THOMAS B. SIMMONS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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 the trial court erred in imposing a mandatory minimum sentence under a statute that did not enumerate the convicted offense. The conviction and the base sentence were affirmed.
Appellant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The trial court imposed a fifteen-year sentence and a mandatory three-year minimu…
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 Felon In Possession Of A Firearm cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHOONOVER, Judge.
The appellant, Thomas B. Simmons, appeals from a judgment and sentence entered pursuant to a jury verdict finding him guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. We affirm appellant’s conviction, but find that the trial court erred in sentencing.
The trial court imposed a fifteen-year sentence upon appellant and ordered him to serve a mandatory minimum three-year sentence pursuant to section 775.-087(2), Florida Statutes (1983). That section requires the trial court to sentence a person convicted of certain enumerated crimes to a three-year minimum term of imprisonment. Because appellant’s crime is not among the offenses enumerated in section 775.087(2), the trial court was without authority to impose the minimum sentence on appellant.
Since the sentence was unlawful, the court committed fundamental error which was not waived by appellant’s failure to object in the trial court. Lawson v. State, 400 So. 2d 1053 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981).
We, therefore, strike that portion of the sentence imposing a minimum term of imprisonment upon the appellant. Cooper v. State, 360 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). We affirm the judgment and fifteen-year sentence in all other respects.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part.
HOBSON, A.C.J., and BOARDMAN, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Lawson v. State, 400 So. 2d 1053 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
- Dade Cnty. v. Inversiones Rafamar, 360 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)
- Cooper v. State, 360 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)