault and battery cases to drug trafficking cases to capital death penalty murder prosecutions. Phil Reizenstein has appeared as lead counsel on over a dozen death penalty murder prosecutions.

There are two type of State Court Cases: Felonies and Misdemeanors. A felony is any crime punishable by more than a year in prison and a misdemeanor is any crime punishable by less than a year in prison.

Examples of the most common types of misdemeanors we handle are DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances) driving while license suspended (DWLS); battery, and petit theft cases.

Felony State Court Cases: If you or a friend or family member have been charged in a state court prosecution, chances are that either as a prosecutor or a defense attorney Phil Reizenstein has handled that type of case before. In Felony state court prosecutions we have the opportunity to take a sworn deposition of all the witnesses in the case ( ad “deposition” is a procedure in which witnesses answer our questions about the case under oath in front of a court reporter).

It is important to note that in all legal cases the term “witness” is not limited to a person who saw something happen. The term witness in a legal case applies to any person that either side intends to call to testify about any matter related to the case.

In a state felony case, once we finish depositions we will then examine the case and file motions which may help in getting the case resolved, or getting the charges reduced or dismissed.

Eyewitness Testimony

More and more scientific studies are being conducted which suggest that an eyewitness identification is perhaps the least reliable of any type of evidence in a criminal case. There are several reasons why an eyewitness may unintentionally accuse or identify the wrong person. Perhaps the number one cause of misidentification is the lack of professional conduct by the police in conducting the identification process.

If we are representing a person in which the main piece of evidence is eyewitness testimony, we will carefully examine the circumstances in which the identification was made. Some factors include: how long after the event was the identification made? ; how was the identification process conducted by the police? Did the police carefully interview the witness without using leading questions to get as complete a description of the individual before the identification was made? How was the identification made? Did the police use a photo line-up, or a live line-up, or did they just show the witness one person and ask if that was the person they saw? How did the police display the photographic line-up? Did the police tell the witness the picture of the person involved was contained in the set of photographs shown to the witness?

These are just some of the things we look at in an eyewitness identification case.

Statements / Confessions

In almost any criminal case, the goal of the police officer or detective once an arrest is made is to get the person to confess. The courts have allowed the police to use tactics to get people to confess. Some tactics that have been allowed include the police lying to a defendant to get him/her to confess. we have also seen the police threaten to file more serious charges against the defendant unless he confesses and we have seen cases where the police have threatened to arrest the person’s spouse or child unless they confess.

IT IS CRUCIAL TO REMEMBER THAT NO DEFENDANT EVER HAS TO SPEAK TO THE POLICE AND THE DECISION OF A DEFENDANT NOT TO SPEAK TO THE POLICE CAN NEVER BE USED AGAINST THAT PERSON IN COURT.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects every person charged with a crime in the United States against forced self incrimination.