pupadhyay | June 16, 2021

Florida Felony Charges: Know the Different Levels of Offenses

In Florida, the crime is categorised as Felonies and misdemeanours, where a felony represents a serious crime, punishable by death or life imprisonment. Misdemeanours are crimes that are less serious in comparison to felonies, and thus have less penalties. 

If someone is convicted for a misdemeanours crime, either the monetary fine will be imposed, or hardest conviction could be imprisonment for one year. 

If someone is convicted of a felony, then the minimum punishment is one year of imprisonment and maximum jail sentence or death penalty. 

A person who is a suspect for a felony doesn’t mean a criminal. He or she might get into the situation unknowingly, or someone conspired a plan against the suspect. If you want to get out of such complex situation, then hiring an experienced Felony attorney will help. 

Before heading towards the question, how can a felony attorney help? First, let’s understand the different levels of felonies in Florida. So, let’s get started: 

Classes of Felonies in Florida: 

A felony is absolutely a serious crime, but some act involves non-violent conduct like possessions of illegal drugs. Other serious felonies like assault, battery, carjacking, homicide, incest, kidnapping, robbery, sexual battery, stalking, and grand theft required serious action towards the culprit. 

So, some act includes violence, and some don’t, but the damage is always there. Keeping the damage in consideration, the charges are applied to a convict. Punishment for a felony can range between one year and death, depending on the felony and degree of the felony. 

The Florida legislature has divided felony crime into five categories.

• Third degree felony 
• Second degree felony
• First degree felony
• Life felony
• Capital felony

Now, let’s understand each of them in detail. 

Third degree felony: Among the different felony charges, the felonies of third degree are the least serious type. An accused convict for a third degree felony can get the maximum punishment as five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000. 

Below conducts in Florida falls under the category of a third-degree felony: 

• Illegal drug possession 
• Burglary
• Resisting arrest with violence 
• Driving as a habitual traffic offender 
• Forgery with an intent to defraud 
• Drug Under Influence 

Second degree felony: The second degree felonies are more serious and carry a heavier sentence compared to the first degree. An accused who has been convicted of a felony of the second degree may be punishable by a term of imprisonment in state prison, not exceeding 15 years, and a fine not to exceed $10,000. 

These conducts are categorised as felonies of second degree in Florida: 

• Aggravated Battery with a weapon 
• Child abuse 
• Possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell 
• Sexual battery 
• DUI manslaughter 
• Sale of marijuana to a minor 
• Use or presence of a firearm while committing a crime 
• Drug charges 

First degree felony: The most heinous or inhumane conduct falls into the category of first degree felony. A defendant finds guilty of a first degree felony can get 30 years of imprisonment and fine of not more than $10,000. Also, in some cases, the judge orders the culprit to pay the victim restitution.

First degree felonies are: 

• DUI manslaughter 
• Robbery with a weapon 
• Human trafficking 
• Carjacking 
• Trafficking of illegal drugs in heavy amount, i.e. 200 grams of cocaine, 2000 pounds of cannabis
• Sexual battery
• Burglary with assault 

Life felony: A few crimes go beyond one’s imagination. A life felony is extremely serious. In some conduct, people commit crimes for mass destruction. A life felony is punishable by 40 years to life imprisonment in state prison and fines up to $15,000. An individual may be convicted of a Life Felony for subsequent conviction of first-degree felonies or violent crimes. 

Life felonies are: 

• Kidnapping 
• Possessing, selling, or using a weapon of mass destruction 
• Accomplice to murder 
• Unpremeditated murder 
• Lascivious molestation of a minor 
• Robbery with a deadly weapon 

Capital Felony: Capital felony refers to a heinous crime like murder. The culprit gets the punishment as a jail sentence or death penalty. As per the Statues and Constitution Florida, the punishment decides after analysing every aspect of the crime. 

Capital felonies are: 

• Murder 
• Capital drug trafficking 
• Armed kidnapping 

How Can A Felony Attorney Help You? 

If you or your loved ones are convicted of a felony crime, then the first action you should take is to hire a felony attorney. If you delay, then your case gets weaker. However, in legal matters, you always need to remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. 

Get legal assistance from an experienced felony attorney. The lawyer will help you to know the possible consequence of your case and show you the right direction to walk on. You absolutely deserve a fair judgement, and a felony attorney can help you to get that.  

A felony is the serious crime, and all the legal entities work in a serious manner. An attorney can’t guaranty your release, as it depends on the case. If the case is too complex and dismissal isn’t possible, then a felony attorney will work to get you the best defense.