Do You Dare To Reject A Plea Deal?
Florida’s prison population is the stuff of legend. If you wanted to make a high concept movie set in Florida, you would have to include someone struggling to rebuild his life after serving a long sentence for a minor offense, a modern day Jean Valjean; this is what would convince audiences in the know that your movie was about Florida, not the alligators, the terrifying lightning storms, the hurricanes, the bricks of cocaine washed up on the shore, or the Publix leaf cookies. Of course, many Floridians who are currently doing time in state prison, or have already finished their sentences, have avoided the worst-case scenario. More than 90 percent of defendants whose cases make it to the stage of entering a plea plead guilty, and most of the time, their plea is not merely due to a sense of culpability, but rather part of a plea deal that enables them to avoid incarceration or has them serve a shorter prison sentence than they would have received if a jury had convicted them at trial. No matter how sweet the plea deal, you always have the right to plead not guilty and to present your defenses at trial. For help negotiating a plea deal or deciding whether to accept one at all, contact a Tampa criminal defense lawyer.
Man Convicted of Hit and Run After Insisting That He Is Innocent
A contractor in Palm Coast man was driving his work van one day in 2024, and a group of motorcyclists were driving near them. He struck one of the motorcyclists but did not stop, believing that the motorcyclist was at fault. Shortly after the accident, the van driver was arrested for hit and run resulting in bodily injury, which is a felony with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Prosecutors offered the defendant a plea deal where he would serve a year in prison if he entered a plea of guilty. The defendant refused; he argued the motorcyclists had been driving recklessly, so he was not responsible for the accident. He said that he would only accept a plea deal if his sentence was probation only, with no prison time.
At the trial, the defendant and his wife were the only defense witnesses. The motorcyclist himself testified, as did many other prosecution witnesses. In the end, the jury convicted the defendant. His defense did not work, because leaving the scene of an accident resulting in bodily injury is a felony, regardless of who is at fault for the accident; in some cases, both drivers bear a share of the fault, and sometimes it takes a long time for insurance companies, or even civil courts, to reach a decision about the apportionment of fault.
Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven
A criminal defense lawyer can help you get justice if you are facing criminal charges and prosecutors have offered you a plea deal. Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.
Source:
flaglerlive.com/fernandes-verdict/
