Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Cases such as Drug Trafficking, 10-20-LIFE, and Habitual Offender Statues
Florida legislators have continued to pass tougher laws on sentencing for certain types of offenses. Any use of a firearm in the commission of a crime will probably fall under the law requiring a minimum of 10 years in prison for possessing the gun, 20 years for firing one, and mandatory life for use of a gun where someone is wounded. These are minimum requirements. It is important to explore all possible defenses and aggressively approach these cases from a defense standpoint. It is important to know that there may still be ways to avoid the minimum sentence even upon a plea in some cases. The age of the offender is one of those instances.
HOW DO I FIND OUT MY SCORE ON THE SENTENCING CODE
Florida statutes explain and set out how to calculate a score for any criminal charge. You will need to score the primary charge as well as other pending charges. Prior convictions including misdemeanors are also scored. Injury and other things can add to the scores. Some charges are enhanced and may not be obvious in reading the sentencing code statute, but you should be able to get an idea of what the minimum sentence may be. I would not rely on your own scoring because of other things that may apply to the scoring as well as the facts of the case. Please call us and come in to go over the presumptive and minimum sentence that may apply in your case as well as reasons that may allow a Judge to depart from that sentence minimum. Florida statutes that apply to the sentence on a felony charge are FS 921.002, FS 921.0021, FS 921.0022, FS 921.0023, AND FS 921.0024.