When most people hear the term drug trafficking, they automatically think of a high-level drug dealer or a cartel. When really, under Florida law, all that's required for the state to charge you with drug trafficking is that you possessed over a certain amount. And for different controlled substances, the amounts are different.
But the most important thing to understand is that all drug trafficking charges in Florida carry a mandatory minimum prison sentence of at least 3 years. It can range up to a life sentence if the quantity is high enough, but the minimum is 3 years. Mandatory minimum sentence means that even the judge can't go below it.
So, if you're convicted, you go to prison for at least that amount, potentially more. The only way to avoid a prison sentence in a drug trafficking charge is to beat it. That means find constitutional violations, problems with how the police built their case. Maybe they relied on confidential informants that are lying to get themselves out of trouble.
Either way, we leave no stone unturned in trying to keep our clients out of prison. So, if you've been charged with drug trafficking, call Flaherty & Merrifield Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers today and let us get to work.
