Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

The Florida legislature has a criminal law committees in both the House and Senate that reviews proposed criminal law bills and ultimately makes decisions, edits, etc. before the bill is brought to a vote by the House and Senate. The bills are then voted on and if they pass both House and Senate, then they become law, which is how our Florida Statutes has defined crimes and the penalties they carry.
The Florida legislature has established that aggravated battery is a battery committed on a person that causes permanent disability or impairment; or a battery committed with a deadly weapon; or a battery committed on a pregnant woman. In addition to that definition, the Florida law establishes the crime of aggravated battery as a second degree felony. A second degree felony and its associated penalties that can be imposed on someone convicted of the crime of aggravated battery. According to Florida Statute 775.082 states that a second degree felony is punishable by a term in prison for no more than 15 years. In addition, a fine for a second degree felony, in accordance with Florida Statute 775.083, cannot exceed $10,000. What his means is that when sentencing occurs, the maximum punishment for aggravated assault is 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. However, there may be an offer for a plea that reduces this maximum sentence, or a jury can even sentence less than the maximum sentence depending on the facts of the case and how persuaded the jury feels by them.

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In Florida, crimes are defined by the legislature and the legislature also determines whether a crime is a misdemeanor and which constitute a felony. Florida also establishes degrees of punishment, for misdemeanors there are first and second degree and for felonies it can from third degree to a life felony. The degree of punishment and length of incarceration is determined by this degree system.

Misdemeanors and felonies carry different penalties and have different outcomes in the long hall because a misdemeanor is considered a lesser offense than a felony. Aggravated Battery is a battery committed to another that causes permanent disability or deformity; a battery committed with a deadly weapon (gun/knife); or a battery knowingly done to a pregnant woman. Florida Statute 784.045 defines aggravated battery as a second degree felony. If you are convicted of the crime of aggravated battery, then the punishment is worse than a battery conviction, which is a first degree misdemeanor.

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In Florida, a crime against a pregnant woman often carries harsher penalties than a crime against others. While Florida Statute 784.045(1)(a) defines the elements of aggravated battery as either a battery causing disability or disfigurement of another or using a deadly weapon while committing battery, there is an additional factor that can lead to the charge of aggravated battery, pregnancy.

According to Florida Statute 784.045(1)(b), if a battery is committed against a pregnant woman, then an aggravated battery has been committed and the State Attorney’s Office may charge the crime accordingly. If the State prosecutes for this crime, then it must prove that the actual and unwanted touching of another occurred (battery F.S. 784.03), and that the person committing the battery knew or should have known that the person was pregnant. A defense to the crime may be that there was no knowledge of the pregnancy, but that defense does not work if the physical appearance of the victim proves otherwise. The concept is that a crime against a pregnant woman is done to two individuals and there may be considerable harm to the unborn child.

Continue reading "Florida Criminal Law: What Is the Crime of Battery Against a Pregnant Woman Considered, A Battery or Aggravated Battery? " »

In Florida, investigating a crime requires understanding of the elements of the crime by both the Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s office prosecuting the case. Officers, like those that work for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, have to understand how a crime is defined so that their investigation can lead to a conviction later. By not doing a thorough investigation of a crime, like Aggravated Battery, the State may have difficulty proving its case to a jury.

Florida Statute defines elements of a crime. The elements are what must be proven in court for the State to get a conviction for the charged crime. For example, Aggravated Battery is defined by Florida Statute 784.045 and its definition are actually the elements that must be proven to jury. First, the elements of battery must be proven, battery in itself has multiple elements including the following:
1. Actual touching or striking;
2. Intention, meaning having the thought and mind-set to do the touch or strike;
3. The touch/strike is against the will of the other person, which means that the other person did not provoke the action (i.e. acting in a way that warrants defense); or
4. Acting in a way to inflict bodily harm on another person

Once those things are proven, to get to a conviction for an aggravated battery, the State must prove that 3 of the 4 above have been met along with one of the following:
5. Intentionally (meaning to) or knowingly (you know your action could) cause great bodily harm to another (i.e. kidney failure); or
6. Intentionally or knowingly cause permanent disability (i.e. cause paralysis); or
7. Intentionally or knowingly cause permanent disfigurement (i.e. crushing someone’s facial bones); or
8. Commit a battery using a deadly weapon (i.e. pistol-whip).

To be convicted an aggravated battery; the State must prove that there was a battery and that the battery meets one of the elements listed in 5 - 8.

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Crimes in Florida are defined by statute and are prosecuted by the State Attorney. The State Attorney’s Office in your area has many associates or assistant state attorneys and that office reviews police reports, such as those completed in an investigation by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

In Florida, according to Florida Statute 784.045(a), a person has committed Aggravated Battery if while committing a battery (as defined by F.S. 784.03) does the following:
1. “Intentionally and knowingly causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement; or
2. Uses a deadly weapon.”

An example of aggravated battery is pistol-whipping someone. That requires you actually and intentionally hitting someone with a deadly weapon, such as a gun. Another example would be kicking someone in the stomach region repeatedly and causing them permanent kidney and internal organ damage.

If you have been charged with aggravated battery you should speak with a criminal lawyer about your rights and options.

Battery is a crime in Florida that is defined as the unwanted, intentional touching of another person. In Florida, we have a State Attorney's Office that determines whether to file charges and seek a conviction of battery. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is required to investigate crimes committed in the Jacksonville area and then provide the police report to the State for determination of prosecution.

If convicted of battery, the charge for a first offense is a first degree misdemeanor. If you are convicted and then charged with another battery, that is a third degree felony. A first degree misdemeanor has a penalty of term of prison for no more than one year. A third degree felony is punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years. So, the crimes may be the same, but the number of offenses of battery, the more jail time could be served in Florida.

If you are facing criminal charges for battery, you should speak with a criminal lawyer to understand your rights and options.

Crimes in Florida are defined by Florida Statutes. Florida Statute also defines whether a crime is considered a misdemeanor or a felony. Generally, misdemeanors are offenses that come with no more than one year in jail and felonies are offenses for which jail time can exceed anything over one year. That is the basic distinction between the two. As you would assume from the penalties involved, a misdemeanor is a lesser offense than a felony.

In order to be convicted of a crime in Jacksonville, the State Attorney's office in the area would prosecute a person and the State must prove its case to a jury of your peers for the conviction to hold. So, if you are charged with a battery and convicted for the battery, would that be a misdemeanor or a felony? According to Florida Statute 784.03, if it is a first conviction of battery then it is considered a first degree misdemeanor. However, if this is the second time you have been charged with a battery and you were previously convicted of a battery of any kind, then you can be charged with a third degree felony. Basically, the Florida Statute gives you one bite at the apple before turning a the misdemeanor battery into a felony battery charge.

If you have been charged with battery, then you should speak with a criminal lawyer about your rights and options.

In order to be convicted of a battery in Florida you must meet all elements of the crime. In Florida, a State Attorney or an Assistant State Attorney is responsible for charging the crime of battery and prosecute the crime. In order for the charge to be filed, there must be a determination as to whether the elements of the crime could be proven to a jury or judge. Florida statutes define crimes and the elements that must be proven to convict someone of said crime. Elements of a crime are like a math equation, if you have a + b = c (the crime).

What are the elements of the crime of battery in Florida? According to Florida Statute 784.03(1)(a) provides the elements of the crime of battery as when a person does the following:

1. Battery is if someone were to actually (meaning doing an act) and intentionally (done with an agenda) touches or strikes another person against the will of the other (meaning the other person did not consent to the touch or strike. An example of this would be that person x gets into a verbal fight with person y and then x punches y, then x has committed a battery because the making of fist coupled with making contact with y would meet the intentional striking and most likely, Y did not agree to being punched in that scenario; or

2. Battery occurs when someone intentionally (means to) cause bodily harm to someone (actually hurt someone). So, if X and person Y are in a verbal fight and Y decides to give X a black-eye and then does so, then that is considered intentionally causing bodily harm to another person and the elements have been met for Y to be charged and convicted of battery.

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A common charge of a criminal action in Florida is that of battery. Florida Statutes define battery, but it is a common term, almost a household name, thanks to shows like Law and Order. Unlike the District Attorney in shows like Law and Order, Jacksonville and Florida as a whole has a State Attorney. State Attorneys are elected in their actual Circuit, which generally consists of more than one county in Florida. For example, Jacksonville is in the 4th Judicial Circuit and it encompasses Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties and Angela Corey is our State Attorney. However, the actual State Attorney Office has numerous associate attorneys that actually handle a number of the cases, such as battery cases.

So, what is the definition of a battery? According to Florida Statute 784.03, a Battery is defined as an offense where a person intentionally physically touches someone else against the other person’s will (meaning without consent) or a person intentionally inflicts or causes harm to someone. An example of touching someone against their will would be when you slap someone across the face. Unless the person asked you to slap them, you have committed a battery. In the second definition, “intentionally cause bodily harm to another,” whether the slap was asked for or not, if you slap someone so hard that you break their cheekbone, you’ve committed a battery. Even though you may not have intended to cause that great of bodily harm, you intentionally hit the person with enough force to hurt them.

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