{"id":1142,"date":"2024-06-30T16:45:17","date_gmt":"2024-06-30T20:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneytampa.net\/blog\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T15:37:17","slug":"florida-court-explains-grounds-for-deeming-a-defendant-a-career-criminal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneytampa.net\/blog\/florida-court-explains-grounds-for-deeming-a-defendant-a-career-criminal\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Court Explains Grounds for Deeming a Defendant a Career Criminal"},"content":{"rendered":"

People convicted of felonies often lose certain rights, like the right to possess a weapon. As such, if they are subsequently found with a gun in their possession, they may be charged with a crime. Additionally, depending on their criminal history, they may be sentenced as a career criminal. In a recent Florida gun crime case<\/a>, the court discussed the grounds for deeming a defendant a career criminal before ultimately determining the defendant was properly classified. If you are charged with a weapons offense, it is smart to meet with a Tampa gun crime defense attorney to determine your options.<\/p>\n

History of the Case<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is alleged that in 2021, during a traffic stop, the defendant was found in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He subsequently pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of federal law. Prior to sentencing, the probation office drafted a presentence investigation report that included an enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) due to the defendant\u2019s three prior convictions for crimes that were either violent felonies or serious drug offenses.<\/p>\n

It is reported that these convictions included two for aggravated assault in 2003 and 2015 and one for delivery of cocaine in 2007. The defendant objected to the ACCA enhancement, arguing that his prior convictions for aggravated assault did not qualify as violent felonies and his prior drug crime conviction did not qualify as a serious drug offense. However, the district court overruled his objections, deemed each conviction as qualifying under the ACCA, and imposed a 180-month sentence. The defendant appealed. Continue Reading \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People convicted of felonies often lose certain rights, like the right to possess a weapon. As such, if they are subsequently found with a gun in their possession, they may be charged with a crime. Additionally, depending on their criminal history, they may be sentenced as a career criminal. In a recent Florida gun crime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weapons"],"yoast_head":"\nCareer Criminal Label: How It\u2019s Decided<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how the \u201ccareer criminal\u201d label works and why it can add years to a sentence in repeat felony cases.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneytampa.net\/blog\/florida-court-explains-grounds-for-deeming-a-defendant-a-career-criminal\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Career Criminal Label: How It\u2019s Decided\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Discover how the \u201ccareer criminal\u201d label works and why it can add years to a sentence in repeat felony cases.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneytampa.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/hand-holding-revolver-florida-gun-crime.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hanlon Law, PA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Career Criminal Label: How It\u2019s Decided","description":"Discover how the \u201ccareer criminal\u201d label works and why it can add years to a sentence in repeat felony 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