BATTERY (F.S. § 784.03); DISTURBING THE PEACE (F.S. § 877.03)
DEFERRED PROSECUTION ON REDUCED CHARGE (DISORDERLY CONDUCT)
Santa Rosa County, FL
May 5, 2026
Client, a non-citizen with a pending U-visa application and Deferred Action status, was charged in Santa Rosa County with Battery — Touch or Strike (F.S. § 784.03(1)(a)1), a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 1 year in the county jail, and Disturbing the Peace (F.S. § 877.03), a second-degree misdemeanor. Beyond the immediate criminal exposure, the immigration consequences for this client were severe and immediate. Battery is potentially classifiable as a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT) under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and even a withhold of adjudication on a battery charge can be treated as a "conviction" for immigration purposes under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A). A conviction — or any disposition that triggered the immigration definition — would have placed at risk the client's pending U-visa application, deferred action protection, employment authorization, and any path to lawful permanent residence. The client had been [REDACTED] at the time of the underlying incident, and the case involved [REDACTED]. The defense had to simultaneously achieve a result that protected the client's record on the criminal side and, critically, did not generate a disposition that could be treated as a CIMT conviction under federal immigration law.
The defense team treated this matter as a crimmigration case from intake forward, coordinating closely with the client's immigration counsel to ensure that the criminal defense strategy aligned with the broader immigration objectives. We conducted detailed analysis of the State's evidence, including all available body-worn camera footage and the contemporaneous law enforcement narrative, and identified evidentiary issues with the State's ability to establish each element of the battery charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Through sustained negotiation with the State Attorney's Office — and after declining the State's initial offer of a withhold with probation, which our analysis showed would have been treated as a CIMT conviction for immigration purposes — we secured a critical breakthrough: the State agreed to amend the charge to a lesser-included Disorderly Conduct and resolve the case through a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA). No plea was entered. Upon completion of the DPA conditions, the charge will be dismissed entirely, leaving the client with no conviction for any purpose — criminal or immigration — and a clean path to seal or expunge the arrest record. The client's pending U-visa, deferred action protection, and employment authorization remain intact. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes; each case depends on its facts and circumstances.