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Editor: Will Hanlon & Charlie Lambert
Profession: Tampa Defense Attorneys

Category: Criminal Law

State v. J; Judge: Robert Foster; Date: July 17, 2007

FACTS: The defendant was charged with Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Burglary of a Conveyance, and Resisting an Officer Without Violence. Juvenile priors, and the motor vehicle theft multiplier caused the client's criminal punishment code score to rise above 44 points. Any score above 44 points requires the defendant to serve a prison sentence, unless a mitigator or an exception applies to his case. In this particular case the defendant was 16 years of age and qualified as a youthful offender. The client was also undergoing psychological treatment to address some mental issues.

The Youthful Offender Statute can be found in Chapter 958 of the Florida Statutes. The purpose of the statue is to decrease the likelihood of young offenders returning to the criminal justice system. This is accomplished by forcing defendants sentenced as youthful offenders to attend vocational, educational, and counseling programs. These programs also prevent these young offenders from associating with older and more experienced criminals in the Florida State Prison system. The Youthful Offender Statute even allows the Court to go below the recommended prison sentence in the criminal punishment code, and sentence the defendant to probation. In order to be eligible to qualify as a youthful offender you must meet the criteria set out in Section 958.04 of the Florida Statutes.

DEFENSE: We requested the Court to sentence our client as a Youthful Offender because of his age, and the fact that he was overcoming a number of mental issues.

RESULT: The defendant was sentenced as a Youthful Offender, and received probation. He also avoided any conviction on his record.