Blog

By Kevin A. Raudt

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Criminal Defense

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Last Modified on Sep 30, 2026

You got the call, or maybe you got arrested on the spot, and now the word felony is attached to your name inside a system that moves faster than most people expect.

A felony charge in Florida is serious, but it isn’t automatically a conviction, and the stretch between an arrest and a verdict is exactly where a real defense gets built.

Prosecutors carry the burden of proving their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and that burden gives you room to push back, whether that means challenging how evidence was gathered, negotiating for a lesser charge, or taking the case all the way to trial.

Kevin A. Raudt, P.A. has spent over four decades trying criminal cases on both sides of the aisle, including 26 years as a court-appointed public defender in Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit, and knows what fighting back actually looks like.

If a felony charge in Florida just landed on your desk, a free consultation is the fastest way to find out what your options still are.

What Counts as a Felony Charge in Florida

Florida marks a crime as a felony when a conviction could carry more than a year in state prison, which is what separates it from a misdemeanor capped at county jail time.

The state grades felonies by degree, from third degree up through capital, and each rung changes the math. A third degree felony tops out at 5 years in prison, a second degree felony at 15, and the exposure keeps climbing from there under Fla. Stat. § 775.082.

Where a charge lands on that scale drives bail, negotiating room, and whether a pretrial intervention program is even on the table, so the degree is usually the first thing a felony defense attorney will pin down.

What a Former Prosecutor Sees That Other Defense Lawyers Might Miss

Kevin Raudt stood on the other side of the courtroom first, as a prosecutor in Broward County, before he ever represented someone accused of a crime. That history changes how a case gets read. He knows what an assistant state attorney needs sitting on their desk before they’ll agree to a plea, and he has a good sense of where those files tend to fall apart, because he used to build them himself.

Over forty years of standing in Florida courtrooms, in front of many of the same judges, adds up to a kind of fluency that a law degree alone doesn’t teach.

The Defenses That Move a Felony Case

No two felony cases look alike, and the right defense depends entirely on how the charge came together in the first place.

Some of the strongest arguments never touch a jury at all, because they end the case before it gets that far.

Challenging How the Evidence Was Obtained

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and if officers searched a car, home, or person without a valid warrant or probable cause, a motion to suppress can knock that evidence out of the case entirely. Once the evidence is gone, the state’s case often goes with it.

Poking Holes in the State’s Proof

Prosecutors have to prove every element of a felony charge beyond a reasonable doubt, and gaps in witness credibility, chain of custody, or lab testing can be enough to stop a case cold. This is where a felony charge in Florida can quietly fall apart, and it’s the kind of gap an experienced attorney is trained to spot long before a trial date is ever set.

Arguing You Acted Lawfully

Self-defense, defense of property, and Florida’s stand your ground protections can apply in violent felony cases, and when they do, the burden shifts toward the state to disprove the claim rather than the defendant having to prove it.

A conversation early, before an information is even filed, is usually when the most doors are still open, and that conversation is free with Kevin A. Raudt, P.A.

Reduced Charges, Diversion, and Other Ways Out Short of Trial

Trial isn’t the only way a felony charge in Florida gets resolved, and for a lot of clients it isn’t even the best one.

• Plea negotiation. Reducing a felony to a misdemeanor, or a higher degree felony down to a lower one, is often the fastest way to limit exposure.
• Pretrial intervention. First-time offenders charged with a misdemeanor or a third-degree felony may qualify for a program that leads to dismissal on completion under Stat. § 948.08. Higher-level felonies aren’t eligible.
• Withholding of adjudication. A judge can withhold formal conviction even after a plea, which can preserve certain civil rights depending on the charge.

In St. Johns County, felony cases move through the 7th Judicial Circuit, and the St. Johns County Clerk of Court handles filings for every stage from arraignment to sentencing.

What Happens If Your Case Goes to Trial

If none of the earlier options resolve the case, a felony charge in Florida goes to a jury, and the state still has to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt in front of a jury of six people (twelve only in a capital case).

A felony conviction carries consequences that outlast the sentence itself, including barriers to housing, employment, and in some cases, firearm rights, which can only be given back through Florida’s Office of Executive Clemency, not the Department of Corrections, and not automatically. That’s why most of the work in a felony case happens long before anyone sets foot in a courtroom in Jacksonville or St. Augustine.

No two felony cases in St. Johns County or the surrounding Northeast Florida circuit look the same, and the fastest way to know where yours stands is a direct conversation with Kevin A. Raudt, P.A.

FAQs

Q: Can a felony charge be reduced to a misdemeanor in Florida?

A: Sometimes, yes, especially if the evidence is thin or you have no prior record. Prosecutors negotiate reductions in a lot of felony cases rather than risk losing at trial. Your best shot at that outcome is having someone push for it before charges are formally filed.

Q: How long does a felony case take to resolve in Florida?

A: It depends on the complexity, but simple cases can wrap up in a few months while contested ones stretch past a year. Court schedules in the 7th Judicial Circuit and the number of pretrial motions filed both affect the timeline. Ask your lawyer for a realistic estimate once the charge is filed, not before.

Q: Will I have to stay in jail while my felony case is pending?

A: Not necessarily, since bail or release conditions are usually set within a day or two of arrest. Judges weigh flight risk and the severity of the charge when setting those conditions. A bond hearing is often the first place a defense makes a real difference.

Q: Can a felony conviction be expunged or sealed in Florida?

A: Generally not possible if you were actually convicted (adjudicated guilty), though sealing or expunging a record is possible in many cases where the charge was dropped or resulted in a withhold of adjudication. The first step, getting a Certificate of Eligibility, runs through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. But the court that heard your case still has to actually grant the sealing or expungement, FDLE just clears you to ask. It’s worth checking early, since one sealed record can block a second.

Q: What happens if I miss a court date on a felony charge?

A: A missed court date usually triggers a warrant for your arrest and can add a separate charge on top of the original one. Judges have little patience for no-shows once a felony is involved. Call your attorney’s office the moment you know you’ll miss a date, before it happens if at all possible.

Kevin A. Raudt, P.A.: Your Criminal Defense Law Firm

A felony charge in Florida rarely resolves itself, and waiting to see what happens usually closes doors rather than opening them.

Kevin brings over 40 years of Florida trial experience to that first conversation, along with a rare vantage point, since he spent years prosecuting felony cases before he ever defended one, and that perspective shapes every strategy he builds now.

Whether the goal is a dismissal, a reduced charge, or standing beside you through a full trial in St. Johns County or the surrounding circuit, the plan starts with knowing exactly what you’re facing.

Contact our firm today, and let’s look at your case together.