Bogin, Munns & Munns P.A.
(855) 780-9986
(855) 780-9986
Click Here to Request a Consultation
Click Here to Request a Consultation
Bogin, Munns & Munns

Melbourne Felony Attorneys

Your legal issues need our expertise. With 40+ dynamic attorneys on staff, Bogin, Munns & Munns serves Central Florida’s legal needs and treats our clients like family.
7195 Murrell Road, Suite 101, Melbourne, Florida 32940 321-415-0681 View all Google Reviews here
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On This Page
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  1. How Can a Felony Charge Affect a Security Clearance?
  2. What Are the Degrees of Felony in Florida?
  3. Can a Felony Be Reduced or Dismissed in Brevard County?
  4. How Is a Felony Sentence Calculated in Florida?
  5. What Rights Do You Lose With a Felony Conviction?
  6. Who Handles Felony Defense at Our Melbourne Office
  7. Ready to Talk to a Melbourne Felony Attorney?
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On the Space Coast, a felony charge threatens more than your freedom. It can end a security clearance and the aerospace or defense career built on it, which is why a Melbourne felony lawyer should be involved immediately. We defend people charged with felonies throughout Brevard County from our Melbourne office, building a defense while evidence is fresh and every option remains open. The earlier we start, the more we can protect.

Call our Melbourne office at 321-415-0681 for a confidential consultation.

How Can a Felony Charge Affect a Security Clearance?

Handcuffed person seated at a police desk while another person points toward themA felony arrest or conviction can trigger review, suspension, or loss of a security clearance, even before a case is resolved. For the thousands of Brevard County workers at aerospace and defense employers, a clearance is the job, and losing it can mean losing the career.

Federal agencies and contractors treat criminal charges as a reportable event. An unresolved felony can place a clearance in jeopardy regardless of the eventual outcome. This makes the goal of resolving the charge favorably, and quickly, more urgent than in many other cases.

We understand what is at stake for cleared professionals and build the defense with that reality in mind.

To consult with an experienced criminal misdemeanor & felony lawyer serving Melbourne
(855) 780-9986

What Are the Degrees of Felony in Florida?

Florida classifies felonies by degree, each carrying a different maximum sentence. Where a charge falls sets your exposure, but the outcome depends on the defense.

Felony Degree Maximum Prison Maximum Fine Examples
Third-degree Up to 5 years Up to $5,000 Drug possession, grand theft (lower value)
Second-degree Up to 15 years Up to $10,000 Aggravated battery, burglary of a dwelling
First-degree Up to 30 years Up to $10,000 Armed burglary, certain trafficking offenses
Life felony Up to life Up to $15,000 Certain violent and sexual offenses
Capital felony Life or death N/A First-degree murder

Enhancements and prior convictions can raise these penalties. We analyze your exact exposure before recommending a strategy.

Can a Felony Be Reduced or Dismissed in Brevard County?

Leesburg Criminal DUI LawyerSometimes, yes. Depending on the charge, the evidence, and your record, a felony may be reduced to a lesser offense, dismissed on legal grounds, or resolved through a program that avoids a conviction.

Common paths include challenging how evidence was obtained, negotiating a reduction with the State Attorney’s Office in the 18th Judicial Circuit, and pursuing diversion for eligible nonviolent offenses. Each of these can also protect a professional license or clearance that a conviction would end.

We assess which path is realistic based on the specific facts and pursue the outcome that best preserves your future.

Melbourne Criminal Misdemeanor & Felony Lawyer Near Me
(855) 780-9986

How Is a Felony Sentence Calculated in Florida?

Florida uses the Criminal Punishment Code, which applies a scoresheet to set the lowest permissible sentence. Points are assigned for the current offense, prior record, victim injury, and other factors, and the total determines a minimum range.

Reducing the score, through a charge reduction or a challenge to how prior offenses are scored, can move a case below the threshold that requires prison. We prepare this analysis in every felony case. A conviction punishable by more than one year in prison also triggers a federal firearm prohibition that operates independently of state law. Florida’s state court system sets the procedural rules that govern how a felony case moves, and separate standards control sealing or expunging a criminal record.

Call 321-415-0681 or contact us online to discuss your charge.

What Rights Do You Lose With a Felony Conviction?

Orlando Drug Possession LawyerA felony conviction in Florida carries consequences that continue long after any sentence. Several are permanent unless formally restored.

A convicted felon can lose the right to vote until rights are restored, the right to possess a firearm, eligibility for many professional licenses, and access to certain jobs and housing. For cleared professionals, a conviction can permanently bar future clearance eligibility. For non-citizens, it can trigger removal. Avoiding the conviction itself is frequently the most important objective.

Click to contact our Melbourne Felony Attorneys today

Who Handles Felony Defense at Our Melbourne Office

Matthew S. Boomershine is a Partner and Managing Attorney of the Criminal Defense Division at Bogin Munns & Munns. He defends clients facing serious charges including DUI, drug offenses, violent crimes, theft, and other felony and misdemeanor cases. Before joining our firm, he served as an Assistant Public Defender for Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit, where he handled a high volume of criminal cases and gained extensive courtroom experience. That background helps him anticipate prosecutorial strategy and build proactive defenses. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and was admitted to The Florida Bar in 2007.

Christina Hedley

Christina E. Hedley

Christina E. Hedley is a Florida Bar Board Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer, one of the highest distinctions available to a criminal trial attorney in Florida. She began her career at the Ninth Circuit Public Defender’s Office, where over six and a half years she tried more than 75 jury trials and 11 bench trials and oversaw mental health court proceedings. She later handled civil insurance defense litigation, experience that sharpened her investigative skills and her ability to anticipate opposing strategy.

Our Melbourne office is at 7195 Murrell Rd, Suite 101. 

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Case results depend on individual facts and circumstances.

Ready to Talk to a Melbourne Felony Attorney?

A felony charge is not something to face alone, especially when a clearance and a career hang in the balance. The decisions made in the first days after an arrest often shape everything that follows.

We defend felony charges in Melbourne, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Viera, Titusville, and throughout Brevard County from our office at 7195 Murrell Rd, Suite 101.

Bogin Munns & Munns also handles misdemeanor defense, DUI, drug charges, and other criminal matters from 11 offices across Central Florida.

Call 321-415-0681 or contact our Melbourne office online for a felony defense consultation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Contact a criminal defense attorney before speaking further with investigators, and understand your reporting obligations to your employer or agency. An unresolved felony can jeopardize a clearance regardless of outcome, so resolving the charge favorably and quickly matters. We build the defense with your clearance and career in mind.

  • Yes, in some cases. Charges can be dismissed when evidence was improperly obtained or the state lacks proof, and a charge can be reduced through negotiation. Whether any of these applies depends on the specific facts, which we evaluate at the start of the case.

  • It can. Many Space Coast positions require a clearance or a clean background, and a felony conviction can disqualify you from both. That is why the defense focuses on avoiding the conviction, through dismissal, reduction, or diversion, not just reducing a possible sentence.

  • Not without formal restoration of firearm rights, a separate and demanding process. A felony conviction results in the loss of firearm rights under state and federal law. Restoration is possible in some cases but never automatic, which is another reason avoiding the conviction is critical.

  • A felony is punishable by more than one year in state prison, while a misdemeanor carries a maximum of one year in county jail. Felonies also bring lasting consequences a misdemeanor does not, including loss of voting and firearm rights. Some offenses can be charged either way depending on the circumstances and prior record.

  • Felony cases in the 18th Judicial Circuit typically take several months to over a year, depending on complexity, the evidence, and whether the case is negotiated or tried. More serious charges and cases requiring expert analysis take longer. We keep clients informed at each stage.

  • Cleared professionals and many defense-industry employees have reporting obligations that can apply to an arrest, not just a conviction. Requirements vary by agency and employer, and failing to report can carry its own consequences. This is one reason it is important to involve an attorney early who understands what is at stake beyond the courtroom.

  • Generally, a felony conviction cannot be expunged. Limited exceptions exist, mostly where charges were dismissed or resolved without a conviction. This is why the goal in a felony case is usually to avoid the conviction itself rather than relying on later record clearing, which for most felonies is not available.

  • Forcible felonies are violent offenses defined by Florida law, including murder, sexual battery, robbery, and aggravated assault. They are excluded from most diversion programs and often carry mandatory minimum sentences. A forcible felony charge changes the defense strategy significantly and makes experienced representation even more important.