Marlyse Mercado was born and raised in South Florida. At the young age of fourteen, Marlyse knew she wanted to be a criminal defense attorney, so she spent her days off from school at the courthouse watching trials and hearings.
Marlyse attended Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii on a competitive cheerleading scholarship, majoring in Political Science and Criminology. After her 2013 graduation, she returned to Honolulu in 2015 to intern at the Public Defender’s Office.
Marlyse attended the Nova Shepard Broad College of Law. While in law school, she confirmed her passion and dedication for the practice of Criminal Defense. Marlyse did so by interning with the Honolulu Public Defender’s Office, the West Palm Beach Public Defender’s Office and the Broward County Public Defender’s Office. During Marlyse’s last year in law school, she was certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Certified Legal Intern and was able to actively try cases as a law student, prior to passing the Florida Bar exam.
Due to her success as a Certified Legal Intern, the Broward County Public Defender’s Office hired Marlyse. During the next five years she practiced Criminal Defense at both the Broward County and Duval County Public Defender’s Office. As a result, Marlyse gained the advantage of practicing in different counties across the state of Florida. In addition, she represented thousands of clients and defended countless misdemeanor, felony, and punishable-by-life offense cases to verdict. Among Marlyse’s many accomplishments are a 2017 Hat Trick for three Not Guilty verdicts in a row and a 2018 Double Hat Trick for six Not Guilty verdicts in a row.
