Known as the Litigation Privilege, a lawyer may make written demands of another party without fear of being prosecuted or sued for extortion, even if these same demands would constitute the crime of extortion if made by the lawyer’s client. Since the threat was not intended to be passed on, there was no crime of Extortion. It is a defense to the crime of Extortion if it can be shown that the threat was never intended to actually reach the intended target and was just an idle threat.Īn example would be if, in passing, you told a third-party you would expose a mutual friend’s affair unless he repaid a debt. In addition to the pretrial defenses and trial defenses that can be raised in any criminal case, specific defenses to the crime of Extortion are: Idle Threats A judge may sentence a person convicted of Extortion to probation, but may also sentence the person up to the statutory maximum of 15 years in prison. The crime of Extortion is a Second Degree Felony in Florida and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, 15 years of probation, and a $10,000 fine.Įxtortion is assigned a Level 6 offense severity ranking under Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code. This is in contrast to what is known as Legal Malice, which only requires that an act be committed intentionally and without any lawful justification. Compel any person to do any act or refrain from doing any act against their will.Īlthough it is a subtle distinction, under the Extortion statute, the prosecutor is required to prove the threat was committed with Actual Malice, which means “means ill will, hatred, spite, evil intent.”.Extort money or any pecuniary advantage or.Impute any deformity or lack of chastity to another.Expose any secret affecting another or.Injure the person, property or reputation of another.Accuse another of any crime or offense. Under Florida Statute 836.05, the crime of Extortion is committed when a person maliciously threatens to: Extortion in Florida Extortion is a Second Degree Felony in Florida.
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