The Best Defense
by Daniel J Fernandez, Criminal Defense Attorney Fernandez & LLC
Florida Criminal Laws
Some of Florida’s criminal laws have garnered national attention in recent years. One of the most dissected and discussed statute is Florida’s so-called “Stand Your Ground” gun law, which details the legal ways in which one can act with deadly force if their life is in danger. Florida has law on the books concerning computer crimes, cocaine offenses (harking back to its days of drug smuggling), tax evasion and prostitution, to name a few. The text below provide links to statutes, with select overviews, penalty ranges, and resources on a number of crimes, including assault, theft, DUI, and drug crimes.
Florida permits and actively enforces the death penalty for the most heinous of crimes. Florida uses lethal injection for its executions but an inmate can request electrocution. Read on for the basics of capital punishment laws in Florida.
Florida has had a checkered past with cocaine. Cocaine money came pouring into the state in the 1980s and some estimate it helped build 80% of the downtown Miami skyline. Pablo Escobar, Manuel Noriega and ruthless cocaine cartels have all had a hand in shaping Florida’s drug history.
Florida defines the crime of kidnapping as the confinement, abduction, or imprisonment of another person against her or his will. The kidnapping must be committed “forcibly, secretly, or by threat” and without lawful authority.
Florida passed the nation’s first stand your ground law in 2005 and it may be one of the most famous state laws in the country. Other states followed with laws specifically affirming one’s right to defend themselves.
Florida state laws include rape under the offense of “sexual battery.” To prove a rape offense, a prosecutor must establish each of the elements for sexual battery. If the rape victim is under the age of twelve, the prosecutor does not have to show the victim’s lack of consent.
Florida First Degree Murder Laws
Homicide, the unlawful killing of a human being, includes several degrees of murder and manslaughter under the state laws of Florida. First degree murder includes premeditated killings, felony murders, and murders committed during specified drug dealing offenses.
If you have been arrested or charged with a crime call Daniel J Fernandez Attorney at Law for a free consultation at (813) 229-5353.
