Some people look at the criminal justice system as a way to catch criminals. That is one side of it, but the process is also set up to prevent innocent people from losing their freedoms. There is a difference in Florida drug laws that we discussed in a previous post. The difference puts Florida defendants at risk of conviction, some might say because of unconstitutional legal standards.

Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control law is at the center of a growing concern in the state regarding various drug crime cases. In the past post, we wrote that some judges had ruled in favor of defendants because they disagreed with the law. Now, the challenging of the law has escalated to a higher place.

According to news reports, Florida's 2nd District Court of Appeal has formally asked the state's Supreme Court to review the controversial state law. The law was enacted in 2002 and basically eliminates criminal intent as a necessary factor when convicting someone of a drug crime.

The Florida Supreme Court's job is to ensure that the state lives within the laws of the U.S. Constitution. Florida's Drug Abuse Prevention and Control law has its challengers arguing that the law goes against every citizen's right to due process of law when faced with criminal charges.

Until the law is evaluated and either approved or rejected by the Supreme Court, Florida drug cases are all sort of in a state of limbo. Even if a trial court finds a defendant guilty of drug trafficking, for example, the Supreme Court's rejection of the law could mean an overturning of that and thousands of other convictions.

There has been no official announcement that the court plans to review the law, but attorneys in the state suggest that time will and needs to come soon. When there are developments in this matter we will post an update.

Source

St. Petersburg Times: "Florida Supreme Court to decide drug law's constitutionality," John Woodrow Cox, Sep. 29, 2011