Tampa, Florida Family & Criminal Attorney
Joseph F. Martinez

Family Law

Family law is the name given to the branch of civil law that deals with the legal relationships among family members, including husbands, wives, parents, children, and domestic partners and the various issues that may arise from those relationships. A family law attorney specializes in the legal relationships which encompass adoption, child custody, visitation rights, domestic violence, divorce, juvenile dependency and delinquency, marital property rights, child support obligations, and paternity. Because these personal relationships are governed by state law, what constitutes "family law" may vary from state to state.

Criminal Law

Criminal Law is the name given to the branch of law that governs an individual's relationship to the state. It includes the definitions of criminal offenses, which are usually established by Congress or state legislatures. The term "criminal law" also encompasses the rights of an accused and the criminal process, which includes: arrest, arraignment, bail, grand juries, pleas, discovery, pretrial hearings, trials, jury selection, evidence, motions, sentincing and post-trial remedies. In order to prove any crime, no matter how serious, the prosecutor must prove that the accused committed a guilty act with a guilty mind beyond a reasonable doubt.