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by Katz & Phillips, P.A. All rights reserved.
We literally wrote the book on Florida Gun Law. Florida Gun Law: Armed and Educated, now in its 4th Edition is available on our website, on Amazon and at gun stores and ranges throughout the state of Florida.
Unfortunately, Prosecutors try to send law-abiding citizens to jail all the time simply because they owned or carried a firearm. Whether protecting your right to defend yourself from criminals or simply being caught at the wrong place at the wrong time while legally carrying a firearm, you can have tacked-on charges that could affect your future, including your right to bear arms and your personal liberty.
Without the right attorney by your side, you could easily be trampled by the state’s often exaggerated and hyperactive prosecution leveled at innocent gun owners.
Make sure this doesn’t happen to you. If you were charged with a gun crime in the greater Orlando area, make the call that could be the difference between a hard future or exercising your rights as an American citizen.
If you’ve been arrested for a Florida gun crime in the greater Orlando area, you have nothing to lose by asking for an expert case evaluation. We are some of Orlando’s most knowledgeable gun law experts and have successfully defended many clients. When they were staring down unfair charges and even long-term prison sentences for simply exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, we stood by their side.
We work tirelessly to explore every possible option available to have your charges reduced or dropped. If you’re facing a gun charge, call the Orlando criminal defense attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A. as soon as possible.
Federal gun charges carry a lot of weight and often have felony sentencing. Don’t let an exaggerated gun charge ruin your future or your freedom as a citizen by unfairly giving you felon status.
We can defend against federal charges, including:
In some respects, Florida is one of the more conservative states when it comes to protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. Many of our laws stand as a model to other states who seek to loosen the grip the federal government places on the rights our founding fathers carefully granted.
However, Florida still lags behind many other states when it comes to protecting our 2nd Amendment rights, for example by requiring a Concealed Weapon or Firearm License (CWFL) to carry a firearm concealed, or by prohibiting the open carry of firearms in most circumstances.
We have the knowledge to defend cases that relate to:
Federal and state laws also require additional charges for various crimes if a handgun or other firearm is within accessible reach. Just by virtue of another crime, the legal possession of a firearm can mean an enhanced or extra charge that could mean a huge difference in sentencing.
Let us help you defend against tacked-on firearms charges relating to:
The biggest reason you’ll need the help of criminal defense lawyers in Orlando is that the stakes will be incredibly high – especially if you’ve been charged with a gun crime during the commission of another crime.
Florida law imposes strict minimum prison terms for anyone convicted of a crime that also involves the possession or use of a firearm. This is the so-called “10-20-Life” Law.
You will face a mandatory minimum of 10 years for having a gun on your person when a crime is committed. If the gun is discharged, that sentence doubles to a minimum of 20 years.
If you’re charged with injuring or killing a person while committing a crime involving the use of a gun, you’ll face a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Of course, there might be exceptions to the penalties based on the circumstances of each case, which is why you need the expertise of the attorneys at Katz & Phillips, P.A.
Although every gun-related crime differs in terms of the severity and the punishments themselves, being convicted of even a misdemeanor can result in significant penalties.
Here are just a few of the penalties associated with being convicted of a weapon-related misdemeanor:
This is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.
The punishments for a felony gun crime are substantially worse – even if you don’t harm anyone.
As you can see, the consequences of basically any gun-related offense can be life-altering which is why having an attorney by your side will be so critical.
Your attorney can employ defenses to weaken the prosecution’s case and to support lesser penalties with the ultimate goal of getting your charges reduced or dropped altogether.
An experienced, skilled attorney will have a lot of options when it comes to providing you with the most effective defense possible. Some of the potential strategies they may use include challenging what is known as “constructive possession,” as well as challenging the arresting officer’s actions.
Constructive possession is a prosecution strategy. Suppose, for instance, that you were in a car with three other people and you were pulled over. The officer then searched the car and found a gun under the driver’s seat. According to the principle of constructive possession, the officer can conceivably charge everyone in the vehicle with illegally possessing the gun.
In order for that charge to stick, the prosecution will need to prove that you not only knew the gun was there, but that you also knowingly had control over the firearm. A seasoned lawyer will work to prove that neither of those components applies to you.
There’s also a chance your case could be dropped completely due to an illegal search. Going back to the example above, every citizen of the United States is protected from unreasonable searches.
If your rights were violated by an unreasonable search, then any evidence produced through that search can be excluded from your trial. That will almost certainly result in your case being thrown out.
Your lawyer could argue that you were trying to defend yourself, your family, or your property because you had a good reason to believe they were all in immediate danger.
Your attorney could also gather the necessary proof to show that you never intended to commit any sort of crime and that whatever violation you may have committed was totally unintentional.
The defenses employed in your case will depend on the specific circumstances of your case and your arrest. Don’t hinder your future by not hiring the best criminal defense attorneys in Orlando.
Any sort of gun crime case can be incredibly complex and it can be very confusing because Florida law is contradictory. While it allows people to carry guns and to use them in self-defense, the law is extremely harsh when it comes to the improper use of a firearm. This can create a great deal of confusion among gun owners.
Since the laws regarding gun crimes are complicated and open to interpretation, it’s imperative that you have a legal representative who has a deep understanding of all of them.
The attorneys of Katz & Phillips, P.A. are the statewide attorneys for U.S. Law Shield, Firearm Owners Protection Program. Through our affiliation with U.S. Law Shield, we represent nearly 100,000 Floridians in firearms-related matters throughout the State. Not only do we represent thousands of Floridians in firearms-related matters, but we wrote the book on Florida Gun Laws.
Any time you are arrested for an Orlando gun crime, give us a call. We respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to defend your rights. Stand up to bullies who want to trample the Second Amendment and protect your rights as a law-abiding citizen.
You can contact us on our web page or call (321) 420-1284 for a free consultation.
