About Carter Hillstrom

I am an AV-Rated Florida Bar Board Certified Criminal Trial Expert, and a former prosecutor and journalist. I take a “crisis management” approach to criminal law, utilizing my extensive criminal law and public relations background to help ordinary people accused by the government of wrongdoing. I approach each case on two fronts: ensuring my clients’ constitutional rights and freedoms are protected, and portraying clients in the best possible light to judges, prosecutors and juries. I hold the government to its obligation to prove a client’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but also recognize the possibility that clients may someday find themselves at the mercy of the court. This two-pronged approach is a unique way to keep an ordinary person’s freedom and reputation from being taken away by the government. Failing to take all possible steps to protect an individual’s reputation throughout the criminal justice process can have enormously adverse impacts in the future, particularly in the area of employment.

Prior to my criminal practice, I served as an Assistant State Attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The first attorney in my class to be promoted, I quickly rose through the ranks of the State Attorney’s Office, prosecuting such serious crimes as murder-for-hire, drug trafficking, attempted murder and armed robbery. I successfully prosecuted several high-profile cases, and tried nearly 100 jury trials to verdict. After being honored as the felony prosecutor with the most “career criminal convictions,” I was promoted to the elite Economic Crime Unit, where I handled complex white collar crimes.

In addition to my practice, I sit as a civil traffic hearing officer in the Broward County Court. I have served on the Florida Bar Rules of Traffic Court Committee since 2016, and currently serve as the committee’s vice-chairman. I have also served on the Rules of Judicial Administration Committee, and the Special Joint Subcommittee on Marsy’s Law.