CMB Law

09/26/2026

Georgia Tech’s newest defensive lineman stopped by to say hey to the weekend crew at CMB Law - congratulations Malik Lee (and Steve Lee!) yall make the community proud 🥰🥹🥳 go get em!!!

08/05/2026

It has always been my goal to grow CMB Law into a group of reliable and compassionate freedom fighters with the ability to serve any and all criminally accused throughout the state of Florida and in federal court.

Practicing through the years as the only attorney in my office has been an exhilarating (albeit exhausting) experience for me. Having spent nearly ten years establishing the reputation of CMB Law and maintaining my loyal client base, it is now the season of growth.

I am honored to welcome Attorney Liane McCurry as an associate starting October 1st. Liane has decades of experience as a solo practitioner herself, and with her meticulous attention to detail and thorough preservation of all material issues, fueling and furthering my never-ending tenacity in advocating for and fighting every possible angle - we are looking forward to offering unique and comprehensive representation to this region of the state.

Trust that we will [continue to] give them hell every day of the week on behalf of preserving your fundamental freedoms!

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!).

09/13/2025

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/courts/2025/09/09/trumps-bail-policy-could-lead-to-sarasota-manatee-jail-overcrowding/85837517007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11----p119650c119650e009200v11xx13o11----b00###xd11xx65&gca-ft=31&gca-ds=sophi&fbclid=IwZnRzaAMxwAtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjfC4YsixXeC2aiEI96xa05b8I9AoiwSlA7eQ72o3DHYCxzMA6PwZoc7N7z7_aem_-4W3Y21EdyPUXSwWyPKBoA&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

While Florida is already aligned with Trump's tough-on-crime mentality, defense attorneys worry harsh pretrial laws could worsen jail overcrowding.

08/15/2025

We fought. Publicly. And privately. Since November 11, 2021 I have been truly honored to stand by Lilys side. I am incredibly proud of the work and preparation that went into this trial and also proud to report that the verdict came back NOT as homicide - but as the lesser included manslaughter. While it is not the outright acquittal we had hoped for, it does remove the “ill will, hatred, or malice” element and that - at the very least - is certainly appropriate.

I am honored to stand on behalf of the accused and proud of the team that stands beside me in the fight.

“I still feel guilty. I felt like I should have been able to save him," Lily Scheip said. Scheip is on trial for the death of her son in November 2021.