GUN/WEAPON CHARGES

Crimes involving firearms are some of the most aggressively prosecuted in the State of Florida.  In 1999, the Florida Legislature passed what is commonly known as Florida’s 10/20/LIFE law—Florida Statute §775.087. Fla. Stat. §775.087 enhances the penalties for many crimes involving firearms: felonies for which the use of a firearm is not an essential element are reclassified as more serious when a firearm is used during their commission, and certain specified crimes committed while possessing, discharging, or shooting someone with a firearm carry mandatory minimum penalties.  A burglary committed while holding a firearm carries a mandatory minimum 10 year prison sentence.  If that firearm is fired, that mandatory minimum sentence increases to 20 years.  If someone is shot, the mandatory minimum sentence is 25 years to life, irrespective of how seriously they may be injured.  There are several other felonies that are subject to the same minimum mandatory sentencing when firearms are involved: aggravated battery, robbery, and escape, to name a few.  

Like many efforts by the legislature, mandatory minimum sentencing under Florida’s 10/20/LIFE statute has had significant unintended consequences.  In cases involving convictions for qualifying felonies, judges no longer have any discretion to impose sentences below the minimum mandatory, even in cases where an individual has little or no criminal history and is convicted for doing what they believed was necessary to protect person or property.  In one particularly egregious example, Marissa Alexander, a Jacksonville woman, was convicted and sentenced in 2012 to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot while being confronted by her abusive husband.  Though her conviction was overturned years later, Ms. Alexander’s case is a perfect example of the potentially devastating consequences of being accused of and prosecuted for crimes involving firearms, and the importance of experienced representation to effectively defend against those charges.

At the Michael Hines Law Firm, we represent clients in Gun/Weapon Charge cases that range from:

  • UndeCarrying a Concealed Weapon

  • Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

  • “10/20/Life” Offenses

  • Discharging a Firearm in Public

  • Improper Exhibition of a Firearm

  • Aggravated Assault with a Firearm