STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
JAMES E. WATSON, RESPONDENT
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.
The court held that retention of jurisdiction over the first third of a sentence is controlled by prior precedent, even if it exceeds one-third of a reasonable life expectancy.
The district court affirmed a conviction for robbery with a firearm but reversed the trial court's retention of jurisdiction over the first third of t…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Life Expectancy cases and more on FLexlaw
EHRLICH, Justice.
This case is before us as conflicting directly and expressly with decisions of other district courts of appeal. The district court acknowledged this interdistrict conflict. Watson v. State, 437 So. 2d 702 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. The district court affirmed Watson’s conviction and ninety-nine-year sentence for robbery with a firearm, but it reversed the trial court’s retention of jurisdiction over the first third of that sentence. The court noted that life is the maximum sentence the defendant could receive under section 812.13(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1981). According to section 947.16(3), Florida Statutes (1981), the trial court could retain jurisdiction over one-third of the maximum sentence which the statute authorized. The district court reasoned that the thirty-three years of retained jurisdiction greatly exceeded one-third of a reasonable life expectancy for the defendant and thus was improper. Some months after this decision issued, this Court addressed the same issue in Harmon v. State, 438 So. 2d 369 (Fla.1983), and upheld retention of jurisdiction over the first third of each of six consecutive one-hundred year sentences. We find that Harmon controls and thus disapprove the decision of the district court.
Respondent raises the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to support the finding that a firearm was used in the commission of the robbery. We approve the district court’s construction and application of the statute to the case before it, for the reasons expressed by that court.
Accordingly, the decision of the district court is approved in part and disapproved in part, and the sentence of the trial court is reinstated in its entirety;
It is so ordered.
BOYD, C.J., and ADKINS, OVERTON, ALDERMAN, McDONALD and SHAW, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (12 total)
-
Bentley v. State, 501 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 1987)…Wilson, we hold that the display of an unloaded firearm, without proof of readily available ammunition, invokes the three-year minimum mandatory sentence. In Watson v. State, 437 So. 2d 702 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), approved in part, disapproved in part, 453 So. 2d 810 (Fla.1984), the court found that the legislature did not intend to require a finding that a handgun be operational in order to uphold a conviction of robbery with a firearm because of concerns about the perception of the victim. 437 So. 2d at 705. W…
-
Powlowski v. State, 467 So. 2d 334 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)…may eventually extend beyond the life of a prisoner. Mortality and life expectancy are irrelevant to limitations on the terms of incarceration set by the Legislature for criminal misconduct. [Footnote omitted]. Id. at 12. See also State v. Watson, 453 So. 2d 810 (Fla.1984); Harmon v. State, 438 So. 2d 369 (Fla.1983). Stangherlin next argues that the trial court erred when it retained jurisdiction for one half of the 300 year sentence pursuant to section 947.16(3), Florida Statutes (Supp.1982). She argues t…
-
Meyer v. State, 498 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)…sufficient circumstantial evidence to sustain the jury verdict that appellant committed the ¿offenses with the use of a firearm. See T.T. v. State, 459 So. 2d 471 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984) and Watson v. State, 437 So. 2d 702 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), appv’d., 453 So. 2d 810 (Fla.1984). Finally, despite the severity of the sentences imposed by the trial court, the sentences did not exceed the maximum sentence authorized by law. Appellant was found guilty of twelve felony counts. Nine of the charges were punishable by t…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Harmon v. State, 438 So. 2d 369 (Fla. 1983)
- Watson v. State, 437 So. 2d 702 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)