CMB Law

06/16/2026

The Second DCA granted State’s request for oral argument after they appealed my win in yet another case where my client was stopped for the classic “failing to maintain a lane” - despite the appellate court repeatedly finding that is not a valid basis in itself to conduct a stop. The court asked,

“So are we getting in the way of public safety with those three opinions?”
(stating that failure to maintain is not a basis for traffic stop if it doesn’t affect any other traffic or pedestrians)

I explained that “I believe the Court is protecting our Constitutional rights and I believe the motoring public is thankful for the Court’s watchful eye - keeping in line with our Constitutional freedoms that are guaranteed to us. And I believe that deferring entirely to law enforcement completely erodes our 4th Amendment protections. And it’s a very dangerous and slippery slope when we allow the officer to say ‘because I said so’ / ‘because it was right’ / ‘it was the right thing to do’ - so for that reason I hope that the court will uphold the order of the trial court and find that the stop was unlawful. Thank you”

And with that, we wait to see if the Court will turn its back on its three prior opinions in favor of essentially abolishing our 4th amendment right when driving or whether they’ll uphold my win and (again) tell the State to stop infringing upon our right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. 💃🏻🙇🏻‍♀️

03/31/2026

‼️ ATTN ‼️

CMB Law will be on light duty today (3/31) as we lock up for an office retreat. We’ve been grinding hard for awhile with no breaks, so when the universe blessed us with an empty calendar and perfect weather, the choice is already made. Unless it’s an emergency - catch us tomorrow when it’s back to business as usual. Thanks for understanding and everyone behave yourselves today!
🫵🏻🙇🏻‍♀️☀️🕶️🧜🏼‍♀️

01/17/2026

☝🏼✌🏼🤟🏼 TRIPLE WIN 🤟🏼✌🏼☝🏼
June 2023: Immediately after arriving for his shift at work - in a highly monitored and secured facility - my client parked his personal vehicle next to the workshop and got into his work truck, loaded up, and left to make a delivery. About two minutes later, before he’s even off the facility grounds, smoke is observed coming from the vicinity of his truck.

State fire marshall responded and “ruled out” any natural or accidental cause. Thereby, ruling this an intentionally set fire. How? “Human hands and an open flame device.” It took a couple hours for that investigator to nearly alter my clients life irreparably, forever. Based on - not the presence of evidence - but a lack of evidence.

When I asked him “what’s the difference between how an accidental fire burn, vs an incendiary (intentional) fire?” this guy actually tried to tell me there couldddd be differences but ultimately they’re basically indistinguishable..

My client could not hold back his sobs as the first count of not guilty was read after the longest wait of his life. We are indescribably thankful for the jury’s time, consideration, and common sense.

My client didn’t have insurance on his truck. He didn’t even make it off the grounds before signs of this supposed crime were observed. He gave four voluntary interviews. Said the person who did this should “be locked up!” He continued paying the loan for this truck for at least six months after the fire - which, btw - completely consumed his truck.

And all of that and more helped the jury see that he did not commit these crimes. He was falsely accused based on a prejudiced investigation that focused too quickly in the wrong area. We are both incredibly proud to have fought this uphill battle and to have come out with the appropriate conclusion. Cheers! 🥂

CMB Law is a criminal defense law firm in Bradenton, FL. Attorney Courtney Benson has been zealously representing the criminally accused since admission to the Florida Bar in 2017. Contact us immediately to set up a free consultation.

12/31/2025

Happy New Year from the whole team 🥳🤩🥰 stay out of trouble as you ring in 2026 - but in case you don’t - we’ll be ready to take your call (and your case!).