Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

The term "mandatory minimum" refers to the minimum sentence a person convicted of a crime must receive under federal sentencing guidelines.

By setting mandatory minimum sentences, Congress wanted to ensure that similar crimes were treated similarly by all judges and that a judge could not be too lenient in sentencing, particularly in drug charges, sex crimes, and violent crime cases.

Mandatory minimum sentences take away the ability of judges to consider individual and unique circumstances of a case. This can lead to terrible injustice in the search for justice.

* No prior offenses?

* Financial responsibility for a family?

* Extenuating circumstances?

* Mitigating factors?

It doesn't matter. With mandatory minimum sentencing, the judge has no alternative. If you're found guilty, the judge must impose a harsh sentence.