Facing Deer Purchase and Public Discharge Charges in Florida? How to Defend Your Rights
You have a lot to consider before loading your gun and heading out to bag a deer in Florida. You must complete a safety course and make sure your hunting license is current with the additional deer permit. Hunting seasons vary across the state and choosing to use your gun rather than a crossbow can land you in trouble, depending on the time of year.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) oversees the sport and the state codifies much of it in Florida Statute § 379.404, which prohibits the illegal killing, taking, or possession of a deer or wild turkey. The best way to defend your rights is to study and follow the rules, but if you have questions about the charges, the team at The Umansky Law Firm can answer them.
Florida’s Hunting Zones and Seasons
Florida recognizes four hunting zones from the Panhandle, north-central Florida, central and southwest Florida, to Florida’s southern region. Knowing the season for your area is crucial, but you must also realize there is a time progression in each zone for the weapon you are permitted to use. For example, if you are hunting white-tail deer, you cannot use a firearm early in the season, which is reserved for bows and arrows, progressing to crossbows, muzzleloading guns, and finally guns in general.
If you are hunting in a public place, such as a state park, the best way to defend your rights is to ensure the area has been approved for hunting by the FWCC or the Florida Forest Service. Failing to do so generally results in a first-degree misdemeanor charge, which comes with penalties including county jail time up to one year, and up to a $1,000 fine. This can escalate to a felony depending on the circumstances.
Deer Purchase Scenarios
If you face charges for deer purchase and public discharge while hunting, your license and permit may not be valid, you probably bagged more than the number of deer allowed (two per day), or you hunted after permissible hours, using prohibitive methods or ammunition, such as stunning a deer with a bright light before shooting it with an armor-piercing bullet, trespassed on private land to hunt, or shot deer outside of hunting season or before guns are permitted in your zone.
An FWCC attorney who understands how wildlife officers view and build cases can review the charges and talk to you about defending your actions and preventing criminal charges, administrative fines, and loss of your hunting license.
Defenses for Deer Purchase Violations in Florida
Your attorney knows that a lot of FWCC cases are based on a field officers’ observations, which can be weak if rules have been misinterpreted or the charges have not been well-documented. Your attorney will scrutinize all evidence and challenge weak assertions and whether you really broke the law. The evidence the field officer gathers, such as witness testimony and photos, must corroborate the claim, and in many cases, it does not.
If you are charged with discharging your firearm, and have a previous firearm conviction, your attorney can challenge an outdated case status or misinterpretation of the National Firearms Act (NFA). Gun charges can meander into felonies, and if your charges are for a misdemeanor or felony, your attorney may be able to negotiate them back to administrative, with less draconian penalties.
Talk to a Skilled FWCC Attorney if You Are Facing Deer Purchase and Public Discharge Charges in Florida
You follow the law as best you can, but when it comes to hunting, the laws are complicated and involve not only the Florida Statutes, but the FWCC. Just because it’s hunting season in Pensacola, doesn’t mean it is the same in Seminole or Lake County. And if you are charged with deer purchase and public discharge, fighting the assertions can be stressful. The lawyers at The Umansky Law Firm successfully handle cases involving the FWCC. We understand officers’ methodology and how to negotiate or defend you against the charges for the best outcome.
