If you have pled guilty to a crime, or been found guilty, you may think that your options are over, even if you are actually innocent or otherwise treated unjustly. While it is unfortunate, the justice system is not perfect and can make mistakes. Fortunately, there are laws in place that allow these mistakes to be rectified. One option for those who believe they have been unjustly treated is to file a motion to vacate the criminal conviction. If approved, the previous conviction will be set aside and you will have the opportunity to have your trial heard again, this time hopefully getting better results. Grounds For A Motion To Vacate In order to have a criminal conviction vacated, you must first have grounds for the motion. This simply means that you need to have a good reason why the conviction should be vacated. There are a number of different types of grounds that can be used in the state of Florida, including the following:…Read More
In this comment, Magdalena Cuprys, Esq. addresses and explains the business visa issues and visa alternatives in the U.S. In the second article of her series of Instructional Articles, Florida Attorney Magdalena Cuprys comments on business visas for employment and possible alternatives. Preliminary Considerations Many visa applicants assume that once they complete the lengthy and expensive visa process and detailed interviews both at the U.S. Embassy and upon arrival in the U.S., they have accomplished their American Dream. If only that could be true. Once they recover from the whole fingerprinting and interviewing stress, there is more to come. Whether you are a professional or a student, American bureaucracy will keep you busy for at least the first two months upon your arrival. You will quickly learn that one simply cannot function without the magic nine digits, known as a social security number (SSN). The social security system was designed to track income and earnings so that people could collect payments at a later point…Read More
In this comment, Magdalena Cuprys, Esq. addresses and explains the problem of immigration consequences that may unintentionally result from a plea of guilty or nolo contendere In the first article of her series of Instructional Articles, Florida Attorney Magdalena Cuprys comments on the issue of immigration consequences resulting from criminal pleas of guilty or nolo contendere, and how to challenge such guilty pleas subsequently in court. Attorney Cuprys recently prevailed in a case in the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida where she moved to vacate a judgment and sentence. She bases her comments on that case. The facts of the case are as follows: The Defendant A.P.B., a Cuban citizen and resident of the U.S. since 2002, plead guilty in trial court to marihuana-related offenses, including selling and possession with intent. Apparently A.P.B.’s home was burglarized, and when police came to investigate, they found he was growing 26 marijuana plants inside the house. He had no prior criminal history. At the…Read More