Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

As I discussed in a recent article, the United States Supreme Court to Rule on Jacksonville Juvenile Case, Florida has harsh sentencing practices when it comes to juveniles. In fact, approximately seventy percent of all juveniles sentenced in the United States to life without parole for non-homides were charged in Florida. While this issue has received a massive amount of media attention due to the recent United States Supreme Court Hearings in Sullivan v. Florida and Graham v. Florida, another issue remains. What about the Florida juvenile homicide cases in which a juvenile is sentenced to life in prison without parole?  The Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act, H.R. 2289, is a congressional bill that:

"Requires states to: (1) enact laws and adopt policies to grant child offenders who are serving a life sentence a meaningful opportunity for parole or supervised release at least once during their first 15 years of incarceration and at least once every three years thereafter; and (2) provide notice of such laws and policies to the public and to victims of child offenders. Defines "child offender who is serving a life sentence" as an individual who is convicted of a criminal offense before attaining the age of 18 and sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life or a term exceeding 15 years. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) establish and implement a system of early release for each child offender who is under a life sentence in a federal prison; and (2) award grants to states to improve legal representation and other services for child defendants charged with an offense carrying a possible sentence of life in prison."

If this bill were to pass, any juvenile serving a life sentence would be eligible for parole, but why should juveniles be treated differently?  Many people feel that if a teenager can commit an adult crime, than he or she should complete adult time.  However, our society has always functioned in a manner which establishes that juveniles should not be treated as adults.  While we recognize that teenagers are not mature enough to purchase cigarettes or alcohol, vote, serve on a jury, drive a vehicle, or consent to certain medical treatment or sexual intercourse, we hold them to an adult standard when it comes to the commission of serious criminal offenses.  Scientific research has found that children and teenagers utilize their brains in a different manner than adults as their brains continue to develop.  In Roper v. Simmons, the United States Supreme Court banned the death penalty in juvenile cases due to this research and the likelihood of rehabilitation for minors.  If the likelihood to rehabilitate a  minor is great for juvenile defendants, then why is Florida continuously sentencing minors to life in prison without parole?  While Florida's interest in retribution is great, this interest can still be achieved by granting parole to rehabilitated offenders after serving a significant sentence.   

To support HR 2289, the Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act, visit the Petitionsite.  

If you have questions about a Jacksonville Juvenile Criminal Case, contact a Jacksonville Juvenile Lawyer.  

On November 9, 2009, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two Florida cases that challenged sentencing a juvenile offender to a life sentence without the possibility of parole in non-homicide cases. One case involved a Jacksonville Juvenile Defendant, Jamar Graham. At age 16, Graham committed an armed burglary. He received a sentence that included probation. At age 17, Graham committed a home invasion armed robbery and violated his probation. Thereafter, he was sentenced to life without parole. Graham is now 22-years-old.

According to Florida Statute Section 790.23, a person that has previously been convicted of a felony cannot possess a firearm. Under Section Section 10.15 of the Florida Standard Jury Instructions, the state must prove that the convicted felon had in his care, custody, possession, or control a firearm, electric weapon/device, or ammunition.

Whether or not a convicted felon can be charged with Jacksonville Possession of a Firearm by a convicted felon that his or her spouse owns will depend on the definitions of "care, custody, possession or control." " 'Care' and 'custody' mean immediate charge and control exercised by a person over the named object." The term "possession" is defined as the ability "to have personal charge of or exercise the right of ownership, management, or control over an object."

Under Florida Law, a Jacksonville convicted felon can actually or constructively possess a firearm. Actual possession occurs when the firearm is on the convicted felon's person or so close that it is readily within his or her reach. Just because the firearm is very close to the convicted felon, there is no actual possession of the firearm if he or she is not in a position to exercise control over it. A convicted felon is in constructive possession if the firearm is located in a place that the felon has concealed the firearm or a place that the felon has control over.

In many Jacksonville Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon cases, a felon is arrested for possessing his or her spouse's firearm. In most of those cases, the spouse keeps the firearm in a non-secure location in the house. This location is normally a place that the felon has access to it. Thus, the felon is arrested and charge. However, a Jacksonville Gun Crimes Attorney can defend this case based upon the fact that the felon may not have been aware that the firearm was located within the house.

Additionally, if the spouse keeps the firearm in a secure location in which the felon does not have access to it and could never gain access to it, the convicted felon would not have any ability to control the firearm and could not be in possession of it. For example, a woman owns a firearm and keeps it in a locked safe. The safe is bolted down to the floor in a room in her house that is kept locked. Her husband is a convicted felon. He does not know the combination to the gun safe and does not have a key to the room. Thus, it would be absurd to believe that he is in constructive possession of the gun. On the other hand, if the gun is kept in a box in the couple's bedroom closet that both people share, the state would have a better argument that the Jacksonville convicted felon was in possession of the firearm.

I am in no way stating that storing a firearm in the manner provided above will resolve a Jacksonville convicted felon from criminal liability. However, it would create a better defense. Therefore, his Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney would have a better chance at getting the charges dropped or winning the case at trial.