Not Guilty Verdict After Bench Trial

Our client was a licensed massage therapist. The State licensing division mailed her a renewal notice to an old address. She is a busy single mother and had forgotten to update her address with the State licensing organization. So her license expired while she continued to give some of the best massages on the treasure coast. She kept up with her continuing education and got rave reviews from her many clients. After failing to convince the State that this was just an oversight and not an act that needed to be punished with a criminal conviction, the Defense announced ready for trial. We made the strategic decision to have a bench trial in front of Judge Barnes, one of the fairest judges in the 19th Judicial Circuit. The defense presented case law and argued that “even a dog knows the difference between getting tripped over and getting kicked.  The Judge agreed and returned with a NOT GUILTY verdict.