Criminal Defense Attorney | Criminal Defense Law

Blog Published By Kenneth Padowitz, P.A.

‘Stand Your Ground’

Prohibiting Access of Firearms to Minors in Florida

Introduction: Firearms in Florida Any list of pro-gun states in the US will have Florida on it. The Florida state gun-related laws and legislation protect the right of citizens to possess and use firearms as well as carry openly or concealed firearms. Furthermore, Floridians have the right to protect themselves with firearms as part of self-defense, referred to as Stand Your Ground. Regardless, the many protections that gun owners receive do not occlude the presence or enactment of limitations to protected rights. What the Stats Say If the stats are anything to go by, then the enactment of these limitations is for good reason. For example, in 2015 alone, at least 265 people received accidental gunshots from kids. Of this number, 83 of the accidental shootings were fatal. Scary and shocking are not the only adjectives that qualify this fact. The stats therefore point to a growing issue of domestic gun safety. The issue is of high importance, especially when current estimates state that 1.7 million children live in households where guns are either stored fully loaded or left unlocked and easily accessible. More chilling… Read More

Plea deal ends Florida ‘warning shot’ case

Stand Your Ground In a case that garnered all of its attention due to a “stand your ground” defense, has ended via a plea deal. A women accused of firing a gun at her estranged husband and his two sons in what she claimed to be self-defense, arguing that she feared for her life before discharging the weapon. Marissa Alexander is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the 2010 shooting. She will receive credit for the 1,030 days she has already served, under the deal with the prosecutors. Had the 34-year-old Alexander, of Jacksonville, been convicted of all counts at her second trail in the case, she would have had to serve 60 years because of Florida’s minimum-mandatory sentencing rules when a firearm is involved. A jury deliberated for just 12 minutes during her first trial, before delivering a guilty verdict. Under Florida Law, anyone who fires a gun during a commission of a felony is subject to a minimum of 20 years in prison, which was her original sentence. Alexander’s conviction was overturned 21 months into her punishment,… Read More