Juan Calama | Gainesville Criminal Defense Lawyer

Juan was born in Miami, Florida to parents that fled from Cuba in the late 1950s from the tyrannical Castro regime.

A native of Miami, Juan attended Florida International University, from where he graduated in 1999 with degrees in Political Science, English and Philosophy. He graduated with honors and belonged to several honor societies while at Florida International University, including Sigma Tau Delta (English Honor Society), Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, Mortar Board Honor Society, and the Florida International University Honors Council.

Upon graduation from Florida International University, Juan attended the University of Florida College of Law, graduating in 2002. While at the University of Florida College of Law, Juan was a member of the Journal of Technology Law and Policy and also a member of the Spanish-American Law Students Association. During his time in law school, Juan was also an active participant in Toastmasters, an organization that exists in order to help an individual perfect their public speaking talents.

Upon graduating from law school, Juan lived in Chile working as a translator and negotiator for the L. Benito Guitar company in Santiago, Chile. He moved back to the United States to begin his legal career in 2005.

Juan began his legal career at the Office of the Public Defender for the 5th Judicial Circuit in Marion County, Florida (Ocala). Juan was assigned to the misdemeanor division where he had the opportunity to litigate many cases involving drugs, battery, theft and various driving-related offenses, including DUI. Many of these cases were tried to juries where Juan gained valuable experience examining and selecting jurors, examining and cross-examining friendly and government witnesses and arguing legal positions to the court.

Later that year, an opportunity to transfer to the Office of the Public Defender for the 8th Judicial Circuit in Alachua, Florida (Gainesville) presented itself and Juan took it. It wasn’t long before he was promoted to a felony division where he came to handle serious offenses involving drugs, violence and sex-related accusations. Juan even had the opportunity to be responsible for special divisions inside of the Public Defender’s office that dealt specifically with mental health and substance abuse issues. Here he had the opportunity to take many cases all the way to jury verdict, further refining his skills as a litigator.

In 2013, Juan was given the opportunity to become the managing attorney of a local boutique law firm, a position that he held for 18 months until he decided that the time was right for him to begin his own practice.

The Law Office of Juan C. Calama was established in April of 2015 out of a perceived need to provide vigorous advocacy coupled with a desire to work very closely with clients in shaping a good defense and being personally available and accountable to them. Juan is especially happy to work with clients for whom English is not the first language and is always only a phone call away.

My client was incarcerated on a violation of probation. He was on felony probation when he violated his probation with a new law violation for possession of a controlled substance. We were able to present evidence to the court that he did not violation his probation willfully because the controlled substances that were found in his car, which formed the basis for the violation of probation, actually belonged to his girlfriend. He was reinstated to probation and was able to get out of jail in time to be present at the first birthday party of his son.

By listening to my clients and taking the time to understand their perspective and their goals. Communication is so important between attorney and client. Furthermore, being absolutely prepared is essential. A successful attorney must know everything about the case that he is working on.

Clients should look for a lawyer who is dependable, available, personable, willing to answer questions, dedicate to transparency with regards to what his services will cost and be impeccably prepared.

Local knowledge is so important because every courthouse has it's own culture, and every prosecutor and judge has their own personality that makes them different.

I can tell you what you are accused of, what the police report says, what the traffic citation says, how we can proceed in your defense, what the possible penalties may be, what the likely outcomes may be, the names of witnesses and what your court date will be.

Typically I like to know the name, date of birth and county in which the offense occurred. I can usually find out other things with just that information.

I am fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and am well known in these communities. I answer my own phone and like to engage directly with my clients. I like to answer questions and leave my clients feeling as well as I can when we talk. Being accused of a crime can be very stressful and I take a lot of satisfaction in easing my clients' stress levels.

Victory at trial and getting charges dropped.

• Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers | Member | 2017 - Present
  8th Judicial Circuit Bar Association | Member | 2015 - Present
  Florida Bar, Criminal Law Section | Member | 2015 - Present
  Florida Bar | Member | 2005 - Present

• DUI Deferred
  Deferred.

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