Before criminal defense lawyer Jayne C. Weintraub was knee-deep in federal investigations, high-profile jury trials, death penalty cases and Court TV appearances, she was a teenager who thought about criminal law as much as any teenager did — until she almost landed on the wrong side of it.

Weintraub, partner at Sale & Weintraub in Miami, has represented rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and baseball star Jose Canseco, and served as a legal commentator on national media. But she was once among a group of 16-year-olds at the midnight movies who had an encounter with the police.