Felonies in Florida

Under Florida law, felonies come in many shapes and forms. Some felonies involve non-violent conduct, such as possessing a large amount of marijuana, for example. Other felonies are much more serious, involving violent conduct, such as assault or murder. Many people wonder how the felony classification can cover crimes that are in no way comparable. However, this is simply how the law is set up in Florida as well as most other states. When dealing with a criminal matter, it is essential to have a general understanding of what crimes are classified as felonies under Florida law, and what the potential criminal penalties are for conviction of these crimes. Some of the most commonly charged felonies in Florida include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

Third Degree Felonies:

• Fleeing or attempting to elude officer;
• Possession of more than 20 grams of cannabis;
• Forgery;
• Assault;
• Battery;
• Third conviction of driving under the influence (DUI);
• Manufacture or delivery of drug paraphernalia;
• Grand theft;
• Sale, manufacture, or delivery of cannabis and other drugs; and
• Possession of any controlled substance (other than felony possession of cannabis listed above).

Second Degree Felonies:

• Driving at high speed with wanton disregard for safety of others while fleeing or attempting to elude officer;
• Knowing sale or delivery, or possession with intent to sell, contraband prescription drugs;
• Purchase of cocaine;
• Possession of short-barreled shotgun or machine gun;
• Felon in possession of firearm, ammunition, or electronic weapon/device;
• Dealing or trafficking in stolen property;
• Sale, manufacture, or delivery of cannabis within 1,000 feet of a child care facility, school, or state, county, or municipal park or publicly owned recreation facility or community center;
• Burglary of occupied structure;
• Aggravated assault; and
• Aggravated battery.

First Degree Felonies:

• Carjacking;
• Sale, manufacture, or delivery of cocaine within 1,000 feet of child care facility, school, or state, county, or municipal park or publicly owned recreation facility or community center;
• Trafficking in cannabis (more than 25 pounds, but less than 2,000 pounds);
• Trafficking in cocaine (more than 28 grams, but less than 200 grams);
• Aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude officer with serious bodily injury or death;
• Attempted felony murder while perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate certain felonies;
• Sexual battery;
• Burglary with assault or battery;
• Robbery with a weapon; and
• Aggravated white collar crimes.

Life Felonies:

• Certain sexual battery charges;
• Human trafficking for commercial sexual activity of a child under the age of 18;
• Lewd and lascivious molestation where the victim is less than 12 years old and the offender is 18 years or older; and

Capital Felonies:

• Capital murder

When an individual is convicted of a felony, a score sheet is utilized to determine how many points that individual gets. Each felony is assessed a points value, and of course, the greater the number of points, the more serious the felony is. If the individual has more than 44 points on his or her score sheet, that person is subject to a minimum prison term. If the points are less than 44, the judge has discretion to either impose jail time or to provide a sentence that avoids jail time entirely.

There are other felonies not listed above that carry serious consequences. Questions and concerns regarding any crimes should be addressed with a seasoned Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney. Marc A. Joseph, P.A. has experience dealing with both minor and severe felonies, and knows what to expect from the prosecution in any given case. While there are many qualified Tampa Criminal Defense Attorneys, Marc A. Joseph, P.A. provides all-around criminal defense representation and does not limit his practice to certain subsets of criminal law. This demonstrates that he has the necessary resources to help clients charged with any felony under Florida law.