• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Measure Would Loosen Minimum Mandatory Drug Sentences, But Police Chiefs Object

November 12, 2019 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Defense attorneys speaking with their clients during  recent pre-trials at the Flagler County courthouse. (© FlaglerLive)
Defense attorneys speaking with their clients during recent pre-trials at the Flagler County courthouse. (© FlaglerLive)

A Senate panel on Tuesday threw its support behind a bill that would loosen mandatory minimum sentencing laws for some drug-trafficking offenses, a proposed change that ran into opposition from law enforcement officials.




While advocates called the proposal a “modest step” toward sentencing reform, a representative of the Florida Police Chiefs Association raised concerns about the bill not being tough enough.

The proposal, sponsored by Senate budget chief Rob Bradley, would allow judges to consider shorter sentences for drug-trafficking defendants who meet certain criteria. However, the measure would not affect drug-trafficking offenses that carry a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison.

“What this bill says is that there will be a judge … who will review all the particular facts, will make a decision on what is right in that particular case,” Bradley, a former prosecutor, said.

But Gary Hester, a Florida Police Chiefs Association lobbyist, expressed concern about a provision in the bill that would allow judges to have discretion over cases involving people who are caught with 400 grams of cocaine, whom Hester called “high-level traffickers.”

“Someone would have to possess 150 kilograms, which is over 330 pounds, of cocaine to actually be assured they are going to prison under the current statute,” Hester said.

Championing his bill (SB 346), Bradley argued that state lawmakers can make an impact on the lives of drug addicts by reforming sentencing laws.

“Let me just talk to my friends in the building for just a second. It is time to do this. We’ve talked about it for a long time,” Bradley told the committee. “(Let’s) get out of our corners and let’s do something right for the people of the state of Florida.”

He added his bill “may just make justice a little bit brighter.”

To depart from mandatory minimum sentences laid out in state law, judges would determine if a defendant meets certain criteria.

To qualify, a defendant could not have prior felony convictions in which force or violence was used. Defendants would also need to “truthfully” provide law enforcement with all of the information and evidence associated with their cases, and they would not be able to be in possession of a firearm at the time of their crimes.

“State prison needs to be reserved for the worst of the worst,” Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican, said. “Somewhere along the way we have gotten in the habit of people going to state prison for things that in other countries, and in other states, they would not be going to state prison.”

Bradley’s bill would also set a maximum incarceration time of 12 months for people who buy or are found in possession of less than two grams of a controlled substance, other than fentanyl.

The criminal justice committee unanimously approved the measure, which faces two more committee stops before a full Senate vote. A companion bill has not been filed yet in the House.

Greg Newburn, state policy director for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said the proposal was a “modest step” toward making Florida’s criminal justice system better.

The proposal “is a toe in the water” while “other states are doing cannonballs into the pool” by loosening mandatory minimum sentencing laws, Newburn told the committee.

“Don’t listen to the Chicken Little nonsense that, without stiff mandatory minimums, drugs would be out of control. They are out of control now,” an obviously frustrated Newburn said, following Hester’s testimony.

Sen. Randolph Bracy, an Orlando Democrat who has pushed criminal justice reforms since he was elected to the Legislature in 2012, asked Bradley to consider giving judges discretion over cases that also include sentences of at least 25 years in prison.

Bracy pointed to a state law requiring a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for individuals who are convicted of possessing 28 grams or more of drugs that include heroin, oxycodone or hydrocodone.

“I would just ask that you reconsider the 25-year threshold,” he said. “There are still people who are users that would meet that threshold.”

In addition to changing some drug-trafficking sentencing laws, Bradley’s bill also includes language that would require law enforcement officers to record all interrogations of an individual in their custody.

If an interrogation is not recorded, officers would be required to provide a written report documenting why the recording was not made.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, a North Miami Beach Democrat who is a former prosecutor, asked Bradley to consider allowing law enforcement officers to use their cell phones to make video or audio recordings. Pizzo suggested clarifying that the officers would not have to give prosecutors text messages or other information on their cell phones.

Bradley said he was open to considering such a provision, but added he wants more information about potential privacy concerns.

–Ana Ceballos, News Service of Florida

Support FlaglerLive's End of Year Fundraiser
Thank you readers for getting us to--and past--our year-end fund-raising goal yet again. It’s a bracing way to mark our 15th year at FlaglerLive. Our donors are just a fraction of the 25,000 readers who seek us out for the best-reported, most timely, trustworthy, and independent local news site anywhere, without paywall. FlaglerLive is free. Fighting misinformation and keeping democracy in the sunshine 365/7/24 isn’t free. Take a brief moment, become a champion of fearless, enlightening journalism. Any amount helps. We’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donations are tax deductible.  
You may donate openly or anonymously.
We like Zeffy (no fees), but if you prefer to use PayPal, click here.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lnzc says

    November 13, 2019 at 8:21 am

    You say drugs are out of control now,so you are going to make jail time less to improve it.
    How stupid would that be,too many politicians making money from drugs.

  2. larry krasner says

    November 13, 2019 at 11:45 am

    Every time a hooked user robs a store, etc., the pusher who got him/her addicted should be charged as an accessory before the fact.

  3. Chad says

    September 5, 2022 at 3:09 am

    Yeah because the majority of people that are being locked up are harmless. They are not a threat to anyone. Yeah your correct the shitty politicians and the law makers are making money off of the privatization of prisons who are mostly drug addicts sentenced to life sentences when there was no victim in the crime. Those are the real criminals. In case u haven’t noticed why u never see big dealers get busted it’s because Its our own govt that’s bringing the shit in. Wake up

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Conner Bosch law attorneys lawyers offices palm coast flagler county
  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Deborah Coffey on Democracy’s Sunset: There’s a 70% Chance the Constitution Will Be Suspended Before 2028
  • Nina on Democracy’s Sunset: There’s a 70% Chance the Constitution Will Be Suspended Before 2028
  • JC on Democracy’s Sunset: There’s a 70% Chance the Constitution Will Be Suspended Before 2028
  • Marlee on Danko No Longer District Director for Randy Fine; Congressman Calls for Nuking Gaza’s 2 Million Palestinians
  • Sherry on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, May 24, 2025
  • Samuel L. Bronkowitz on Why the Far Right Fabricated the Myth of a Migrant ‘Invasion’
  • Larry on Danko No Longer District Director for Randy Fine; Congressman Calls for Nuking Gaza’s 2 Million Palestinians
  • Jay Sebowitz on Why the Far Right Fabricated the Myth of a Migrant ‘Invasion’
  • chanel channing on Danko No Longer District Director for Randy Fine; Congressman Calls for Nuking Gaza’s 2 Million Palestinians
  • Sue on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, May 25, 2025
  • bill on Palm Coast City Attorney Calls Mayor Norris ‘Unprofessional and Inappropriate’ 3 Weeks After Censure for Similar Behavior
  • Cathy on Danko No Longer District Director for Randy Fine; Congressman Calls for Nuking Gaza’s 2 Million Palestinians
  • The dude on Why the Far Right Fabricated the Myth of a Migrant ‘Invasion’
  • YankeeExPat on Why the Far Right Fabricated the Myth of a Migrant ‘Invasion’
  • James willow on Danko No Longer District Director for Randy Fine; Congressman Calls for Nuking Gaza’s 2 Million Palestinians
  • Toto on Flagler Beach’s Farmers Market Will Move to South 2nd Street by City Hall After Losing Wickline Park

Log in