NACDL - Sec’y, Dept. of Corrections v. Shelton

Sec’y, Dept. of Corrections v. Shelton

Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Calvert Institute for Policy Research, the Cato Institute, the Reason Foundation, the Libertarian Law Council, and 38 law professors from across the United States.

Sec’y, Dept. of Corrections v. Shelton

Brief Details

Case No.: 11-13515-G
Brief Filed: October 31, 2011
Jurisdiction: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

Key Topics in the Brief

White Collar | Due Process | Mens Rea | Strict Liability | Felony Drug Laws

Briefs

Florida-Department-of-Corrections-v-Shelton.pdf

Argument(s)

Florida’s strict liability felony drug law runs afoul of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and is inconsistent with centuries of common law. In addition, the state cannot shift the burden of proof to the defendant to disprove an essential element of an offense.

Author(s)

Todd Foster of Cohen, Foster & Romaine, P.A. in Tampa, Fla., David O. Markus of Markus & Markus in Miami, Fla., and Quintin Chatman, Ivan J. Dominguez, Tiffany Joslyn, Jack King, and Norman L. Reimer, all at NACDL.