Ponall Law

05/14/2026

The Florida Supreme Court issued its decision in the Marcus Maye case, which involved our challenge to the constitutionality of the Prison Releasee Reoffender (PRR) Statute. Unfortunately, the Court did not rule in Mr. Maye's favor. The Court did not specifically address whether the statute is constitutional but concluded that the challenge was not properly raised in a Rule 3.800(a) Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence.

We respectfully disagree with the Court's decision and rationale, and its choice not to address the constitutionality of the statute. We continue to believe that the straightforward application of United States Supreme Court precedent required that the statute be declared facially unconstitutional.

In our opinion, Justice Labarga's dissent properly applies the law to conclude that the statute must be invalidated and that Mr. Maye is entitled to a resentencing hearing without application of the PRR statute.

We are in the process of reviewing the opinion to determine whether we will be filing a motion for rehearing in the Florida Supreme Court or seeking further review in the United States Supreme Court.

The fight continues. May justice prevail!

04/14/2026

Big win for Laura Cepero and Ponall Law -Rule 3.850 Motion for Postconviction Relief Granted!
Laura successfully argued to the Court that our client is entitled to the benefit of a plea agreement that was lost when the trial attorneys failed to timely comply with Court’s deadline for
negotiated pleas
Laura’s persuasive use of the relevant caselaw and the Rules of the Florida Bar regarding diligent representation of clients convinced the Court to grant the motion
We are excited that our client will be receive a 7-year sentence reduction - Justice Prevails!

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03/10/2026

Oral argument at the new Second DCA Courthouse - Constitutional right to a unanimous jury verdict and erroneous jury instructions reducing the State’s burden of proof

May Justice Prevail!

03/04/2026

William Ponall, along with co-counsel W. Charles Fletcher, will be arguing before the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday March 4, 2026, in Linden v. State, Case No. SC2025-0054 - Argument is set to begin at approximately 9:40 am.

The argument can be viewed live at the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/floridasupremecourt/

There are two issues before the Florida Supreme Court

(1) whether the 2016 version of the Prison Releasee Reoffender ("PRR") statute, as interpreted by the Florida Supreme Court in 2018, applies to Mr. Linden and renders his 15-year PRR sentence invalid, because he was released from the county jail and not from a state prison facility; and

(2) whether the PRR statute is unconstitutional on its face pursuant to United States Supreme Court's decisions in Apprendi and Erlinger, because the statute requires imposition of a mandatory minimum and maximum sentence based on findings of fact made by the trial judge by a preponderance of the evidence instead of by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. This is the same issue that remains pending before the Florida Supreme Court in the Marcus Maye case.

May Justice Prevail!

https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/case-information/Oral-Arguments/oral-argument-summaries-and-schedule/march-2026-summaries

Florida Supreme Court

02/24/2026

Laura Cepero and Bill Ponall appeared in Manatee County at a postconviction evidentiary hearing this week. The hearing went extremely well. Laura made a compelling argument in favor of our client's sentence being substantially reduced. We are hopeful the Court will rule in our favor. May Justice Prevail!

01/20/2026

Great result for Ponall Law last week!
Laura Cepero diligently prepared for a Rule 3.850 evidentiary hearing in a First Degree Murder case. Shortly before the hearing, Laura successfully negotiated a resolution with the State that reduced our client’s sentence from Life to 20 years in prison. We are grateful that our client now has a release date to look forward to.

11/14/2025

Bill Ponall before the Sixth DCA on Thursday - Pursuing justice by arguing that his client's Fourth Amendment rights were violated

11/14/2025

Laura Cepero of Ponall Law argued before the Fifth District Court of Appeal this past Wednesday - Ponall Law had hearings in Bradenton, Daytona Beach, and Orlando this week - Our firm continues to purse justice around the State

10/26/2025

Big win for Laura Cepero of Ponall Law
Laura successfully argued to the Fifth District Court of Appeal that the circuit court improperly denied all 7 claims of our client's Rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief - our client will now get the hearing he deserves -Justice prevails!

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04/04/2025

Huge win for Ponall Law and Eric Sorice!
As lead counsel in this appeal, Eric Sorice successfully argued for reversal of a serious conviction and a 25-year minimum mandatory sentence. Great opinion from the Sixth DCA based on statutory construction and the plain language of the statute -Justice prevails!

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01/03/2025

Big news for Ponall Law it in its continued efforts to challenge the constitutionality of Florida's Prison Releasee Reoffender statute. The Florida Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument in Maye v. State, for Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 9am.

Ponall Law has been litigating this issue in the Florida trial and appellate courts for more than 5 years. We remain optimistic that the Supreme Court will rule in our favor.

May Justice Prevail!

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