If you are charged with a crime in New York, will you face a mandatory minimum sentence if you’re convicted? Can a Long Island assault and battery law firm help?

In most cases, when criminals are convicted, the justice system lets judges weigh all of the facts when they decide on a sentence. But starting in the 1970s, Congress and several state legislatures passed laws that force judges to hand down mandatory minimum sentences for particular crimes.

For example, in 1973, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller announced plans to make New York’s drug laws the harshest drug laws in the United States. Offenders would face mandatory minimum sentences of fifteen years to life for certain drug offenses.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE EFFECT OF MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCING?

Lawmakers believed these inflexible sentences would devastate the illegal drug trade. More than forty years later, that has not happened. What happened instead was that New York’s state prisons quickly became severely overcrowded.

In 2004, Governor George Pataki signed legislation that reduced mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses from fifteen years to eight years for the most serious drug crimes. Yet this state still imposes mandatory minimum sentences for a variety of crimes including drug crimes.

Exactly what are mandatory minimum sentences? What criminal convictions require mandatory sentencing? Can these sentences be appealed?

ARE MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FAIR AND JUST?

A mandatory sentencing law requires judges to hand down predetermined sentences for certain criminal convictions. A mandatory minimum sentence is a predetermined amount of time – determined by lawmakers rather than judges – that offenders must serve if they are convicted.

In New York, a number of drug crimes involve mandatory minimum sentences. Other crimes that can result in mandatory minimum sentences include gun crimes, sex crimes, and some types of theft.

Mandatory minimum sentences have received abundant criticism for being unjust, unfair, and racially discriminatory. Nonviolent drug offenders often receive sentences that do not actually match their crimes. Many activists now advocate an end to mandatory minimum sentencing.

CAN A JUDGE REDUCE A MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE?

The central problem with mandatory minimum sentencing is that judges cannot reduce or otherwise change such a sentence. However, that does not mean that the situation is entirely hopeless for defendants.

A defense lawyer may be able to arrange a plea deal that lets a criminal defendant plead guilty to a lesser charge that does not entail a mandatory minimum sentence. And if a defendant receives a mandatory minimum sentence, it is possible to overturn the conviction in the appeals process.

Because of mandatory minimum sentencing, many convicted offenders in New York face extremely long sentences for non-violent crimes. Some are serving fifteen-to-twenty-five years in prison for a single drug sale. Taxpayers are increasingly concerned, because they pay the bill.

Most defense attorneys and other observers believe that most offenders serving a mandatory minimum sentence should instead be sent to alcohol treatment or drug rehab. Instead of offering offenders a chance to change their lives, mandatory minimum sentencing destroys lives.

WHICH CONVICTIONS TRIGGER MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES?

In New York, there are no mandatory minimum sentences for misdemeanors. The maximum sentence for a Class A misdemeanor conviction is a year in jail. The maximum sentence for a Class B misdemeanor conviction is ninety days in jail.

However, a number of felonies in this state require mandatory minimum sentencing upon conviction when the defendant is tried as an adult. These felonies include:

1. robbery in the first, second, or third degree
2. burglary in the second or third degree
3. assault in the first or second degree
4. possession or sale of a controlled substance in the third degree
5. criminal possession of a weapon in the second or third degree

HOW WILL A CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAW FIRM HELP YOU?

If you are charged with any of these crimes in or near New York City or Long Island, you must reach out and contact a Long Island criminal defense attorney as quickly as possible. Your future and your freedom will be at stake.

Your defense attorney will explain the charges against you and how the law may apply in your own case. Everyone who is accused of a crime by the state of New York must have the advice and representation that can be provided only by an experienced and skilled defense attorney.

If you are charged with a crime that requires a mandatory minimum sentence upon conviction, and if you are innocent, you should fight the charge. However, if the state’s case against you is strong, you should talk with your defense lawyer about a plea bargain.

WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT PLEA BARGAINS?

However, you must not agree to any plea arrangement or “deal” unless and until your attorney recommends it. Never attempt to negotiate a plea bargain on your own. Your attorney routinely negotiates on behalf of clients and knows what it takes to get the best possible plea bargain.

Plea deals are routine in New York’s criminal court system, and only a tiny percentage of the charges filed by New York’s prosecutors actually become courtroom trials. Plea bargains are in fact responsible for more than ninety percent of the criminal convictions in the United States.

A plea arrangement – so long as it’s fair – is often the best option for a defendant who faces a mandatory minimum sentence.

WHEN SHOULD YOU INSIST ON A JURY TRIAL?

However, if you are certain in your own mind that you are not guilty of the crime you are charged with, you can reject a plea bargain offer and insist on a jury trial. If you are innocent, a good Long Island criminal defense attorney will aggressively advocate for justice on your behalf.

Choosing the right defense lawyer is imperative. If you are charged with any crime in this state, you must take advantage of the insights, advice, and representation that an experienced New York criminal defense lawyer can provide. Your future could depend on it.