{"id":760,"date":"2021-08-23T18:36:25","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T22:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tampacriminallawyer.net\/?p=760"},"modified":"2026-01-08T08:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:28:14","slug":"florida-court-discusses-sentence-reductions-under-the-first-step-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.criminalattorneytampa.net\/blog\/florida-court-discusses-sentence-reductions-under-the-first-step-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Court Discusses Sentence Reductions Under the First Step Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recognition of the fact that certain sentencing guidelines resulted in disparate sentences for similar crimes, the United States legislature passed a set of laws that rendered people convicted of drug crimes involving crack cocaine eligible for reduced sentences. As discussed in a recent Florida ruling<\/a>, though, mere eligibility is insufficient to demonstrate that such relief should be granted. If you were convicted of a drug offense, you might be eligible for a sentence reduction pursuant to recent changes in the law, and it is advisable to speak to a trusted Tampa drug crime defense lawyer about your options.<\/p>\n

The Defendant\u2019s Conviction <\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is reported that in 2005, a jury convicted the defendant of numerous offenses, including possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute. Due to his prior history of drug crimes and the quantity of crack cocaine in his possession, he was subject to a mandatory life sentence. The district court ultimately imposed a sentence of life plus fifteen years imprisonment, followed by ten years of supervised release. After Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010 and the First Step Act in 2018, the defendant moved to reduce his sentence. The trial court granted his motion in part, reducing his sentence to 420 months in prison followed by eight years of supervised release. The defendant appealed, arguing the court abused its discretion in not reducing his sentence further.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading \u203a<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recognition of the fact that certain sentencing guidelines resulted in disparate sentences for similar crimes, the United States legislature passed a set of laws that rendered people convicted of drug crimes involving crack cocaine eligible for reduced sentences. As discussed in a recent Florida ruling, though, mere eligibility is insufficient to demonstrate that such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drug-crimes"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Step Act Sentence Cuts in Florida<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand how Florida courts handle sentence cuts under the First Step Act and when inmates may qualify for less time.\" \/>\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-discusses-sentence-reductions-under-the-first-step-act\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" 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