Florida has several post-conviction remedies for citizens who have been convicted of crimes. These post-conviction remedies include reclassifying criminals as non-criminals, reducing felonies to misdemeanors, early termination of probation and vacating convictions, and even protecting noncitizens from deportation with motions to vacate convictions. convictions.
In January 2017, changes to Florida law went into effect allowing noncitizens who were convicted of a crime to petition the court for a motion to quash. This type of post-conviction mitigation can result in a reduced sentence or even a new trial.
If you have already been convicted of a crime in Florida, a post conviction attorney can help you undo the conviction. A professional attorney can examine the facts that led to your conviction and help you form arguments that new evidence has been discovered pointing to your innocence or that you were improperly advised of the immigration consequences by your previous attorney. This failure to advise you of the immigration consequences amounts to ineffective legal assistance and is grounds for redress.
RELIEF OPTIONS FOR UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND NON-CITIZENS
Many criminal charges in Florida can be treated as misdemeanors or felonies. Having a felony conviction on your criminal record can have an immense impact on a person’s life, including losing the right to own a firearm, losing the right to serve on a jury, and difficulty finding gainful employment.
More specifically, people in this situation can, with the help of a post-conviction relief attorney, ask the court to reduce their felony to a misdemeanor. Under Penal Code 17(b), defendants who have been convicted as felons have the right to ask the court to reduce it to a misdemeanor in a certain situation where the offense is oscillating.
This involves submitting documentation outlining the legal reasons why a felony conviction should be downgraded to a misdemeanor to the sentencing court. This will result in a change to the applicant’s criminal record and restore the rights he lost as a felon.
CHANGES IN THE LAW FOR NON-CITIZENS
A criminal conviction in the United States can have a devastating effect on the lives of non-citizens. Even people who are in the country legally with a green card can face deportation if they are convicted of certain crimes, especially aggravated felonies, sex crimes and drug crimes.
Often, these negative consequences of deportation and removal may not have been made known to the defendant before he or she pleads guilty to a deportable offense. This led many legal residents to face surprise deportation and removal hearings.
In recognition of this problem, the Florida state legislature passed Florida Penal Code §1473.7 in 2016. This statute states that a person who is no longer in jail or prison may petition the court to vacate his or her conviction if he or she can provide evidence of a judge or attorney’s error in not informing them of all the immigration consequences of a guilty plea.
This may specifically apply to defendants who were not informed of the possible deportation effect of a guilty plea to a crime. If a defendant believes that he or she was a victim of such a situation, post-conviction relief attorney can help him or her file a motion with the court as soon as he or she receives notification that conviction hearings will be held. deportation or expulsion.
LET A POST CONVICTION LAWYER HELP YOU
Past convictions that were classified as felonies can now be changed to misdemeanors, which will have a significant effect on the individual’s future. Additionally, noncitizens who pleaded guilty to a crime that could result in their deportation and removal from the United States may argue that there was a prejudicial error and that they were not aware of the possible consequences of their guilty plea. This may result in your conviction being overturned.
A post conviction lawyers in can help. Call today to schedule a consultation and discuss your case.
