The Floor the Judge Cannot Touch
Section 775.087, the law everyone calls 10-20-Life, is the most dangerous statute in a Florida gun case. When a firearm is involved in a qualifying felony, it does two separate things. It can reclassify the felony to a higher degree, and it imposes a mandatory minimum prison term that the court must impose and cannot suspend, defer, or withhold, with no gain time and no discretionary early release until the minimum is served day for day. The judge’s hands are tied, which is exactly why prosecutors lean on it and why the defense has to engage it from the first week.
| What happened with the firearm | Mandatory minimum |
|---|---|
| Possessed during a qualifying felony | 10 years (3 years for felon in possession or burglary of a conveyance) |
| Discharged during a qualifying felony | 20 years |
| Discharge caused death or great bodily harm | 25 years to life |
| Semiautomatic with a high-capacity magazine, or a machine gun | 15 years, rising to 20, then 25 to life |
These are mandatory minimum prison terms a judge cannot sentence below, set by what was done with the firearm during a qualifying felony. Section 775.087.
It Applies Per Count, and the Counts Stack
This is the part that turns a single incident into a sentence measured in decades, and it is written into the statute. Section 775.087(2)(d) directs that the court shall impose the minimum term for each qualifying felony for which the person is convicted, and that when a person is convicted of multiple qualifying felonies, the court shall impose those minimum terms consecutively, meaning one after another rather than at the same time. Section 775.087(2)(e) goes further, allowing the court to stack a qualifying felony’s minimum consecutively onto any other felony that is not on the list. So a single episode with several counts, several victims, or several charges can pile ten-year and twenty-year floors on top of one another until the total dwarfs anything the conduct alone would suggest. Florida courts have litigated for years exactly when these minimums must run consecutively rather than concurrently, particularly for counts arising from a single criminal episode, as recognized in State v. Christian, 692 So. 2d 889 (Fla. 1997), and later in Williams v. State, 186 So. 3d 989 (Fla. 2016), which is why the consecutive-versus-concurrent question is itself worth fighting in any multi-count case.
What Possession Means for the Minimum
The minimum does not attach to just any possession. For the 10-20-Life floors, section 775.087(4) defines possession as carrying the firearm on the person, or having it within immediate physical reach with ready access and with the intent to use it during the offense, and the State must prove that beyond a reasonable doubt. That definition is narrower than the constructive possession that can support an ordinary possession charge, so a case where the firearm was nearby but not on the person, or where intent to use it is thin, is a case where the minimum itself can be challenged even if a conviction stands.
The Qualifying Felonies
The minimums attach only to an enumerated list of felonies, which includes murder, sexual battery, robbery, burglary, arson, aggravated battery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, carjacking, home-invasion robbery, aggravated stalking, drug trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a felon, among others. Whether the underlying charge truly qualifies, and whether the State can prove every element that triggers the enhancement, is the first thing to test, because if the predicate falls, the floor falls with it.
How a 10-20-Life Case Is Fought
Because the minimum is the real adversary, the defense aims at what creates it. That means testing whether the underlying felony qualifies, whether the State can prove possession or discharge as the statute defines them, whether the firearm was a real and operable firearm at all, the consecutive-versus-concurrent question on multiple counts, and, underneath everything, whether the search that produced the gun was lawful, on the search and seizure page. Where the case involves a claimed self-defense use, the Stand Your Ground immunity path can end it entirely.
Related: Weapons charges overview, Felon in possession, Stand Your Ground, and How sentencing works.
I started as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Tampa, and I am one of six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in the state. A gun case is rarely as airtight as the arrest report makes it sound, and the gaps are where the defense lives. Learn more about my background.
Common Questions
What is Florida's 10-20-Life law?
Section 775.087 imposes mandatory minimum prison terms when a firearm is involved in a qualifying felony: ten years for possessing it, twenty years for discharging it, and twenty-five years to life if the discharge causes death or great bodily harm. The court must impose the minimum and cannot suspend, withhold, or grant gain time before it is served.
Can the 10-20-Life minimums stack and run consecutively?
Yes, and this is what makes the statute so severe. Section 775.087(2)(d) requires the court to impose the minimum for each qualifying felony and to run multiple qualifying minimums consecutively, and section 775.087(2)(e) allows stacking a qualifying minimum onto a non-qualifying felony. A single incident with multiple counts can therefore carry floors that add up to decades, though when consecutive minimums are required has been heavily litigated.
What counts as possession for the mandatory minimum?
Less than people assume. For the 10-20-Life floors, section 775.087(4) defines possession as carrying the firearm on the person, or having it within immediate physical reach with ready access and the intent to use it during the offense, proven beyond a reasonable doubt. A firearm that was merely nearby may not meet that definition, which can defeat the minimum even where a conviction stands.
Can a judge sentence below the 10-20-Life minimum?
Not on the judge's own authority. The court cannot suspend, defer, or withhold the minimum or grant gain time before it is served. The realistic paths below the floor are to defeat the enhancement by showing the predicate felony does not qualify or that possession or discharge cannot be proven, to win suppression, or to negotiate a resolution that removes the qualifying element.
Does 10-20-Life apply to a BB gun or an inoperable gun?
The minimums apply to a firearm or destructive device as those terms are defined by statute, so whether the object qualifies as a firearm, and whether the State can prove it, is a real question. The classification and operability of the weapon are among the points the defense examines before conceding that the enhancement applies at all.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The 10-20-Life statute imposes mandatory minimum sentences, and which minimum applies turns on the specific charge and facts. Firearm law in Florida is changing, so confirm how the current rule applies to your facts with counsel. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
