Depending on when you were convicted, if you are serving a drug possession conviction, you may be able to argue that Florida’s drug possession law was invalid on its face.
Florida, in its zeal, passed a “law” which made you a convicted felon even if you did not know that the substance at issue was actually a drug. In spite of litigation before Florida courts, no due process violation was specifically dealt with.
The statute violates the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution because:
- The penalties are too severe (might be ok if very minimal penalty).
- The stigma that you suffer for a Felony drug conviction significant.
- This statute which removes from the State the requirement of proving that you knew that you possessed a controlled substance regulates inherently innocent conduct.
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando recently found that this “strict liability crime” was unconstitutional in the context of a Motion for Post Conviction Relief pursuant to Title 28 § 2254. The state had argued that the defendant could raise “lack of knowledge” as an affirmative, but the Court recognized that the burden of proving knowledge was the duty of the State; and that the defendant would have to prove affirmative defense of lack of knowledge–shifting of burden.
