LENA MAE CARTER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1984-06-07
No. 83-1761
COBB and COWART, JJ., concur.
452 So. 2d 953 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1984) Negative Treatment
Cited by 142 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Lena Mae Carter appealed the revocation of her probation and an 18-month sentence, challenging whether the trial court properly calculated her sentence under Florida's sentencing guidelines. The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that while the trial court erred in adding points for being under legal constraint, a probation violation may serve as a legitimate basis for exceeding the presumptive sentence if proper written findings are made.


Holding

The trial court erred in adding thirty-six points to the guidelines score sheet for being under legal constraint, as Carter was not under legal constraint when she committed the offense for which she was being sentenced. However, a violation of probation may serve as a legitimate basis for exceeding the presumptive sentence established in the guidelines, provided the trial judge states the basis in writing.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may err by adding points to a sentencing guidelines score sheet for a violation of probation if the defendant was not under legal constraint at the time of…

[2] A violation of probation may serve as a basis for imposing a sentence higher than the recommended range under sentencing guidelines, provided appropriate findings are mad…

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Key Quotes

“Carter was not under any legal constraint at the time she committed the offense for which she was being sentenced.”

Establishes that the trial court's addition of thirty-six points for legal constraint was improper because Carter was not actually under legal constraint when committing the offense.

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Facts & Procedural History

Carter pleaded guilty on April 10, 1981, to resisting an officer with violence and was placed on probation for three years. On June 24, 1983, the stat…

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Opinion of the Court
SHARP, Judge.

SHARP, Judge.

Carter appeals from the revocation of her probation and sentence of eighteen months. The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial judge properly calculated the sentence under the new sentencing guidelines. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701. We think the trial court erroneously added points to the sentencing guidelines score sheet for Carter’s violation of probation, thereby pushing the sentence beyond the recommended maximum range. However, we think that violation of probation may serve as a basis for imposing a sentence higher than the recommended range, upon appropriate findings by the court. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(6) & (11).

In this case appellant pleaded guilty on April 10, 1981, to resisting an officer with violence,1 and was placed on probation for three years. On June 24, 1983, the state filed an affidavit of violation of probation:

affiant has reason to believe that probationer has committed offenses against the laws of the State of Florida in that probationer committed the offense of Battery on a Police Officer, Trespass After Warning, Criminal Mischief, and Resisting an Officer with Violence on 5/15/82 in Winter Garden, FL.

Appellant pleaded guilty to the violation of probation charge of resisting an officer with violence, and was sentenced on November 8, 1983.

In calculating Carter’s sentence, the court employed the new sentencing guidelines.2 It added thirty-six points to the score sheet because appellant was on probation for the offense for which she was being sentenced. The court determined that this constituted being under “legal constraint” at the time the offense for which appellant was being sentenced was committed. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.988(d)(IV). But, Carter was not under any legal constraint at the time she committed the offense for which she was sentenced. See Duggar v. State, 446 So. 2d 222 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).

However, we think that a violation of probation may serve as a legitimate reason to exceed the presumptive sentence established in the guidelines in the discretion of the trial judge, provided the basis is stated in writing. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(ll).3 Accordingly, we vacate the sentence and remand this cause for resentencing.

SENTENCE VACATED AND CASE REMANDED.

COBB and COWART, JJ., concur. . § 843.01, Fla.Stat. (1979).

. The state argues that the trial court erred in sentencing appellant under the guidelines since they were not in effect at the time the offense was committed. This argument has been rejected by the First District Court of Appeal in Duggar v. State, 446 So. 2d 222 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).

. We note that effective February, 1984, the Sentencing Guidelines Commission amended Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701(d) as follows: "The sentence imposed after revocation of probation may be included within the original cell (guidelines range) or may be increased to the next highest cell (guideline range) without requiring a reason for departure.” The Florida Bar: Amendment to Rules of Criminal Procedure (3.701; 3.988—Sentencing Guidelines), No. 65,216 (Fla. May 8, 1984) [1984 F.L.W. 169]; Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(14). The supreme court adopted the amendment on May 8, 1984, but the rule has not, as yet, been approved by the legislature. § 921.001(4)(b), Fla.Stat. (1983).

However, assuming such a committee note or rule is now in effect, we do not think the amended rule can be applied retroactively. Weaver v. Graham, 450 U.S. 24, 101 S.Ct. 960, 67 L.Ed.2d 17 (1981); Wilensky v. Fields, 267 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1972); Higginbotham v. State, 88 Fla. 26, 101 So. 233 (1924); U.S. CONST, art. I, § 9, cl. 3; Art. I, § 10, Fla. Const.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (70 total)

  • State v. Jackson, 478 So. 2d 1054 (Fla. 1985)
    …neither the legislature nor this Court in directing that any departure be explained in writing. The second issue in this case concerns the guidelines to be used in resentencing. Citing the Fifth District Court of Appeal decision in Carter v. State, 452 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984), for the proposition that an amendment to the guidelines cannot be applied retroactively, the district court concluded that Jackson was entitled to be sentenced under the guidelines in effect at the time the sentence was imposed.…
  • Pope v. State, 561 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 1990)
    …v. State, 454 So. 2d 691, 693 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), for the district court’s holding: "[W]e hold that upon remand, appellant shall be entitled to be resentenced under [an earlier version of] the guidelines.... We also concur in the Carter [v. State, 452 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984) ] court’s observation that a violation of probation may justify departure from the presumptive sentence established in the guidelines provided the basis for the departure is stated in writing....”…
  • Jackson v. State, 454 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
    …be re-sentenced under the guidelines in effect at the time of his sentence being reviewed here. In so ruling we are in accord ‘with the view expressed by the Fifth District that the amended rule cannot be applied retroactively. See, Carter v. State, 452 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984), footnote 3, and cases therein cited. We also concur in the Carter court’s observation that a violation of probation may justify departure from the presumptive sentence established in the guidelines provided the basis for the dep…

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