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Santiago: Florida probation and adjudication withheld is a "conviction"

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Santiago, No. 09-10466 (April 2, 2010), the Court held that a guilty plea followed by a sentence of probation and a withholding of adjudication under Florida law qualified as a prior ?conviction? for purposes of enhancing an offender?s sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).Rejecting the defendant?s interpretation of the statute, the Court noted that the determination whether a prior judgment should be treated as a ?conviction? was a matter of State law. Here, Florida?s habitual offender law expressly provided that a sentence of probation without an adjudication of guilty ?shall be treated as a prior conviction.? Thus, Santiago?s prior judgment, along with two other prior convictions, qualified him for the enhanced sentence.

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on April 02, 2010 (boomark / email).