BenchRecon Data Study · Florida
Florida felony sentencing scoresheets: the guideline floor, departures, and pleas across 70,278 sentencing events.
We aggregated 70,278 Florida felony sentencing events from the state's public FDLE FDC Sentencing Scoresheet file into 1,180 county-by-statute cells across 60 counties, showing how often sentences fall below the Criminal Punishment Code guideline floor, how often cases resolve by plea, and how far the imposed prison term sits from the computed minimum, by charge and county.
Statewide, 22.1% of these sentencing events imposed a state-prison sentence, 74.7% resolved by plea, and 3.2% were flagged as a mitigated (downward) departure below the guideline floor. The departure rate only has teeth where the floor exceeds 0 months: 40.8% of events scored a floor above 0.
“Lowest permissible sentence” is the Criminal Punishment Code guideline floor (F.S. 921.0024), the minimum a judge may impose without a written departure. A 0-month floor means the offense scored below the state-prison threshold, so any non-prison sanction is already guideline-compliant. Sentence dates span 2021-07-01 to 2022-06-30.
Aggregate analysis. Reproducible from public records. The source record is de-identified (the offender is a system GUID) and contains no judge identifier, so no claim is made about any individual defendant or judge. This study reports past outcomes only; it is not a prediction for any case.
What the scoresheets show
Every Florida felony sentencing runs through a Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet that totals points for the primary offense, additional offenses, prior record, victim injury, and other factors, and computes a lowest permissible sentence — the guideline floor. A judge who sentences below that floor must record a mitigated departure. Aggregated, the scoresheets make visible what the case-disposition data cannot: how often the floor is non-zero in the first place, how often courts depart below it, how often cases plead, and how far the imposed prison term sits from the computed minimum.
Those four measures vary by county for the same statute. The per-county tables below report them for each county's highest-volume primary-offense statutes, alongside the statewide baseline for the same statute so the local figure can be read in context. This is a different lens from BenchRecon's county-by-charge disposition study, which uses the FDLE Clerk-of-Court data and reports incarceration, adjudication-withheld, and diversion rates — measures the scoresheet file does not carry, and vice versa.
Statewide, by primary-offense statute
The highest-volume primary-offense statutes statewide, with the guideline floor (mean lowest permissible), the state-prison rate, the plea rate, and the mitigated-departure rate. The departure column shows the share of all events, then in parentheses the share among only the floor-eligible events (guideline floor > 0, the only events that can take a downward departure). “Floor” reads low for offenses that mostly score below the state-prison threshold.
| Statute | Offense | Events | State prison | Plea | Mitigated departure (floor-eligible) | Mean floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 893.13(6)(A) | POSS.CONTROL.SUBS/OTHER | 14,854 | 8.5% | 74.4% | 2.2% (11.1%) | 4.9 mo |
| 893.13(1)(A)1 | COCAINE-SALE/MANUF/DELIV. | 2,410 | 32.4% | 77.5% | 5.1% (8.7%) | 16.5 mo |
| 810.02(4) | BURGUNOCCSTRUC/CV OR ATT. | 2,407 | 21.1% | 68.6% | 1.6% (4.3%) | 9.4 mo |
| 812.014(2)(C)1 | GRAND THEFT $750+LT5K | 1,653 | 9% | 67.1% | 1.1% (8.7%) | 3.6 mo |
| 784.021(1)(A) | AGG ASSLT-W/WPN NO INTENT TO K | 1,445 | 22.6% | 73.4% | 4.4% (8.1%) | 16 mo |
| 790.01(2) | CARRYING CONCEALED FIREARM | 1,421 | 4.4% | 69.7% | 0.8% (5.1%) | 1.8 mo |
| 812.014(2)(C)6 | GRAND THEFT MOTOR VEHICLE | 1,420 | 18% | 69.8% | 2.5% (7.7%) | 8.2 mo |
| 812.019(1) | TRAFFIC IN STOLEN PROPERTY | 1,354 | 26.5% | 78.2% | 4.4% (7.5%) | 16.3 mo |
| 790.23(3) | FEL/DELI W/GUN/CONC WPN/AMMO | 1,261 | 43% | 69.3% | 3.6% (5.9%) | 14205.9 mo |
| 812.014(3)(C) | PETIT THEFT/3RD CONVICTION | 1,224 | 8.5% | 69.4% | 1.1% (6%) | 5 mo |
| 843.01 | RESISTING OFFICER W/VIOLEN. | 1,186 | 18.2% | 73.5% | 3.8% (10.4%) | 10.3 mo |
| 784.03(2) | 2+ SIMPLE BATTERY | 911 | 12.6% | 77.1% | 0.7% (3.7%) | 4.2 mo |
| 784.07(2)(B) | BATT.LEO/FIRFGT/EMS/ETC. | 895 | 13.6% | 73.5% | 1.6% (6.4%) | 5.2 mo |
| 322.34(2)(C) | FELONY DWLSR | 822 | 6% | 73.2% | 1% (7.8%) | 3.6 mo |
| 810.02(3)(B) | BURGL UNOCC DWELLING | 767 | 43.3% | 66.2% | 6.3% (6.5%) | 48.2 mo |
Methodology & limitations
Source & method
- Source: public Florida FDLE Criminal Justice Data Transparency (CJDT) FDC Sentencing Scoresheet base file. Fiscal year analyzed: FY2021-22 (sentence dates 2021-07-01 to 2022-06-30).
- Population: 70,278 felony sentencing events across 60 counties, grouped into 1,180 county × primary-offense-statute cells of at least 10 events. The grain is one sentencing event, not one defendant.
- Lowest permissible sentence (the floor): the Criminal Punishment Code minimum the scoresheet computes (F.S. 921.0024), in months. A judge may not sentence below it without a written departure. It is 0 for offenses scoring below the state-prison threshold.
- Mitigated departure: the official scoresheet flag for a sentence below the lowest permissible sentence. Reported as the share of events in the cell. Only meaningful where the floor exceeds 0; 40.8% of events statewide scored a floor above 0.
- State-prison rate & prison term: the share of events imposing a state-prison sentence, and the mean / median prison term in months. The median is computed only over state-prison sentences with a positive term and only where at least 10 such events exist.
- Small cells suppressed: any county × statute cell with fewer than 10 sentencing events is excluded from every figure, for statistical reliability and privacy.
- Reproducible: every figure is regenerated by streaming the public source CSV (scripts/compute-fl-scoresheet-study.mjs), and the aggregate is published as a downloadable CSV.
What the data does NOT show
- No judge dimension. The scoresheet record is de-identified and carries no judge identifier. Nothing here describes how any individual judge sentences.
- These figures describe recorded sentencing events; they do not control for criminal history beyond what the scoresheet scores, offense severity within a statute, the facts of any case, or plea terms.
- The plea rate is a floor where reporting is sparse. The plea field is populated unevenly across counties; a very low county plea rate reflects the recorded share, not a measured trial rate.
- Not time-normalized beyond the fiscal year. The figures pool every FY2021-22 sentencing event in the file and are not normalized within the year.
- A county's rate for a statute is a baseline, not a prediction for any specific case.
- No individual defendant, sentencing event, or case is identified. This study reports aggregates only.
By county
Per-county breakdowns, sentencing-event volume and the state-prison rate for 60 Florida counties:
- BROWARD, 6,154 events · 17% state prison
- HILLSBOROUGH, 5,041 events · 5.5% state prison
- VOLUSIA, 4,595 events · 28.4% state prison
- PALM BEACH, 3,737 events · 28.2% state prison
- BREVARD, 3,602 events · 18.3% state prison
- ORANGE, 3,365 events · 6.4% state prison
- PINELLAS, 3,318 events · 20.1% state prison
- BAY, 3,024 events · 28.4% state prison
- LEE, 2,824 events · 23.9% state prison
- POLK, 2,782 events · 40.8% state prison
- DUVAL, 2,750 events · 31.5% state prison
- SARASOTA, 2,445 events · 16% state prison
- PASCO, 2,163 events · 20.2% state prison
- ST. LUCIE, 1,983 events · 33.4% state prison
- MANATEE, 1,904 events · 22.3% state prison
- ESCAMBIA, 1,681 events · 29.2% state prison
- MIAMI-DADE, 1,628 events · 16.3% state prison
- SEMINOLE, 1,477 events · 13% state prison
- OSCEOLA, 1,336 events · 9.4% state prison
- CHARLOTTE, 1,137 events · 23.5% state prison
- COLLIER, 1,089 events · 22.8% state prison
- ALACHUA, 1,065 events · 33.4% state prison
- COLUMBIA, 963 events · 34.7% state prison
- ST. JOHNS, 898 events · 21.3% state prison
- SANTA ROSA, 805 events · 21.5% state prison
- MARTIN, 665 events · 33.5% state prison
- INDIAN RIVER, 611 events · 24.1% state prison
- MONROE, 578 events · 24.6% state prison
- OKEECHOBEE, 534 events · 29.8% state prison
- SUWANNEE, 422 events · 36% state prison
- DESOTO, 421 events · 32.5% state prison
- HOLMES, 416 events · 16.3% state prison
- PUTNAM, 403 events · 28.8% state prison
- JACKSON, 386 events · 28% state prison
- TAYLOR, 359 events · 24.2% state prison
- WASHINGTON, 338 events · 19.5% state prison
- WALTON, 263 events · 31.2% state prison
- GADSDEN, 219 events · 21.9% state prison
- HENDRY, 214 events · 12.6% state prison
- DIXIE, 196 events · 30.6% state prison
- OKALOOSA, 188 events · 20.2% state prison
- HAMILTON, 179 events · 32.4% state prison
- NASSAU, 175 events · 41.1% state prison
- CALHOUN, 166 events · 24.7% state prison
- BRADFORD, 158 events · 39.2% state prison
- FLAGLER, 148 events · 14.9% state prison
- WAKULLA, 141 events · 7.8% state prison
- LEVY, 139 events · 23% state prison
- MADISON, 116 events · 33.6% state prison
- BAKER, 113 events · 32.7% state prison
- LIBERTY, 113 events · 12.4% state prison
- FRANKLIN, 111 events · 14.4% state prison
- UNION, 105 events · 37.1% state prison
- HARDEE, 104 events · 29.8% state prison
- GULF, 95 events · 25.3% state prison
- SUMTER, 87 events · 16.1% state prison
- LAFAYETTE, 86 events · 10.5% state prison
- GILCHRIST, 80 events · 10% state prison
- GLADES, 68 events · 16.2% state prison
- LEON, 10 events · sample too small for rates
Cite this analysis
Journalists and researchers, please link to this page as the source.
BenchRecon, “Florida felony sentencing scoresheets: how often sentences fall below the guideline floor, by charge and county” (FDLE FDC Sentencing Scoresheet data, FY2021-22). https://benchrecon.com/florida/sentencing-scoresheet-data
Download the full aggregate as a CSV file (one row per county and statute) to reproduce or re-analyze any figure. For the companion disposition study from the Clerk-of-Court data, see the Florida sentencing-data study.
Get the comparables for your charge and county
This study reports statewide and county scoresheet patterns. BenchRecon's Florida Sentencing Comparables go further, returning the outcome distribution for a specific charge in a specific Florida county, with every figure cited to the underlying record.
Common questions
- What is a Florida sentencing scoresheet, and where does this data come from?
- Under the Criminal Punishment Code (F.S. 921.0024), every Florida felony sentencing produces a scoresheet that totals points and computes a "lowest permissible sentence" — the guideline floor a judge may not go below without a written departure. This study aggregates 70,278 of those scoresheets from the public FDLE FDC Sentencing Scoresheet base file (FY2021-22), grouped by county and primary-offense statute. It is reproducible from the public source and identifies no individual.
- What does the 'mitigated departure' rate mean?
- It is the share of sentencing events flagged on the scoresheet as a mitigated (downward) departure — a sentence below the lowest permissible sentence the guidelines compute. Statewide it was 3.2% of all events. The figure is only meaningful where the guideline floor exceeds 0 months; 40.8% of events scored a floor above 0 (the rest scored below the state-prison threshold, where a non-prison sentence is already guideline-compliant and "departure" does not apply).
- Why is the mean 'lowest permissible' often 0 months?
- Most Florida felonies score below the state-prison threshold on the scoresheet. When the total sentence points are low enough, the lowest permissible sentence is 0 months, meaning the guidelines permit any non-prison sanction. A 0 floor is not an error; it reflects that the offense did not score into the mandatory state-prison range. The page reports the share of events whose floor exceeds 0 so the departure rate is read in context.
- Is the plea rate exact?
- It is the share of events flagged as resolved by plea rather than trial. Statewide it was 74.7%. The plea field is populated unevenly across counties, so where a county's plea rate looks implausibly low it should be read as a floor (the recorded share), not as a measured trial rate.
- Does this data show how individual judges sentence?
- No. The FDC Sentencing Scoresheet record is de-identified — the offender is a system-generated GUID — and it contains no judge identifier. This analysis makes no claim about any individual judge or defendant. It reports outcomes at the county and primary-offense-statute level only.
- Can I use these figures for a specific case?
- These are statewide and county aggregates and a starting point for understanding typical scoresheet outcomes by charge and county. They describe past sentencing events and are not a prediction for any specific case. For comparables tailored to a specific charge and county, see the Florida Sentencing Comparables tool.