DORION FLETCHER, 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.
Dorion Fletcher was convicted of grand theft (not robbery as charged) and sentenced to three years in prison despite guideline calculations recommending non-prison sanctions. The court reversed, holding that the trial judge impermissibly departed from sentencing guidelines by relying on factors expressly prohibited by rule and by effectively punishing the defendant for the robbery charge of which he was acquitted.
The court reversed the sentence and remanded for resentencing. The departure reasons were not lawful because: (1) the inferences about Fletcher being a 'street prostitute' were based on facts from the instant offense and prior criminal history, which are expressly prohibited as departure bases; and (2) the finding that force was used contradicted the jury's implicit acquittal on the robbery charge when convicting only of grand theft.
[1] A trial court may not depart from recommended sentencing guidelines based on factors relating to the instant offense for which convictions have not been obtained.
[2] A defendant cannot be punished at sentencing for conduct of which they have been acquitted by a jury.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We are forced to find that these are not "clear and convincing" lawful reasons for departure from the recommended guideline sentence in this case and to reverse.”
Establishes the legal standard and the court's conclusion that the departure reasons failed to meet it.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFletcher was charged with and tried for robbery, but the jury found him guilty only of grand theft. Under Florida sentencing guidelines, his offense s…
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 Real Offense Sentencing cases and more on FLexlaw
COWART, Judge.
This is another sentencing case involving a departure from the sentencing guidelines.
Charged with, and tried for, robbery the jury found appellant guilty of grand theft. Appellant elected to be sentenced under Florida sentencing guidelines, although his offense was committed before the effective date (October 1, 1983), of the sentencing guidelines and appellant was sentenced after that date.1
Although weighted by factoring for a prior criminal record of a third degree felony and four or more misdemeanor convictions and for being under legal constraint (probation) at the time of the offense, Form 3.988(f), Category 6, resulted in but 30 points which equates with a recommended guideline sentence of the lowest recommended range, i.e., any non-state prison sanction. The trial judge departed from the recommended guideline sentence and sentenced appellant to state prison for confinement for three years stating in writing the reasons for departure to be that [t]he defendant is apparently a regular street prostitute and in this particular case he used force or threatened force to accomplish this theft.”
We are forced to find that these are not “clear and convincing” lawful reasons for departure from the recommended guideline sentence in this case and to reverse. First, although the trial judge may have properly inferred that appellant is “a regular street prostitute,” the basis for that inference was apparently the facts learned by the trial judge from the trial “relating to the instant offense”, and from appellant’s prior criminal history (one or more of his prior convictions was the basis for appellant’s “legal constraint at time of offense”)2 and the guideline explicitly prohibits these factors as reasons for a departure sentence, see Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701 b.6 and d.ll. and The Florida Bar: Amendment to Rules of Criminal Procedure (3.701, 3.988 — Sentencing Guidelines), 451 So. 2d 824 (Fla.1984). Secondly, because appellant was charged with and tried for robbery, the jury’s verdict finding him guilty only of grand larceny constituted an implicit finding that appellant did not accomplish his theft “by force, violence, assault or putting in fear,” the elemental difference between theft and robbery.3 Constitutionally a defendant should not be punished (sentenced) for conduct of which he has been acquitted.4 Further, to depart from the recommended guideline sentence in this case on the basis that the defendant used or threatened force in accomplishing the theft for which he was being sentenced would be to consider “factors relating to the instant offenses for which convictions have not been obtained” (Rule 3.701 d.ll. as “revamped” May 8, 1984),5 a reason for departure expressly prohibited, and would also constitute a “real offense” sentencing. See generally Provence v. State, 337 So. 2d 783 (Fla.1976); Owen v. State, 441 So. 2d 1111 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983), review denied, 446 So. 2d 100 (Fla.1984); Jacobson and Wesley, Florida Sentencing Guidelines, Sentencing Guidelines and Sentencing Advocacy Seminar, The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Committee, page 1.13 (1983).
The order imposing appellant’s sentence is reversed, the sentence vacated and the cause remanded for resentencing in accordance with the legislatively approved Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure establishing sentencing guidelines, as interpreted in this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
DAUKSCH J., concurs.
ORFINGER, J., dissents with opinion.
. See In re Rules of Criminal Procedure (Sentencing Guidelines), 439 So. 2d 848 (Fla.1983).
. See State v. Brusven, 327 N.W. 2d 591, 593 (Minn.1982). Minnesota uses a guideline sentencing concept.
. Compare theft (§ 812.014, Fla.Stat.) with robbery (§ 812.13, Fla.Stat.) and see Rodriquez v. State, 443 So. 2d 236 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984), but cf., Andre v. State, 431 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983).
.See generally Schulhofer, Due Process of Sentencing, 128 U.Pa.L.Rev. 733 (1980).
. The Florida Bar: Amendment to Rules of Criminal Procedure (3.701, 3.988 — Sentencing Guidelines), 451 So. 2d 824 (Fla.1984).
ORFINGER, Judge,
dissenting.
The defendant’s prior criminal record is a sufficient basis for a departure from the sentencing guidelines. Hendrix v. State, 455 So. 2d 449 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Davis v. State, 455 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Higgs v. State, 455 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984). Additionally, the fact that the instant crime was committed while appellant was on probation was a clear and convincing reason for which the trial court could depart from the guideline sentence. Carter v. State, 452 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984). I therefore dissent, and would affirm the sentence.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Quintin Stacey Allen v. State, 476 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)…d 6 are impermissible reasons for aggravating appellant’s sentences. Von Carter v. State, 468 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), Marshall v. State, 468 So. 2d 255 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), Banzo v. State, 464 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 2d DCA 19⅜5), Fletcher v. State, 457 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984) (cases holding that the court cannot consider factors relating to instant offense for which convictions have not been obtained); Cannada v. State, 472 So. 2d 1296 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), Baker v. State, 466 So. 2d 1144 (Fla. 3d DCA 1…
-
Holden v. State, 487 So. 2d 1199 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)…5th DCA 1986). The second time lethal force was used considers an essential element of the instant offense. This reason is also impermissible. Baker v. State, 466 So. 2d 1144 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), aff'd, 483 So. 2d 423 (Fla.1986); Fletcher v. State, 457 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(11).1 The instant offense was second degree murder, under which the use of lethal force is a necessary element.2 The second reason for departure also classifies Holden’s use of lethal force as crime in ex…
-
Carnegie v. State, 498 So. 2d 1020 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)…which the court believed were sufficient to convict appellant of sexual battery even though the jury acquitted him of that charge. Conduct for which a person has been acquitted cannot be a basis for departure from the guidelines. Fletcher v. State, 457 So. 2d 570 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984). Appellant’s prior record has already been factored into the guidelines. Hendrix v. State, 475 So. 2d 1218 (Fla.1985). (2) The manner of entry into the residence and the actions of the defendant when inside the residence show th…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Provence v. State, 337 So. 2d 783 (Fla. 1976)
- In re Rules of Criminal Procedure (sentencing Guidelines), 439 So. 2d 848 (Fla. 1983)
- THE Fla. BAR: Amendment to Rules of Crim. Procedure (3.701, 451 So. 2d 824 (Fla. 1984)
- Carter v. State, 452 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)
- Hendrix v. State, 455 So. 2d 449 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)
- Higgs v. State, 455 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)
- Rodriquez v. State, 443 So. 2d 236 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)
- Davis v. State, 455 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)
- Andre v. State, 431 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)
- Owen v. State, 441 So. 2d 1111 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)