Her first work published and an opinion in favor of her client by the highest court in the state amounted to a pretty good week for Diana Johnson.
The 4th Circuit assistant public defender in March argued an appeal before the Florida Supreme Court that her client, found guilty of trafficking illegal drugs, should have his sentence reduced to felony possession. Trafficking carried a prison term of seven to 30 years, while possession carried up to five years.
Her client, Baron Greenwade, was arrested in 2011 after police collected nine separate baggies with white powder. They were field tested by officers using kits, but not chemically tested, before all of the evidence was combined by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The combined evidence merited a more serious charge of trafficking.
The crux of Johnson's argument was that the bags should not have been combined, or "commingled," and should have individually been chemically tested to determine that each contained drugs.
The court agreed and issued a 5-2 opinion written by Justice Fred Lewis that was released Thursday.
"It's a win for all defendants in the state of Florida," Johnson said Friday.
She said she was hopeful of a decision by December, but that some opinions can take more than a year to be issued.
And, while she said she typically is comfortable in front of a single judge, arguing before seven judges for the first time had her "extremely nervous."
"I'm not used to that," she said.
In addition to the ruling in her client's favor, Johnson also became a published legal author last week. Her work was part of the 13th edition of "Florida Juvenile Law and Practice."
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