State v. Herard
The State appealed dismissal of a concealed-carry charge after the trial court retroactively applied a 2023 amendment to section 790.01 that added a new element requiring the State to prove ineligibility for a concealed-carry license. In a case of first impression under Florida's statutory savings clause, section 775.022, the Sixth DCA held the amendment could not be applied retroactively because it redefined the elements of the crime rather than reducing punishment (subsection (4)) or creating a new statutory defense (subsection (5)). Judge White dissented, concluding subsection (5)'s 'any defense' language should be read broadly to include the new eligibility element, which would have required dismissal.
Key facts
- The State appealed the trial court's dismissal of a concealed-carry charge under section 790.01 after the court retroactively applied a 2023 amendment that added a new element requiring the State to prove the defendant's ineligibility for a concealed-carry license.
- The defendant was charged with concealed carry under the pre-2023 version of section 790.01, but the trial court dismissed the charge by applying the 2023 amendment retroactively to the pending prosecution.
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Why it matters
This is the first appellate decision interpreting the interaction between subsections (4) and (5) of Florida's statutory savings clause, section 775.022, in the context of a substantive amendment to a criminal statute's… — full analysis with a trial
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