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Florida Statute 27.366 - Full Text and Legal Analysis Florida Statute 27.366 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Fla. Stat. § 27.366 (2026) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Amendments
27.366 Legislative intent and policy in cases meeting criteria of s. 775.087(2) and (3).It is the intent of the Legislature that convicted criminal offenders who meet the criteria in s. 775.087(2) and (3) be sentenced to the minimum mandatory prison terms provided therein. It is the intent of the Legislature to establish zero tolerance of criminals who use, threaten to use, or avail themselves of firearms in order to commit crimes and thereby demonstrate their lack of value for human life. It is also the intent of the Legislature that prosecutors should appropriately exercise their discretion in those cases in which the offenders’ possession of the firearm is incidental to the commission of a crime and not used in furtherance of the crime, used in order to commit the crime, or used in preparation to commit the crime. For every case in which the offender meets the criteria in this act and does not receive the mandatory minimum prison sentence, the state attorney must explain the sentencing deviation in writing and place such explanation in the case file maintained by the state attorney.
History.s. 2, ch. 99-12; s. 1, ch. 2011-200; s. 4, ch. 2015-2; s. 3, ch. 2016-7.

Cases Citing F.S. 27.366

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·State v. Vanderhoff, 14 So. 3d 1185 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 9364, 2009 WL 1703267

...t sentencing discretion from the judicial branch, and instead, placed it in the executive branch by establishing a mandatory minimum sentencing scheme. See Green v. State, 792 So.2d 643 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001); see also § 775.087(2), Fla. Stat. (2005); § 27.366(1), Fla....
...ard departure under the Criminal Punishment Code, could also allow the trial court to waive a minimum mandatory sentence. [1] This is error, as only the State Attorney has the discretion to waive the minimum mandatory sentence implicated here. See §§ 27.366, 775.087(5), Fla....
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Cited as authorityYeomans (2015)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authority(citing case) (2011)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authorityLosh (2011)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·Connolly, Jr. v. State, 172 So. 3d 893 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 11352

...In 1999, the Florida Legislature specifically addressed the application of subsections (2) and (3) of section 775.087, regarding the imposition of minimum mandatory prison terms for criminals who possess firearms during the commission of an offense. In section 27.366, Florida Statutes (1999), the Florida Legislature specified that whenever a criminal offender meets the criteria in sections 775.087(2) and (3), and a minimum mandatory sentence is not imposed, the State Attorney must explain why th...
...discretion in those cases in which the offenders’ possession of the firearm is incidental to the commission of the crime and not used in furtherance of the crime, used in order to commit the crime, or used in preparation to commit the crime.” Id. Section 27.366 reads in full as follows: 58 It is the intent of the Legislature that convicted criminal offenders who meet the criteria in s....
...For every case in which the offender meets the criteria in this act and does not receive the mandatory minimum prison sentence, the state attorney must explain the sentencing deviation in writing and place such explanation in the case file maintained by the state attorney. Although section 27.366 is directed to subsections (2) and (3) of section 775.087, because section 775.087(1) does not include the “related to” or the “in furtherance of” language, and the Florida Legislature has expressed its zero tolerance for th...
...2d DCA 1983). 38 The majority posits that the Legislature has expressed its intent that the maximum punishment be imposed for people who possess a firearm during the commission of criminal offenses, relying upon the legislative intent contained in section 27.366, 114 If, as the majority concludes, Connolly’s actions as principal in the instant case fall within the ambit of the reclassification statute, so too would the actions of the hypothetical Principal in the following scenarios....
...waiters, raises his hunting knife and yells at the waiter “I will cut you with this knife if you don’t bring us some more bread.” Under the Florida Statutes. See majority op. at 58-59. There are two flaws with this position: first, section 27.366 was enacted in 1999, eighteen years after John Callahan was murdered. Second, and as even the majority concedes, section 27.366, makes no reference whatsoever to the reclassification subsection (775.087(1)), limiting its expressed legislative intent to the minimum mandatory subsections of section 775.087 (§§ 775.087(2) and (3)). As the majority asserts elsewhere in its opinion, we must presume that “the Legislature chose its words carefully when drafting” section 27.366 115 statutory language as construed by the majority, Principal’s conviction for the second-degree murder may be reclassified because “during the commission of” the felony, Principal “th...
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Cited as authority(citing case) (2026)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authority(citing case) (2023)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authority(citing case) (2021)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·Clowers v. State, 31 So. 3d 962 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 4863, 2010 WL 1444885

...sed death or great bodily harm. Section 775.087(2)(a), the "10-20-life" law, is an enhancement provision, under which a criminal sentence may be heightened if the perpetrator has carried or used a weapon or firearm in the commission of a felony. See § 27.366(1), Fla....
0 red0 yellow3 green0 procedural
Cited as authority(citing case) (2016)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authorityPitts (2016)
phrase: "rule_authority"
Cited as authority(citing case) (2015)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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·State v. Kelly, 147 So. 3d 1061 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 14098, 2014 WL 4851776

...948.01, adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, and the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain-time . . . prior to serving the minimum sentence. § 775.087(2)(a) 1.c, (b), Fla. Stat. (2014). While section 27.366 of the Florida Statutes accords prosecutors with the discretion to waive imposition of minimum mandatory sentences, such leeway has not been accorded to the courts. § 27.366, Fla....
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Cited as authorityHerrera-Fernandez (2019)
phrase: "rule_authority"
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State v. Kelly, 138 So. 3d 1169 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2014 WL 2116364, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 7707

...948.01, adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, and the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain-time ... prior to serving the minimum sentence. § 775.087(2)(a)l.c, (b), Fla. Stat. (2014). While section 27.366 of the Florida Statutes accords prosecutors with the discre *1171 tion to waive imposition of minimum mandatory sentences, such leeway has not been accorded to the courts. § 27.366, Fla....
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Losh v. State, 51 So. 3d 1188 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 17, 2011 WL 13729

...rt was not without discretion given the negotiated plea. Unlike the trial court, the prosecutor had the authority to dispense with the firearm-based mandatory term at issue. See generally State v. Vanderhoff, 14 So.3d 1185, 1189 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009); § 27.366, Fla....

This Florida statute resource is curated by Florida Bar member Graham W. Syfert, a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.