Florida Drug Offense Attorney

Federal Judge Rules Florida Drug Law Unconstitutional

U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven found the 9-year-old law unconstitutional in a decision Wednesday and called for the resentencing of Mackle Shelton, who had faced 18 years in prison.

The ruling could pave the way for drug cases currently in the courts to be thrown out.

"Obviously, we are immediately drafting motions and pursuing this line on behalf of our own clients' (cases) that are pending, but we can't do much retroactively since those cases are closed," said Bob Wesley, public defender for Orange and Osceola counties. "I think it will be a robust line of litigation for all of us who appear in Florida criminal courts."

Tampa attorney James Felman, who won the landmark case, says the Florida legislature went too far.

"What the legislature attempted to do was essentially presume guilt and then let you come in and prove your innocence if you wish to avoid being imprisoned," Felman told MyFoxTampaBay.com.

When the law was passed in 2002, Florida became the only state not to require that a suspect have knowledge that a controlled substance is illegal to be convicted. The law shifted the burden from prosecutors having to prove that a suspect knew to the defendant having to assert ignorance about the illegality of the controlled substance. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi's office says they are currently reviewing the case. Many thing the state will appeal the decision.

Click here for more on this story from MyFoxTampaBay.com.

Florida's Drug Abuse and Prevention Control law declared ...

Prior to Wednesday, a defendant could be convicted of a drug offense even if he or she did not knowingly sell or distribute drugs in Florida. But thanks to a recent ruling by a Florida federal judge, this should no longer be the case.

According to federal judge Mary Scriven, Florida remained the only state in the country that did not require intent to be proved as an element of a drug offense. Under the Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control law, those accused of drug trafficking or distribution of a controlled substance could be convicted even if they did not know they were selling the specific drug.

In her ruling, Judge Scriven wrote, "a person [in Florida] is guilty of a drug offense if he delivers a controlled substance without regard to whether he does so purposefully, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently." The judge then noted that all other states no longer criminalize the "unknowing" possession of a drug, concluding that the law was unconstitutional.

The ruling stemmed from a case involving a Florida man who was sentenced to serve 18 years in prison after being convicted of a cocaine offense -- even though he denied knowing that he was actually selling cocaine.

It is believed that the Florida Attorney General's Office may try to challenge the ruling. A spokesperson for the office said that it is currently reviewing the judge's opinion.

Source: Wall Street Journal, " Florida Judge Declares State's Drug Law Unconstitutional ," Nathan Koppel, 27 July 2011.

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