In Florida, felony convictions are reviewed under the state sentencing guidelines. The guidelines were created in an effort to impose fair and uniform sentences for felony crimes and allow the court to consider factors related to the offense to determine an appropriate sentence. When a court imposes a sentence within…
Clearwater Criminal Lawyer Blog
Florida Court Vacates Dual Burglary Convictions Due to Double Jeopardy Violation
One of the protections afforded criminal defendants by the United States Constitution is the prohibition of double jeopardy. Double jeopardy prevents a defendant from being tried or convicted more than once for the same crime. While multiple criminal charges can arise out of a singular act if a defendant is…
Court Rules a Judge can Consider an Arrest Without a Conviction During a Florida Community Control Revocation Hearing
When a defendant is convicted of a crime there are certain factors that the court can consider when determining an appropriate sentence. For example, a court is not permitted to consider a defendant’s arrest for a subsequent crime when imposing a sentence for the primary offense the defendant was convicted…
Florida Court Rejects Argument That Hazing Statute is Unconstitutional
The statutes that criminalize behavior must be sufficiently specific to be deemed constitutional. When statutes are vague and overbroad, they can lead to improper convictions and subsequent challenges to the constitutionality of the statutes. Recently, the Supreme Court of Florida analyzed whether a statute criminalizing hazing was overbroad in violation of…
Florida Court Holds That Granting Credit for Time Served in Other Jurisdictions is Discretionary
If you are convicted and sentenced to be incarcerated, in certain cases you may be given credit for any time you were in jail after your arrest for the subject charges prior to your conviction. Recently, a Florida district court of appeals defined the circumstances in which a court is…
Court Holds the Right to be Tried as a Juvenile Can be Waived Under Florida Law
Under Florida law, criminal suspects under the age of 18 are afforded certain rights based on their age, such as the right to be tried in a juvenile court. The juvenile court system may be more lenient and result in less stringent penalties than would be issued in adult court.…
Court Overturns Florida Gun Charge Conviction Where the Police Search Exceeded the Scope of Consent
If a person is suspected of a crime, he or she nonetheless has rights under the law, including the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Even if a person consents to a search, any evidence obtained during the search may be tainted if the consent was not…
Court Overturns Florida Conviction for Sex Crimes Where Victim Repudiates Prior Statement at Trial
In many instances where a defendant is charged with a sex crime, the only evidence of the crime is the testimony of the alleged victim. In Clearwater sex crime cases where there is no other corroborating evidence of the alleged crime if the victim recants his or her prior testimony…
Court Overturns Death Sentence Based on US Supreme Court’s Finding that Florida’s Prior Capital Penalty Laws Were Unconstitutional
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that Florida’s capital sentencing scheme was unconstitutional, in Hurst v. Florida. The Hurst ruling continues to have lasting effects in Clearwater and throughout the state, as many death sentences imposed prior to Hurst may be unconstitutional. For example, the Supreme Court of Florida…
Court Clarifies What Constitutes Causing the Production of Child Pornography in Florida Case
If you are currently facing sex crime charges, it is important to be aware of both the elements of the crime charged and the elements considered for sentencing if you are convicted of the crime. The elements weighed for sentencing may be different than those needed to find a defendant…