Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
On April 30, 2010, Donte Lorenzo Dawson was arrested for second degree murder in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. The next day, he was declared indigent and the Office of the Public Defender was appointed to represent him. Mr. Dawson was not given a bond. According to the the State of Florida’s Motion to Set Bond, the Assistant State Attorney made a recommendation that the Mr. Dawson be held without bond.
Pursuant to Rule 3.131 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, “unless charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by life imprisonment and the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption is great, every person charged with a crime or violation of municipal or county ordinance shall be entitled to pretrial release on reasonable conditions. If no conditions of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to persons, assure the presence of the accused at trial, or assure the integrity of the judicial process, the accused may be detained.”
In Jacksonville, Florida, Second degree murder is a first degree felony punishable by life imprisonment. However, the State of Florida still needs to establish that “proof of guilt is evidence or the presumption is great” before Mr. Dawson’s bond can be set at none. Therefore, Mr. Dawson’s Jacksonville Homicide Attorney can file a motion for bond in this case to ask the court to set a bond and present evidence in Mr. Dawson’s favor.