Legal Strategies for Reducing or Avoiding Mandatory Minimum Sentences in Florida

If your facing a mandatory minimum sentence in Florida, don’t panic. There are legal strategies that can help reduce or even avoid mandatory minimums. This article will explain common mandatory minimums in Florida, and give tips from defense lawyers on how to fight them.

What are Mandatory Minimums?

Mandatory minimums are sentences set by law that require a judge to impose a certain minimum number of years. Judges don’t have discretion to go lower, even if they want to. For example, if a mandatory carries a 10-year minimum, the judge can’t sentence you to less than 10 years. He has to give you at least the minimum.

Florida has mandatory minimums for many serious crimes like robbery, sexual battery, trafficking, and gun offenses. They were designed to punish serious crimes and repeat offenders. But even first time offenders can face mandatory minimums.

Common Mandatory Minimums in Florida

Here are some of the most common mandatory minimums in Florida and the crimes they apply to:

• 10 years for trafficking and manufacturing drugs like heroin and cocaine
• 3 years for drug trafficking if less than certain weights
• 25 years for trafficking oxycodone at high weights
• 3 years for possession of a gun by a convicted felon
• 10-20-Life law for gun crimes – 10 years, 20 years, 25 to life for possessing, firing, or killing with a gun during a crime
• 25 years to life for armed burglary of a dwelling
• 10-15 years for robbery with a weapon
• 25 years to life for sexual battery with force or injury

As you can see, Florida has many tough mandatory minimums. Even low level offenses can trigger a mandatory if you have prior felonies. So how can you fight these?

Strategies for Avoiding Mandatory Minimums

Here are some key strategies Florida criminal defense attorneys use to avoid mandatory minimums for their clients:

File a Motion Challenging the Mandatory Minimum

Many Florida mandatories have been challenged as unconstitutional under the 8th Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.” If the crime and your record don’t justify the harsh sentence, your lawyer can file a motion arguing it violates the 8th Amendment. This saved one 19 year old from a 20 year mandatory for aggravated battery.

Negotiate a Plea Deal to a Lesser Charge

Prosecutors have discretion on what charges to file. Your attorney may negotiate with the prosecutor to file a lesser charge that doesn’t carry a mandatory minimum. For example, reducing armed robbery to simple robbery. This avoids the 10-15 year mandatory for armed robbery. Many cases can be plea bargained creatively to avoid mandatories.

Provide Substantial Assistance

If you provide “substantial assistance” in the investigation or prosecution of another person, the prosecutor can file a motion to reduce your sentence below the mandatory minimum. This is most commonly used when defendants agree to testify against co-defendants. But it’s used for information too. By cooperating, you could earn a sentence well below a mandatory.

Challenge the Predicate Offense

Many Florida mandatories are enhanced for prior felony convictions. Often prosecutors will file “habitual offender” charges that increase the mandatory minimum. But if your lawyer can challenge the prior convictions and get them invalidated, the mandatory minimum may no longer apply without those predicate offenses.

File a Motion to Suppress Evidence

If your attorney can get damaging evidence suppressed, the state’s case will be weakened. This gives your lawyer leverage to negotiate a plea bargain to a lesser offense that avoids any mandatory minimums. Even if suppression is denied, challenging evidence shows the state you’ll fight them at trial.

Take it to Trial

You always have the right to trial. If you win at trial, any mandatory minimums no longer apply. Your attorney may file motions to dismiss, challenge evidence, and hold the state to their burden of proof. Police and witnesses don’t always testify as strongly as reports suggest. You never know – a trial victory could avoid a harsh mandatory sentence.

Other Sentencing Strategies

If you end up convicted under a mandatory minimum statute, there are still ways to reduce your sentence:

• Argue Mitigating Factors – your lawyer can argue for the lowest sentence possible under the guidelines by emphasizing mitigating factors like mental health issues, drug addiction, your minimal role in the offense, etc.
• Earn Gain Time – by following prison rules and programs, you can earn gain time off your sentence. This is deducted from your mandatory minimum term.
• Get Credit for Time Served – any time you served in jail before sentencing gets credited against the mandatory minimum.

While mandatory minimums limit judicial discretion, an experienced Florida criminal defense lawyer can often find ways to avoid or reduce them through legal challenges and negotiations. Don’t take a mandatory minimum sentence as a given. Fight it with a lawyer at your side.