Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 782.065 (2025)

Murder; law enforcement officer, correctional officer, correctional probation officer.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section FL-LEGleg.state.fl.us JustiaFla. Statutes CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

782.065 Murder; law enforcement officer, correctional officer, correctional probation officer.—Notwithstanding ss. 775.082, 775.0823, 782.04, 782.051, and chapter 921, a defendant shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for release upon findings by the trier of fact that, beyond a reasonable doubt:

(1) The defendant committed murder in the first degree in violation of s. 782.04(1) and a death sentence was not imposed; murder in the second or third degree in violation of s. 782.04(2), (3), or (4); attempted murder in the first or second degree in violation of s. 782.04(1)(a)1. or (2); or attempted felony murder in violation of s. 782.051; and

(2) The victim of any offense described in subsection (1) was a law enforcement officer, part-time law enforcement officer, auxiliary law enforcement officer, correctional officer, part-time correctional officer, auxiliary correctional officer, correctional probation officer, part-time correctional probation officer, or auxiliary correctional probation officer, as those terms are defined in s. 943.10, engaged in the lawful performance of a legal duty.

History.—s. 1, ch. 2008-74; s. 3, ch. 2010-121; ss. 3, 7, ch. 2012-21; s. 20, ch. 2016-24; s. 24, ch. 2017-37.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2013–2025 · leading case: In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report 2017-06., 236 So. 3d 282 (Fla. 2018).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report 2017-06., 236 So. 3d 282 (Fla. 2018). · cites it 119× “1 Comment s Regarding the enhanced penalty under Fla. Stat. § 782.065 , the statute does not specify that it is an element of the offense that the defendant knew or had reason to know that the victim was a law enforcement officer, etc.”

Gangapersad Ramroop v. State of Florida, 214 So. 3d 657 (Fla. 2017). · cites it 34× “§ 782.065, Fla. Stat. (2013). Similar to section 782.”

In Re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report No. 2013-02, 137 So. 3d 995 (Fla. 2014). · cites it 42× “Lesser Included Offenses [[Image here]] *1000 Comment Regarding the enhanced penalty under Fla. Stat. § 782.065 , the statute does not specify that it is an element of the offense that the defendant knew or had reason to know that the victim was a law enforcement officer, etc.”

In Re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases— Report No. 2013-03, 146 So. 3d 1110 (Fla. 2014). · cites it 18× “Lesser Included Offenses *1114 [[Image here]] Comments Regarding the enhanced penalty under Fla. Stat. § 782.065 , the statute does not specify that it is an element of the offense that the defendant knew or had reason to know that the victim was a law enforcement officer, etc.”

Ramroop v. State, 174 So. 3d 584 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015). · cites it 52× “See § 782.065, Fla. Stat. (2013). On appeal, Ramroop argues that “[i]n order to be convicted of attempting to murder a police officer engaged in the lawful performance of his duty, the State must allege and prove that the defendant knew the victim was a police officer.”

Leronnie Lee Walton v. State of Florida, 208 So. 3d 60 (Fla. 2016). · cites it 4× “(2008) (attempted second-degree murder); § 782.065(2), Fla. Stat. (2008) (sentencing enhancement for law enforcement victim).”

Rivera v. State, 235 So. 3d 983 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017). · cites it 5× “Under section 782.065, if the jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed attempted first-degree murder and that the victim of the offense was a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of a legal duty, the defendant must be sentenced to life in…”

Smart v. State, 114 So. 3d 1048 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). · cites it 4× “The State contends that the life sentences are permissible, nevertheless, under section 782.065, which creates the crime of attempted murder of a police officer and mandates a life sentence.”

In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report 2018-08., 259 So. 3d 754 (Fla. 2018). · cites it 4× “13 for the § 782.065, Fla. Stat., reclassification when the victim is a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, etc.”

Ridge Gabriel v. State, 248 So. 3d 265 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018). · cites it 2× “2017), an opinion released after the trial in this case, the Florida Supreme Court held that section 782.065, Florida Statutes (2013), created a separate, substantive criminal offense of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and that to be convicted of this offense, one…”

In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases - Report 2019-02 (Fla. 2019). · cites it 6× “13 for the § 782.065, Fla. Stat., reclassification when the victim is a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, etc.”

Abel Navarro v. State of Florida (Fla. 5th DCA 2025). · cites it 2× “The parties stipulated that Navarro was required to be sentenced to life in prison for Count 1 pursuant to section 782.065, Florida Statutes (2024), and that Counts 2-8 carried a minimum mandatory sentence of three years in prison.”

Show all 13 citing cases →

— 782.065(1) — 1 case

Smart v. State, 114 So. 3d 1048 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). “The State contends that the life sentences are permissible, nevertheless, under section 782.065, which creates the crime of attempted murder of a police officer and mandates a life sentence.”

— 782.065(2) — 4 cases

In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report 2017-06., 236 So. 3d 282 (Fla. 2018). “1 Comment s Regarding the enhanced penalty under Fla. Stat. § 782.065 , the statute does not specify that it is an element of the offense that the defendant knew or had reason to know that the victim was a law enforcement officer, etc.”

Leronnie Lee Walton v. State of Florida, 208 So. 3d 60 (Fla. 2016). “(2008) (attempted second-degree murder); § 782.065(2), Fla. Stat. (2008) (sentencing enhancement for law enforcement victim).”

In Re Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases—report No. 2013-02, 137 So. 3d 995 (Fla. 2014). “Lesser Included Offenses [[Image here]] *1000 Comment Regarding the enhanced penalty under Fla. Stat. § 782.065 , the statute does not specify that it is an element of the offense that the defendant knew or had reason to know that the victim was a law enforcement officer, etc.”

Ward L. Kenyon v. State of Florida (Fla. 4th DCA 2025).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.