Florida’s Youthful Offender Act Isn’t Just for Minors
Laws should be specific enough to provide guidance and avoid confusion, but also sufficiently open to interpretation to account for the fact that every case is unique. Likewise, the more you try to pinpoint the exact moment when childhood ends and adulthood begins, the more difficult it becomes. On your 18th birthday, you can register to vote, and you can engage in paid work at any time of the day or night you choose, but physically and emotionally, there is no measurable difference between the adult you are today and the minor you were yesterday. In some cases, the law does not see the definition of adulthood in black and white, or at least, it allows people to make a soft landing into adulthood after they have been on the Earth for slightly more than 18 years. For example, a parent’s child support obligations do not automatically terminate on the child’s 18th birthday; if the son or daughter is still in high school, the parents must continue paying child support until he or she graduates. Likewise, the defendant’s age is a factor in how the criminal court deals with the case at several phases. Here, our Miami criminal defense lawyer explains the effects that the Youthful Offender Act can have on criminal cases when the defendant is under the age of 21.
The Rationale Behind the Youthful Offender Act
The consequences of having a criminal conviction on one’s record can last a lifetime. It is possible to restore your voting rights after completing your sentence, but it is a long and difficult process. You must relive your conviction every time you apply for a job or housing. The juvenile justice system accounts for the fact that it is not fair to punish minors for their youthful mistakes in the same way one would an adult who committed the same offense. Of course, context matters here, too, so the state sometimes charges minors as adults if they commit an especially serious offense or show a pattern of breaking the law repeatedly.
The Youthful Offender Act accounts for the other side of this coin. It allows for reduced sentences for defendants who were under the age of 21 at the time of the alleged crime. If prison time is part of the young adult’s sentence, the Youthful Offender Act enables him or her to serve the time in county jail instead of in state prison. Defendants are eligible if the total time of the sentence, including incarceration, probation, community supervision, or some combination thereof, does not exceed six years. It is possible to get a Youthful Offender sentence even for charges that potentially carry a prison sentence that exceeds six years; the usual way of doing this is by negotiating a plea deal.
The Youthful Offender Act has been on the books since 1978, but it has undergone several amendments. For example, its earlier versions only applied to instances where the defendant was under the age of 21 at the time of sentencing, but now it applies to defendants who were 20 years old or younger at the time of the alleged crime.
Charged as an Adult, but Sentenced as a Young Person?
Several years ago, a 20-year-old man was charged with DUI manslaughter when, while under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, he caused a single-vehicle car accident in which his passenger suffered fatal injuries. If he had been found guilty at trial, he could have faced a prison sentence of up to 15 years, which would make him 35 at the time of his release. Instead, he pleaded guilty and received a Youthful Offender Act sentence. This sentence required him to spend three years in county jail, followed by three years of probation.
Don’t Let the Promise of a Youthful Offender Sentence Stop You From Fighting Your Charges If You Are Innocent
If you are a young adult facing charges which carry a harsh penalty, then a Youthful Offender sentence might seem like an attractive option. Even if you serve your sentence in county jail instead of state prison, and even if you only serve three years behind bars instead of 15, it is still incarceration, and you still get a felony conviction on your permanent record. Therefore, you should not plead guilty unless you acknowledge that you committed the actions of which the state has accused you and unless you are sure that the state brought the charges against you without violating your Constitutional rights.
Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys
A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you seek justice if you were charged with a crime when you were 20 years old. Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.
Source:
wuft.org/public-safety/2020-12-23/ahead-of-christmas-a-3-year-prison-sentence-in-fatal-drunken-driving-crash
