Florida’s Sentencing Guidelines For Youthful Offenders
People in their late teens and early 20s are legally adults. They can engage in adult activities such as marriage and getting tattoos, but the current version of you probably resembles your 25-year-old self more closely than it resembles your 20-year-old self. The criminal justice system acknowledges that the defendant’s age makes a difference; that is why there is a whole separate justice system for minors accused of crimes. Of course, after enough run-ins with juvenile court, or even if the allegations against a first-time juvenile defendant are severe enough, it is possible for the state to charge minors as adults. When can the state treat a legal adult as a young person, though? In Florida, you can convincingly argue that someone who is old enough to vote and to enlist in the military but too young to buy alcohol is too young to spend decades behind bars for a criminal conviction. To find out more about the rights of young adult defendants in criminal court, contact a West Palm Beach criminal defense lawyer.
The Get Out of Jail by Your 27th Birthday Club
Florida has had a Youthful Offender Act, pertaining to sentencing for defendants under the age of 21, on the books since 1978. A few years ago, it received its most recent set of amendments. Pursuant to the current version of the Youthful Offender Act, you can receive a reduced sentence for some offenses if you were younger than 21 at the time of your arrest, even if you have since turned 21 while your case is pending. If the court sentences you as a youthful offender, then the maximum length of your sentence is six years; this includes jail time, probation, community supervision, and any combination of these. This means that youthful offenders can complete their sentences and apply to reinstate their voting rights by the time they are 27. Youthful offenders serve their time in county jail instead of in state prison.
A South Florida man in a highly publicized case completed a sentence as a youthful offender. He was convicted of DUI manslaughter for causing a single-vehicle accident that killed his passenger near the university where both occupants of the vehicle were enrolled as students. He could have gotten 15 years in prison with a conventional sentence. Instead, he served three years in county jail, followed by three years of probation.
Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today
Attorney William Wallshein has more than 41 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County. Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
wuft.org/public-safety/2020-12-23/ahead-of-christmas-a-3-year-prison-sentence-in-fatal-drunken-driving-crash
