{"id":346,"date":"2018-04-06T15:52:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T19:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearwatercriminallawyer.net\/?p=346"},"modified":"2026-01-31T09:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T14:01:22","slug":"habitual-offender-status-in-florida-drug-crime-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneyclearwater.net\/blog\/habitual-offender-status-in-florida-drug-crime-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Habitual Offender Status in Florida Drug Crime Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

A conviction for a drug crime in Florida can come with significant penalties, including substantial time behind bars. In some cases, a judge has the right to makes those penalties worse based on the circumstances of the crime or the person\u2019s criminal history. For example, state law provides for stiffer penalties for people who are designated as \u201chabitual offenders\u201d based on previous felony convictions. There are a number of defenses to this designation, however. That includes challenging the actual criminal charges against you and fighting the designation itself. As a recent case<\/a> out of Florida\u2019s Second District shows, certain crimes are exempt from the habitual offender tag.A defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted for charges of possession of cocaine, a third-degree felony, and sale of cocaine, a second-degree felony. He was designated a habitual offender for both offenses based on his prior criminal history. Habitual offender status applies to situations in which a person has been convicted of two or more separate felonies over a certain time period. The current felony must have been committed while the person was in jail on another felony conviction or within five years of his or her release from imprisonment.<\/p>\n

Reversing the decision on appeal, the Second District said the judge made a mistake by treating the defendant as a habitual offender for the possession charge. Florida law exempts from the habitual offender scheme criminal charges involving the purchase or possession of drugs. The court cited its own 2006 decision in a case called Coleman v. State<\/em>. In that case, a criminal defendant was also given habitual offender status for cocaine possession. The Second District overturned that decision.<\/p>\n

Continue reading \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A conviction for a drug crime in Florida can come with significant penalties, including substantial time behind bars. In some cases, a judge has the right to makes those penalties worse based on the circumstances of the crime or the person\u2019s criminal history. For example, state law provides for stiffer penalties for people who are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drug-crime"],"yoast_head":"\nHabitual Offender Status Drug Crime<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When police search car, a drug charge case can hinge on habitual offender status drug. See how this ruling your defense. 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