Compared to other states, Florida has strict drug laws. In fact, its enactment of Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Law in 2002 has the sunshine state alone in a pretty harsh rule when it comes to the necessary evidence in a drug trafficking or possession case.

When a state stands alone in a pretty controversial way with a law that means the difference in a person's freedom, it is no surprise that the state's law would face challenges down the road. In the case of Florida's drug law, a big bump in the road has arrived.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a ruling in a Florida court last month marks what looks like it will be the beginning of potential chaos related to past, present and future drug-related cases in the state. Before we hypothesize about the chaos, it's necessary to identify the main legal difference in Florida's drug cases.

Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Law allows courts to hold a defendant responsible for a drug crime even when he or she was acting with no provable criminal intent. That goes against the legal norms of every other state, wherein criminal intent is necessary to prove in order to find a person guilty of a drug-related offense.

Last month, an Orlando judge ruled that the unique Florida law deprives suspects of their 14th Amendment right to "due process of law." Since that notable ruling, another Florida judge has followed suit and overturned 39 drug convictions that resulted from the controversial law. Not all Florida courts have followed the bold lead of the Orlando judge, including one in Jacksonville.

Sources suggest that the mold-breaking ruling last month has begun what is going to be a heated debate regarding the Constitutionality of Florida's drug law. Thousands of cases could go before the court again, depending on the ultimate decision regarding the validity of the law.

We will keep you posted when there is an update related to this matter.

Source

The Wall Street Journal: "Rulings Muddle Florida Drug Law," Ashby Jones, Aug. 22, 2011