NEW RESEARCH SHOWS WHO BENEFITS FROM MASS INCARCERATION IN AMERICA & WHY REFORM FAILS

What does it say about America's that our prison population of 2.3 million people is larger than the population of 15 of the states that make up our union? Who benefits from so many of us being imprisoned and who stands in the way of reform? A new report Following the Money of Mass Incarceration finds some disturbing answers.

The report found some basic beneficiaries of prisons who fight reform that include the following:

• Bail bond companies that collect $1.4 billion in nonrefundable fees from defendants and their families. The industry also actively works to block reforms that threaten its profits, even if reforms could prevent people from being detained in jail because of their poverty. 

• Specialized phone companies that win monopoly contracts and charge families up to $24.95 for a 15-minute phone call.

• Commissary vendors that sell goods to incarcerated people — who rely largely on money sent by loved ones — is an even larger industry that brings in $1.6 billion a year.

Other beneficiaries are the builders of prisons and their bond holders, public and private employees of prisons, utilities, health care workers (an insignificant factor in places such as Pinellas where the jail is routinely unsafe for state and federal prisoners), as well as those who put people in prison by holding jobs such as judges, lawyers, bailiffs and police.

It's disturbing to see how many industries, companies and folks living happily in your neighborhood benefit from mass incarceration in America. No wonder so much inertia spins toward ever greater incarceration. For repeat violent offenders who commit battery, aggravated assault or manslaughter incarceration may be an inevitable means of punishment and a reasonable solution to protect society. But for nonviolent crimes such as drugs, marijuana possession, cocaine possession, grand theft or scheme to defraud a term of prison only ruins the lives of those convicted. 

Yet people are still being sentenced by our spineless judges to long terms of needless imprisonment for nonviolent offenses. Many of these nonviolent crimes should not even result in an arrest in Florida. Perhaps this reports stark exposure of those who benefit the most from mass incarceration will help end this American crisis.

YOU'VE BEEN ARRESTED - NOW WHAT? HERE ARE FIVE THINGS YOU MUST DO AFTER YOUR FLORIDA ARREST

Police in Florida who are convinced that a crime has been committed are recently being given more discretion to not always make an arrest by either issuing a notice to appear or by forwarding the case to the State Attorney's Office where prosecutors conduct further investigation before either declining to file the case or issuing an arrest warrant. A notice to appear could typically be given in a nonviolent misdemeanor case such as the minor drug offense of Possession of Marijuana or Possession of drug Paraphernalia as long as the marijuana amount was small. Forwarding the case to prosecutors often involves nonviolent felonies or cases where either the applicable law is in some doubt or the facts and circumstances of the case are not clear with further investigation needed. For example, in scheme to defraud, fraud, and many grand theft cases the sheer complexity of the facts in question may delay an arrest as an investigation by prosecutors and detectives moves forward.

But in most Florida criminal cases police take immediate action after an initial investigation by making an arrest. In these cases it's important for the person arrested or those who care about that person to take immediate action. Here are the five most important things to do:

1. Hire a defense lawyer. The lawyer will demand discovery such as police reports and state witness names and addresses and conduct a thorough investigation of the facts by interviewing possible defense witnesses, subpoenaing possible video or audio of the incident, researching applicable law, finding flaws in the police investigation, writing prosecutors to reduce or dismiss criminal charges and asking the judge to reduce any applicable bond with as few restriction while free as possible.

2. Bond out of jail. Our system of justice is not always fair because even innocent people who have been arrested but not convicted for felonies or misdemeanors may be forced to wait months in jail while their cases proceed thru the chaotic Florida criminal justice system. Loss of career and an inability to ably help with their defense is the result. Therefore, it's important to find the means to bond out of prison. Hire a bondsman if the direct bond amount can't be found. 

3. Stay out of trouble and out of harm's way. Don't do anything that will land you back in jail. Stay away from the victim or any state witnesses involved with your criminal case, that means no calls, no meetings, no instant messages. Stay away from wherever the offense occurred. Stay out of trouble and keep your nose clean.

4. Focus on your case. Give your attorney all the information that you have and try to get any information that you don't have. That means that if you believe there's a witness who could help your case that you do your best to find that person's name and contact information or give the lawyer enough information that he can do it as soon as possible. The faster your attorney has the information the sooner he can use it to help your case.

5. Be strong. A successful result is much more likely if you are upbeat and helpful. If you've got a mountain to climb, then start climbing. You've been arrested, maybe you're feeling disheartened, down and out and who wouldn't feel that way, but to fight these criminal charges you've got to be stronger than you've ever been not just for yourself but for your family and for those who love you. Get some exercise, eat well, control what you can control. If you've chosen a good defense lawyer then let this sit on his shoulders not on yours.

For over thirty years I've been exclusively practicing Federal and state criminal law in Florida, with the goal of leading clients who've been arrested to the best possible results so that you can go back to living a full life as you did before that arrest.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE BEING INVESTIGATED OR PROSECUTED FOR FEDERAL CRIMINAL SECURITY FRAUD

Security Fraud as defined by Federal Statutes at 15 U.S.C., Section 78J(B) can surprisingly encompass a wide range of activities that one might not readily believe are criminal. In fact the statute is purposefully vague so as to be a catch-all clause that prevents fraudulent practices in general. Despite this under the harsh Federal Sentencing Guidelines a conviction for Security Fraud often results in many years of federal prison even when someone can prove that he did not know that his actions were unlawful as all that is required under the federal criminal code is that it be shown he acted willfully. 

Securities Fraud does not require
Knowledge it's Unlawful

The statute delineates that it's unlawful to "directly or indirectly ... use or employ in connection with the purchase or sale of any security ... any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance of such rules and regulations as the SEC may prescribe." 

So we go to the SEC to find Rule 10b-5 that forbids the following:
1. Using any scheme or artifice to defraud.
2. Making any untrue statement of material fact or omitting a necessary statement of material fact that would make the statement not misleading.
3. Engaging in any act practice or course of business that operates as a fraud or deceit to a person.

As you can see this is a poor way to circumscribe what the bad behavior actually is using such a broad stroke so Federal Courts have come into play to fill the gaps. Anyone with a fiduciary duty who fails to disclose germane information before a trade is made is likely liable as would someone who self deals. 

Courts have found that the statute encompasses the following activities: churning stock accounts, directed orders, wash sales, matched orders, rigged pricing, artificial markets, market manipulation, wooden tickets, parking and boxing in the stock. All of these practices are unlawful and therefore indictable offenses even if there's no actual monetary loss for the victim. Brokers are often at risk of being falsely accused of securities fraud (or of grand theft and scheme to defraud with huge loss amounts in the state courts of Florida) just because the alleged victim lost money on a known transaction that happened to go wrong. 

However, where there is a monetary loss that loss amount will be used in federal guideline calculations at sentencing and presented to the Court by the federal probation officer who writes the Presentencing Report. The relevant Sentencing Guidelines for Security Fraud are found at Section 2B1.1 (fraud) and 2B1.4 (insider trading). These provisions provide that the dollar amount of the alleged fraud will be the chief driver for sentencing. To find the best possible results in these complicated fraud cases it's important to contact as early as possible a Federal criminal defense lawyer who is well versed in the federal courtrooms of the Middle District of Florida.

WHY FEDERAL ECONOMIC CRIMES UNDER SECTION 2B1.1 SHOULD NOT BE DRIVEN BY VICTIM LOSS CALCULATIONS

Despite entrenched opposition from the Department of Justice and other prosecutorial organizations the United States Sentencing Commission's new changes for federal economic crimes (also known as white collar crimes) will take effect on November 1, 2015. Because federal sentencing for these crimes is driven almost entirely by dollar amounts of victim loss, many years of inflation made it far easier for federal prosecutors to demand hefty sentences in these cases with many federal judges lacking the courage to go under the sentencing guideline ranges.

Inflation Adjusted Victim Loss but no Common Sense

The new inflation adjusted victim loss amounts will reduce guideline ranges for most federal defendants facing these economic crimes that include scheme to defraud, fraud, embezzlement, theft and tax evasion. Yet the underlying problem in federal sentencing for these Section 2B1.1 economic crime cases has not changed in that the dollar amount of loss still drives the federal guideline range sentencing structure to the belittlement of other factors that should be relevant in sentencing. This is absurd. Although the dollar amount is important and a wise judge should certainly give it some consideration, in many cases the dollar amount alone dictates a long prison term. 

In fact many first time nonviolent offenders are sent to federal prison for hefty terms for these economic crimes, thus denying the defendants the ability to ever make restitution to their victims. Since federal sentencing is rigged so that the amount of loss is the over-riding factor in these cases, you'd think some consideration might be given to those who actually suffered the monetary loss. What do the victims actually want? Isn't it likely that most victims would prefer defendants to make restitution than languish in prison? In a just society it should be a very rare thing to punish any first time nonviolent economic crime offender with prison.

Clearly Federal Judges (rather courageous or not) should be given an array of sentencing options in these federal criminal cases based on the entire criminal conduct including factors such as the number of victims, the average loss per victim, the likelihood of restitution and the period of time over which the crime occurred. These factors combined with any prior history of criminal conduct and personal characteristics of the defendant should then be weighed by the judge in forming the sentence without the judge forced to give undue consideration to the total loss amount as delineated in the Section 2B1.1 federal sentencing guideline amendment. 
Ultimately fair sentencing should be about more than merely adding up a list of losses to place nonviolent economic criminals in federal prison, it's about doing what's right for the victim, for the defendant and for society.

MAKING VIABLE JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL ARGUMENTS IN FEDERAL SCHEME TO DEFRAUD & EMBEZZLEMENT TRIALS

Here is a question often faced by lawyers while in federal trial. The question deals with whether the Government presented enough evidence to the federal jury to survive a contemplated Rule 29 motion.

Heads I win; tails you lose!

A Federal Rule 29 motion is a federal motion for a Directed Verdict also known as a Judgment of Acquittal which is made after the Government has rested (presented it's entire case in chief); the defense may renew the motion once it rests. If at the end of it's case in chief the Government has not established all of the elements of the charged offense, then the Judge grants the Directed Verdict in favor of the Defense - except of course for courts in Florida, where it's normally handled by a fair flip of the coin.

The basic theory of the government’s case in a wire fraud trial is that the defendant embezzled money from his employer's bank account. The government introduced a number of e-mails sent from the defendant's e-mail account to the employer's broker. In the e-mails the employee seeks to have the broker send money into the employer's bank account, but without any false statements actually being made. Aren't false material statements necessary for the Government to survive a Rule 29 motion?

The four essential elements which the federal government must prove to establish wire fraud are the following:

First, that the defendant voluntarily and intentionally devised or participated in a scheme to defraud another out of money. 

Second that the defendant acted with the intent to defraud. 

Third, that it was reasonably foreseeable for the Defendant that interstate wire communications would be used during the course of the scheme.

Fourth, that interstate wire communications were in fact used.

Evidence of material false pretenses, representations, or promises must be introduced in order for the Government to establish that a  scheme to defraud has occurred. Even assuming that the Government did not admit further evidence that would establish the scheme to defraud, then the Rule 29 motion still likely would not be granted by the Federal District Judge. 

Most judges broadly construe criminal statutes and the evidence of possible guilt thus allowing the Government to make an argument to the jury that the emails themselves may establish guilt. The very act of requesting money to be sent may be sufficient to establish false pretenses and false representations. Clearly, if the money the employee asked for was not to actually be used by his boss, but by the employee, then the emails would seem to be useful in establishing his mens era (the mental state of the defendant), his criminal intent as well as his possible false representations all in furtherance of the scheme to defraud. 

Even if the judge isn't likely to grant the motion, or if it's not even a viable theory, it's clearly important to at least make an oral Rule 29 motion once the Government rests to preserve your client's appellant opportunities. It's also a good argument to make for the jury that there's reasonable doubt in the case especially if the Government failed to provide evidence of the money trail actually linking the defendant to it's use or enjoyment.

AVOIDING PRISON SENTENCES IN GRAND THEFT & SCHEME TO DEFRAUD CASES WITH HUGE LOSS AMOUNTS

In Florida nonviolent crimes such as grand theft and scheme to defraud often result in lengthy prison sentences especially when the amount allegedly taken is significant. Yet inflation has diminished the actual damage amount values in real terms from statutes that were created decades ago. 

For a grand theft third degree felony it only takes a theft amount of over $300, but if the amount is over $20,000 then a second degree grand theft charge can be triggered and should the amount be over $100,000, then a first degree felony will be charged. Any scheme to defraud charge begins as a second degree and can escalate further based on overall amount of the fraud, the number of victims or the complexity of the fraud. The problem with any second degree felony is that it automatically will result in a guideline range that calls for time in jail or prison. And this is true despite the fact that these cases are nonviolent acts for which prison time brings no benefit to the victim nor to society.

Rather than blindly accepting the statutory loss amounts, you'd think smart sentencing judges would gladly accept evidence of the loss amount in real terms after inflation in their sentencing calculations; thus lowering the sentencing guidelines as well as the charged felony degree in many theft cases. But the prosecutor, dressed in black today, would object on the grounds that if there was a deflationary period, the defense would never accept anything less than the sum denominated in the statute. And the judge would agree because in Florida the guidelines and scoresheets determine the sentencing outcome.

Until Florida guidelines and scoresheets are altered by the legislature to accurately reflect inflationary loss amounts, it will be necessary to remind the sentencing judge of the passage of time since the statutes became law while establishing why a sentence under the guideline range is appropriate under the circumstances of the case. For example, the law in Florida specifically allows a judge to go under the sentencing guidelines if doing so will allow the victim to receive restitution. So that in many theft cases that may trigger a sentence of prison, it becomes a race against the clock to make a good showing to the sentencing judge that restitution can be paid.

WHAT'S THE ACTUAL VALUE OF HULK HOGAN'S $5,500 SHOES, RESIZED FOR A FLORIDA GRAND THEFT CASE?

It was revealed today that a $5,000 pair of shoes signed by local celebrity Hulk Hogan was stolen from his fancy beach store. It was also revealed that during the theft, possibly in a ruse to divert attention, a statue of Hulk Hogan was shattered to pieces. Oh, these are desperate times in Tampa Bay, Florida, yet of one thing we may be certain, Hulk Hogan was not in the store at the time otherwise the perpetrator would have been bagged and body slammed.

Charlie Chaplin eats his Shoe

If the culprits are captured and charged, what is a fair way to assess the value of the stolen shoes? In Florida a third degree grand theft charge can be levied for any object valued at $300 or more, if less than $300, then the appropriate charge would be a misdemeanor petit theft. What if something of even greater value had been taken from the store such as Hulk Hogan's bandanna rather than just an old pair of his signed shoes? If the value of the bandanna was more than $20,000 then the theft would be assessed as a grand theft second degree felony. 

The higher the offense charged the more likely it is that jail will be ordered as punishment. And as you can see by how the charges are defined, it is the value of the property stolen that often dictates whether a case is resolved with or without prison time in Tampa Bay Florida.

Yet the fact that Hulk Hogan's beach store sells his signed shoes for $5,500 doesn't necessarily mean they have an assessable value of $5,500. In fact, the thief may have thought the value so absurd that the shoes were taken as a joke. Value is more than what a victim says it is. The investigating officers and the Pinellas State Attorney's Office should look to find a reasonable actual value. One way to do that would be to make inquiry's from the store as to how many pairs of signed shoes have been sold and if so, for how much. In far too many grand theft cases law enforcement fails to make a complete investigate of value, because their focus is on solving the crime. Also, officers or prosecutors will add further charges such as scheme to defraud in an effort to force defendant's to plead guilty. 

But what about the possible criminal mischief charge against the thief for that shattered statue of Hulk Hogan? Like theft charges, criminal mischief charges are based on value, but with criminal mischief it is based on the actual value of the object destroyed or the value to repair an object. Making a calculation of actual value is arguable and problematic. Is it merely replacement value or is it something more, say the value of the statue to the Tampa Bay community - priceless or valueless? And if the statue of Hogan is repairable there'd still need to be an assessment of any value lost after the repair compared to the value before the destruction.

Recently in Miami, Florida a museum's pottery piece on loan from China was intentionally destroyed by an art protestor. Upon the vandal's arrest the investigating officer was unable to ferret out from the museum staff what the actual value of the pottery actually was, so he simply wrote one million dollars in his police report causing sensational international press reports. The actual value turned out to be assessed for much less, but the potter in China must be smiling.

As you can see in grand theft cases as well as criminal mischief cases value is often an elastic notion. It's important that a lawyer be prepared to exploit value weaknesses with expert testimony  in order to have a felony or misdemeanor charge reduced or dismissed based on actual value.

A $500 MILLION BANK NOTE SCHEME TO DEFRAUD IS SO RIDICULOUS & OUTRAGEOUS JUDGE GIVES NO JAIL

Your favorite Clearwater Criminal Defense Lawyer feels fortunate when fate, providence and sheer blind luck somehow combine to send that stray twenty dollar bill his way close enough to pocket it now and then.
How much better it would be to possess a very rare and unusual $500 million United States Treasury Reserve Bank Note from the 1930s. Unfortunately the Florida Defendant's fancy U.S. Treasury Reserve Bank Note proved to be fake. 

$100,000 Bill, 1934: Largest Ever Issued

The man was charged with Federal Scheme to Defraud when he supplied not only the bank note but along with it, an actual old bank safe vault holding the note providing an authentic provenance during what must have been a weighty FBI sting. 
The federal sentencing guidelines as reflected in the Presentencing Investigation Report recommended at least 42 months of Federal prison. 

Press Reports note that the Florida Federal Judge decided to show mercy for an unusual reason not normally found in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines instead:

"It becomes almost laughable," the judge said. "To me, it doesn't promote respect for the law to send someone to prison ... for doing something so silly and outrageous."
The judge sentenced Ayison to six months of house arrest, five years of probation and 250 hours of community service and must also undergo a psychiatric evaluation...

That psychiatric evaluation sounds like a great idea, but so does showing some merciful discretion in a case like this where the absurd facts clearly led the Court to consider that jail in this case was inappropriate.

There's a lesson here for defense counsel. If an underlying criminal charge or the facts and circumstances of a case gives the judge a smile, he'll find it difficult to give the Defendant prison. More of the best Judges are wisely using their sentencing discretion to reduce unnecessary prison time in cases like this one.

Your Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney suggests that when a guy comes to you with a fancy antique safe and a $500 million United States Treasury Bank Note, you should remember that Federal prosecutors told the Judge that there is no such thing as a genuine half-billion dollar U.S. Bank Note, but that antique safe might be worth something.

MUST FLORIDA HONOR AN ARREST WARRANT FROM ANOTHER STATE EVEN IF I'M NOT GUILTY OF ANYTHING?

What should you do if you find you have an active arrest warrant issued from another state? Here's a question your Clearwater Criminal Defense Lawyer was recently asked:

I'm very scared of being arrested for something I didn't do. What happens when another state issues an arrest warrant? I moved to Florida several years ago. I've just found out that there is a felony arrest warrant for Fraud or Scheme to Defraud in Atlanta, Georgia. From what I can figure out the warrant was issued from the company I used to work for and is a misunderstanding that I thought was already cleared up and I have the paperwork to prove it.  Will Florida police arrest me for this? If I'm innocent can I resist the arrest? What should I do?

Renoir,  The Oarsmen, 1879

You may think it was just a 'misunderstanding' in Georgia, I hope for your sake you're right, but a Georgia Judge signed an arrest warrant based on probable cause that you committed Felony Fraud in Georgia. You'll need to hire an attorney in Georgia to persuade the prosecutor that the criminal case against you should be dismissed. Prosecutors in Georgia will not likely look into your case until after you turn yourself in, make a court appearance and only then will you be allowed to seek a bond. 
If you choose not to turn yourself in to Georgia authorities, then you need to understand that at anytime you may be stopped by Tampa Bay Police and arrested in Florida as an arrest warrant from another state will be honored by Florida law enforcement. 
Although it's true that you can resist an unlawful arrest in Florida without using violence, a Florida arrest based on a warrant from Georgia will be deemed lawful and any attempt to resist the arrest will result in Florida criminal charges of resisting arrest without violence.  
If you are arrested under the Georgia warrant in Florida, you will be kept in detention without a bond as you'll be deemed a flight risk. Instead Florida will contact Georgia to determine if Georgia wants you to be extradited back to Georgia to face the Felony Fraud charge. In Florida you will be given an extradition hearing to determine if Georgia has the right bring you back and that you are the person whom Georgia seeks with matching fingerprints or DNA. At an extradition hearing a Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney could argue any false identity issues, but will not be permitted to argue the underlying merits of the Felony Fraud or Scheme to Defraud case against you nor your innocence as those issues are for a Georgia Court to determine. 
The smartest thing for you to do is not to wait for the arrest warrant to come to you, rather you must go to it by cleaning up the matter in Georgia immediately.

FAMOUS FLORIDA ART FORGER FORGES NEW LIFE AS THE FBI LOOKS OVER HIS SHOULDER AS HE PAINTS

Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Forger is a new memoir from Florida's master art forger, Ken Perenyl. In the memoir the author almost admits to a series of crimes which could constitute a criminal conspiracy of grand theft and scheming to defraud. The painter believes that he is immune from prosecution because of the statute of limitations; it's hoped he vetted all of his admissions before publication not with a priest but with a Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorney. 

The Artist working in Madeira Beach, Florida

But is the master forger really free from the threat of prosecution? A defense argument can be made that the forgeries are not forgeries at all in that he copied the style, formula and subject matter for secondary artists rather than copy known paintings and let others jump to conclusions and that any evidence of wrongdoing is circumstantial. 
But what about the money? Press accounts of the memoir indicate that the expert art forger made a significant amount of money from the crimes. How he accounted for the money could directly affect how the statute of limitations would apply in his case. Further, it appears that he is still painting fakes, but listing them as fakes in a wonderfully worded convoluted waiver in his sales slips, which might not be sufficient to stop fraud allegations if the prices he sells the paintings are enhanced because of high resale value as genuine paintings especially if a reasonable person would believe that the paintings would later be sold as genuine. But even if he were prosecuted and punished would jail really be appropriate for his crimes.
Here are some excerpts from the Gaurdian Newspaper's account. 

An extraordinary memoir reveals how a gifted artist managed to forge his way to riches by conning high-profile auctioneers, dealers and collectors over four decades tells the story of Ken Perenyi, an American who lived in London for 30 years. The revelations within it are likely to spark embarrassment on both sides of the Atlantic as "a bombshell for the major international auction houses and galleries."
Perenyi's specialities included British sporting and marine paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries. He concentrated on the work of well-known but second-rank artists, believing that the output of the greatest masters is too fully documented. Dealers were often told he had found a picture in a relative's attic or spotted it in a car boot sale.
Perhaps Perenyi's proudest moment came when a forgery of Ruby Throats with Apple Blossoms, by the American 19th-century artist Martin Johnson Heade, made the front page of a national newspaper and was heralded as a major "discovery"selling for nearly $100,000 at auction in New York.Perenyi believes he is free finally to publish his story because, although he was investigated by the FBI, the case was closed in 2003 and is subject to the statute of limitations. He said he has never discovered why the case was dropped, but he suspects the art world may have been keen to prevent the exposure of the serial forgeries. 

His love of painting and the old masters remains undimmed and today he owns a studio in Madeira Beach, Florida. Asked if he regrets not finding recognition as an artist in his own right, he said: "I've often pondered that myself. But to have equalled the hand of such artists as Herring and Buttersworth and many others is for me a tremendous satisfaction."

If you've been forging great works of art while the FBI is looking over your shoulder, call  Clearwater Criminal Defense Lawyers who will paint a picture of your innocent nature for the Judge and Jury.

TIME PERCEPTION & SENTENCING IN TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA

Remember the eternal bliss of summer vacation when you were a child, wearing your new yellow rain hat even on the brightest sunny day in Tampa Bay Florida because you were so proud of it - your favorite Clearwater Criminal Defense Lawyer doesn't remember that either but why should I be expected to remember something from your life as I can hardly recall mine? For your grandmother that summer was a prelude to her lonely gray winter ending as quickly as the bowl of melting ice cream you shared with her (make mine an Italian chocholate macadamia nut, please).

The passage of time is the very measure of our lives. As we age the perception of time passing speeds for each of us as the taper of our lives burns ever faster.

Since people at different times in their lives perceive the passage of time differently, doesn't that imply that say, a five year sentence of jail to a twenty year old man is, if not harsher, certainly felt subjectively as being in actual time longer, than the same five year sentence given to the sixty year old convicted of a white collar crime, scheme to defraud or embezzlement (who happily, unlike the twenty year old, can actually pay me)?

But what if the twenty year old is a new mother? How will those five years be felt by her and by her innocent child? And wouldn't incarceration affect a youthful offender or juvenile much differently than someone of another age. Yet the courts tend to treat everyone alike especially with Florida Sentencing Guidelines and Florida Sentencing Scoresheets controlling what Judge's will sentence and reducing judge's discretion. Shouldn't a judge be able at sentencing to take these factors into account? Don't we want our judges to have the ability to occasionally seek out the best solutions for each Defendant?

But today in St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo and Tampa Bay, Florida when a judge sentences a Defendant most of the decision-making process with which the judge ought to be entrusted has already been declared out of bounds by Florida Statutes and Federal law, that have made honest, fair, impartial judges subservient to minimum mandatory sentences, mathematical tables and immoveable sentencing guidelines.

Any civilized and rational legal system that even Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorneys could cherish, would allow a judge at sentencing to take many other considerations in hand with the traditional considerations that include the severity of the misconduct, any prior misconduct, and the likelihood of future misconduct.