How To Beat A Drug Trafficking Charge In Florida

Drug Trafficking charges in Florida can be disruptive to empathize. The purpose of Florida's drug trafficking statute is noble —to target high-level drug dealers or traffickers and to make sure that these people have very serious penalties above and beyond what somebody gets for being a normal street-level dealer.

As a result, drug trafficking charges in Florida can lead to minimum penalties that are 25, 30, or even more years in prison. The statute is that tough.

The trouble is that the vast bulk of drug trafficking charges are really simply unproblematic modest-level deals or even worse, just possession charges. We run into about daily people who are the farthest thing from a high-level drug dealer that yous can imagine facing drug trafficking charges with unbelievably enhanced penalties.

Below we'll talk about some of the most common drug trafficking charges, common penalties, some of the unique defenses and issues that we face with drug trafficking charges in Florida, and how we handle them.

Florida Drug Trafficking Charges

Some of the well-nigh unremarkably charged crimes involving drug trafficking in Florida are the following.

Trafficking in cannabis: under Florida law, trafficking in cannabis or marijuana happens when a person knowingly possesses, sells, purges, manufactures, or delivers either 25 pounds of cannabis or 300 or more than marijuana plants.

The minimum penalties somebody faces for beingness bedevilled of cannabis trafficking depends on the amount. If a person gets busted with 25 to 2,000 pounds of cannabis or 300 to 2,000 cannabis plants, that person can face a minimum of 3 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

If a person gets disrepair with 2,000 to 9,999 pounds of cannabis or 2,000 to ix,999 marijuana plants, and then that person volition be looking at a vii-yr minimum prison stay and a $50,000 fine.

Finally, if a person gets busted with 10,000 pounds or more than of marijuana or x,000 or more marijuana plants and then that person is looking at a minimum mandatory 15 years in prison and a $200,000 fine.

What'due south important to annotation is that these are minimum sentencing requirements.

The success of whatever legal affair depends on the unique circumstances of each case, therefore, we cannot guarantee particular results for future clients.

This means if the state'southward attorney gets the conviction or you plead guilty to the charge equally is, then the guess has no choice merely to sentence you to these minimum prison terms unless the state chaser's agrees to practise something different. This is why a defense attorney must carefully handle drug trafficking charges.

Trafficking in cocaine: the crime of trafficking in cocaine in Florida is committed when someone knowingly possesses, sells, purchases, manufactures, delivers, or transports 28 grams or more of whatsoever mixture containing cocaine.

The penalties for trafficking in cocaine are much like marijuana, and based upon the amount that is beingness trafficked.

If a person is trafficking 28 to 99 grams of cocaine, then that person is looking at a minimum mandatory three years in prison house and a $50,000 fine.

Worse, the same person is caught trafficking 200 to 399 grams of cocaine, and so that person is looking at a minimum mandatory vii years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

And even worse, if a person is caught trafficking 400 grams to 249 kilograms of cocaine, then that person is looking at xv years in prison house and a $250,000 fine.

Trafficking in hydrocodone: under Florida constabulary, you are guilty of trafficking in hydrocodone if you knowingly possess, sell, purchase, manufacture, deliver, or transport fourteen grams or more of any mixture containing hydrocodone.

Being defenseless trafficking xiv to 28 grams of hydrocodone tin can atomic number 82 to a minimum mandatory judgement of three years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Trafficking 28 to l grams of hydrocodone could result in 7 years in prison house and a $100,000 fine.

Trafficking 200 grams to thirty kilograms of hydrocodone results in 25 years in prison house and a minimum $750,000 fine.

MDMA Trafficking: under Florida statute, the crime of trafficking in MDMA is committed when a person knowingly possesses, sells, purchases, articles, delivers, or transports 10 grams or more than of any mixture containing MDMA.

If a person is caught trafficking less than 200 grams of MDMA, that person faces a minimum of iii years in prison and a $fifty,000 fine.

For trafficking 200 to 400 grams of MDMA, there is a minimum of seven years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

For trafficking 400 grams to thirty kilograms of MDMA, at that place is a minimum of xv years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Trafficking in methamphetamine: nether Florida statute, the criminal offence of trafficking in methamphetamine happens when a person knowingly possesses, sells, purchases, articles, or delivers xiv grams or more of whatever mixture that contains meth.

If someone is caught trafficking 14 to 28 grams of meth, that person is looking at 3 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

For trafficking 28 to 200 grams of meth, that person is looking at a minimum mandatory judgement of seven years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

If someone is caught trafficking 200 grams or more of meth, that person is looking at fifteen years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

What If There Is A "Mixture" Of A Substance With Something Else (Similar Aspirin In Hydrocodone Pills)?

A common question is what happens when at that place is a mixture of a substance similar hydrocodone in a pill where the hydrocodone only makes a small portion of the pill and the rest of the pill is another substance such as aspirin.

Are we able to isolate only the portion of the hydrocodone and remove it from the rest of the pill's weight and utilize that in determining weight when it comes to trafficking charges?

For a while, this was a defense criminal defense attorneys were able to use.

By isolating simply the hydrocodone component from the pill with practiced testimony, we could show that the weight of the hydrocodone was really much less than the weight of the pill.

Unfortunately, the legislature removed that defense a few years ago. Now, we have to look at the entire weight of the pill when determining minimum mandatory sentences.

How To Defend A Drug Trafficking Accuse

So the question becomes, what'due south the best way to defend a person charged with drug trafficking when the penalties are then severe?

Insufficient bear witness defence force: the best manner to defend a drug trafficking charge is to attack the actual evidence the state provides.

Remember the filter past which we analyze a criminal defense case? It's the state's brunt to prove their case and all the elements of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

Knowing that the state has such a heightened burden enables us to seek out, exploit, and focus on specific elements of the criminal offense the state tin't prove. If the state doesn't have the evidence for a particular chemical element of the offense, then we can assail that, bring information technology to the state's attention, and often procure a reduction or dismissal of the accuse.

In other cases if nosotros need to take information technology to trial, we can utilize that as the highlight of the defense.

Challenge how the state procured its evidence: another prime effective strategy is to look at how the state gathered its bear witness. If the state has gathered its evidence in an improper or illegal way, then we might exist able to challenge how the state got it and ultimately get that evidence tossed out.

For case, if the state obtains medical records without the advisable search warrant to prove their instance we may be able to get those records tossed out for violation of HIPAA or otherwise non following the appropriate statute in subpoenaing medical records.

For another example, if a police force officeholder gathered evidence by unreasonably or illegally searching a home or a medico's office without the right permission, we may be able to challenge the admissibility of that evidence under the Fourth Amendment.

Grill confidential informants: the last decade has seen a substantial increase in how oftentimes police officers apply confidential informants or CIs. Confidential informants are unremarkably snitches working with the police and helped them gather evidence against the person arrested for drug trafficking charges in Florida.

The unique affair virtually confidential informants is that the police will work hard to keep the identity of the CI private. But while the police want to keep the identity of the confidential informant individual so that they can continue to utilise their informant, a person arrested for drug trafficking charges in Florida has an absolute right to face up their accusers under the 6th Amendment.

That means that by identifying the CI, potentially "called-for" the cloak-and-dagger nature of the CI, we can often leverage the situation in a way that helps our clients. In some cases the state's attorney will like their CI so much that he/she is willing to requite united states a better deal in exchange for us not burning the CI.

In other cases a jury of regular people is oft offended and aghast at how horrible and unfair the situation is when a confidential informant is involved.

We tin use this to create sympathy for our client'southward case.

Entrapment defense: entrapment occurs when the government or a confidential informant puts unnecessary pressure level on a person to commit a crime that he/she might non otherwise commit.

This can exist an specially constructive defence force when the government agent (underground cop) is tag-teaming with a confidential informant and simply putting massive amounts of pressure on somebody to traffic drugs.

An entrapment defence force is an absolute defence force. It'southward as if you're admitting that yes you committed the crime, merely saying in that location is a legal justification for the crime. Entrapment defenses are effective, but they are only applicable in a very small number of cases and in very specific scenarios.

Request an amendment of the charge: while drug trafficking charges in Florida are massive, the state has the discretion to amend the charges in the right situation. If they change the nature of the charges to something bottom earlier there is a resolution to the instance, then the lesser charges are the ones that behave the penalties.

For example, in a situation where a person is charged with drug trafficking when it should be a possession charge, with the correct negotiation we can often become the land'southward chaser to reduce it to a unproblematic possession charge. This could be the difference between a three-year minimum stay in prison and being on probation.

This is when plea negotiations become very, very important.

Substantial assist: another method of staying out of prison house and avoiding harsh mandatory penalties is, through your attorney, to offering constabulary enforcement "substantial help."

The gist of this is if you take something substantial that can help law enforcement and you give information technology to them, then the land'southward chaser or judge can agree to reduce the penalties that you might otherwise experience.

In some cases this tin can exist sitting down with a detective in a closed room and giving the detective data about the misdeeds of some other.

This is about effective in a case where somebody'south not actually a high-level trafficker but some sort of mid-level street dealer, and that person has the ability to requite information about a true trafficker upwards the chain.

Note that while this can be constructive when properly done in the defence of a criminal case, the concluding affair that a person wants to do is kickoff giving upwardly information without making sure information technology'south part of a negotiated process to become a better resolution at the cease of the twenty-four hours. E'er negotiate this with your drug crime defense chaser.

Source: https://crimelawyertampabay.com/how-to-beat-a-drug-trafficking-charge/

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