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What is “a year and a day” in a criminal courtroom?

Many Criminal Attorney Tampa are asked this question by their clients, especially when plea negotiations are centered around the individual facing roughly a year in jail/prison. A year and a day results in a defendant being housed in a Florida State Prison as opposed to a county jail.  In our experience, representing over a thousand criminal defendants, the overwhelming majority of those folks would rather be sent to a state prison as opposed to sitting in a county jail. Simply put, this is because folks in state prison have the opportunity to engage in movement around the state prison campus and engaged in activities available in the prison, including educational activities, job training programs, and other activities, which are obviously not offered in county jail.  County jails are generally locked down the majority of the day.

Further, with consideration of good/gain time and the potential of becoming a trustee, a year-and-a-day sentence can be significantly reduced. This is another reasons the majority of folks facing a 364 county jail sentence, if available, will request the year-and-a-day sentence so they can be transferred to a state prison.

Criminal Attorney TampaFurther, the Criminal Attorney Tampa of Hackworth Law have had great success requesting the Florida Department of Corrections to locate our clients, who have had to go to prison, to be kept in the greater Tampa Bay area. This obviously lessens the stress and the strain on their family, who would like to visit them. Further, it permits our clients’ children to routinely visit them and maintain a relationship during their incarceration.

If you or someone you know has questions concerning a Tampa criminal defense matter, and/or a potential prison or jail sentence, contact the Criminal Attorney Tampa of Hackworth Law. Our consultations are always free, and we look forward to hearing from you. If you would like to contact one of our Criminal Attorney Tampa immediately, please use the “Contact Us Now” tab in the upper righthand corner of our website.  We also have a free, secure chat box in the lower right hand corner of our website, where you can chat with one of our attorneys, not a paralegal, assistant, intake specialist, etc.  Thank you for checking out our blog and we look forward to working with you.