Exploring Legal Horizons

When the prosecution and the defense cannot agree upon a sentence, a person charged with a crime may enter a plea to the court with no dispositional understanding-an open plea-in the hope that the judge will provide a better sentence than the State has offered. An open plea means that the judge can sentence someone to the statutory maximum. For example, if your loved one pled guilty or no contest to a third-degree felony, the court can sentence them up to five years in prison. After an open plea is entered, the court will conduct a sentencing hearing where both sides will present evidence,...

Have you ever had a client come to you with the idea of secretly recording a conversation? Or worse yet, a client brings you a tape they surreptitiously made? This issue is especially relevant because the new smart phones, specifically iPhones, have a new feature that enables a user to record a telephone conversation. Generally, it is illegal in Florida for one party to records a conversation with another party if the other party did not consent to it and the recording is made where there is an expectation of privacy. Fl.St. § 934.01(4). The purpose of this article is to familiarize...

If a person enters a plea to the judge, sometimes called an open plea, or if someone is found guilty after a trial, the next step in the process is a sentencing hearing. At the sentencing hearing, both the State and the defense advocate for an appropriate sentence. Generally, the court is more likely to sentence someone to jail or prison when a person is convicted after a jury trial. After 1998, when an individual is charged with noncapital felony, he or she is scored on a scoresheet pursuant to the Florida Criminal Punishment Code. The scoresheet provides the lowest permissible sentence...