WILLIAM BROOME, 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.
A juvenile prosecuted as an adult challenges his sentence, arguing the trial court failed to comply with statutory requirements to consider the suitability of adult sanctions. The court holds that the statutory protections cannot be waived without knowing and intelligent waiver by the juvenile, and that plea negotiations for a recommended sentence do not constitute such a waiver.
The provisions of Section 39.111(6) must be followed by trial judges in sentencing juveniles as adults, and failure to do so requires remand for resentencing. The statutory protections cannot be avoided absent an intelligent and knowing waiver by the juvenile, and plea negotiations that do not expressly bargain away the right to have statutory criteria considered do not constitute such a waiver.
[1] A juvenile's right to have the trial court consider statutory criteria for adult sanctions cannot be waived absent an intelligent and knowing waiver by the juvenile.
[2] A contemporaneous objection rule does not bar appellate review of a trial court's failure to comply with statutory requirements for imposing adult sanctions on a juvenile…
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“The legislature mandated that trial judges consider the statutory criteria in order to protect the rights which the legislature has given to juveniles. Trial courts cannot avoid that mandate absent an intelligent and knowing waiver of that right by a juvenile.”
Establishes that statutory sentencing requirements for juveniles cannot be waived without explicit knowing and intelligent waiver
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBroome, a juvenile, was charged with various crimes across multiple counts in three informations. The state and defense negotiated a plea agreement wh…
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 Sentencing Of Juveniles As Adults cases and more on FLexlaw
NIMMONS, Judge.
Broome, a juvenile, was prosecuted and sentenced as an adult. On appeal he complains of the trial court’s failure to comply with the requirements of Section 39.111(6), Florida Statutes (1983), pertaining to the suitability or unsuitability of adult sanctions.
The state claims that the defendant waived his right to raise such issue on appeal because, although defense counsel interposed an objection at sentencing to the defendant’s being sentenced as an adult, counsel did not state his grounds with sufficient particularity in that he failed to specifically raise the requirements of Section 39.111(6). We have no difficulty in rejecting that position in view of the Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Rhoden, 448 So. 2d 1013 (Fla.1984). In that case, Rho-den’s counsel did not request that the trial judge comply with Section 39.111(6) and interposed no objection to the trial judge’s failure to place in writing his findings and reasons for imposing adult sanctions. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court held that Rhoden had not waived his right to raise on appeal the trial court’s failure to comply with the requirements of Section 39.111(6) and that the contemporaneous objection rule was no bar to his right to appellate review on that question. The court concluded:
The legislature mandated that trial judges consider the statutory criteria in order to protect the rights which the legislature has given to juveniles. Trial courts cannot avoid that mandate absent an intelligent and knowing waiver of that right by a juvenile.
We hold that the provisions of section 39.111(6) must be followed by a trial judge in sentencing a juvenile as an adult, and the failure to do so requires a remand for resentencing.
Id. at 1017.
The state also contends that Rhoden is distinguishable because it did not, as in the instant case, involve a negotiated plea. The state, therefore, urges that we follow the decision of the Fifth District in Pendar vis v. State, 400 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). We are unable to determine from the Pendarvis opinion1 whether the parties negotiated for a sentence certain. If so, we might agree that the Fifth District was correct on the facts of that case.
The plea negotiations in the instant case were spelled out during the plea dialogue. The defendant had been charged with various crimes in multiple counts of three in-formations. The state and defense negotiated for pleas of nolo contendere as to some of the charges with the state agreeing to nolle prosse the remaining charges. The state also agreed that if the court determined to sentence the defendant to state prison, the state would recommend that he be sentenced as a youthful offender. All agreed that the trial court was not bound to follow the state’s recommendation.
As can be seen, there was nothing in the plea negotiations which suggested that the defendant was waiving or bargaining away his right to have the court consider the suitability or unsuitability of adult sanctions pursuant to Section 39.111(6). Compare Dixon v. State, 451 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1984).
Accordingly, although the judgments are affirmed, the sentences are reversed and remanded for resentencing in conformance with the provisions of Section 39.111(6).
MILLS, J., and PEARSON, TILLMAN, (Ret.) Associate Judge, concur. . The opinion in Pendarvis is set forth in its entirety as follows:
This is an appeal from a sentence which was not in accordance with section 39.111(6), Florida Statutes (1979), which requires certain benefits be afforded juveniles appearing in adult criminal court. Ordinarily, the failure to comply with this section would cause us to reverse the sentence and remand the matter for resentencing. But here it is clear from the record the sentence was the result of a plea bargaining process agreed to by the parties and the judge and clearly not an otherwise illegal sentence. Of course, appellant did not object below. We would be hard put to try to explain to the trial judge where he erred when he did everything everyone, except appellate counsel, agreed to. Compare Austin v. State, 400 So. 2d 495 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), issued this date.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Lang v. State, 566 So. 2d 1354 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)…is sentenced as a result of a plea agreement, the trial judge does not have to satisfy the requirements of section 39.111. Pendarvis v. State, 400 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). After Rhoden, the First District Court of Appeal, in Broome v. State, 466 So. 2d 1271, 1272 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), indicated that it could agree with this court’s decision in Pendarvis if the juvenile had negotiated for a “sentence certain.” Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.171 permits the prosecutor, in exchange for the defendant…
-
Sheffield v. State, 509 So. 2d 1350 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…riting. The provisions of section 39.111(6) “must be followed by a trial judge in sentencing a juvenile as an adult, and the failure to do so requires a remand for resentencing.” State v. Rhoden, 448 So. 2d 1013, 1017 (Fla. 1984); Broome v. State, 466 So. 2d 1271 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Although the supreme court in Rhoden suggested that there might be circumstances under which the juvenile may waive that right, there is nothing in the record herein suggesting that appellant waived or bargained away his right t…
-
Collington v. State, 589 So. 2d 465 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)…hat appellant must be resen-tenced. However, I am of the opinion the trial judge must comply with section 39.-lll(7)(c) and (d) when he imposes sentence on this underage appellant. Lang v. State, 566 So. 2d 1354 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); Broome v. State, 466 So. 2d 1271 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Learnhart Rhoden, 448 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 1984)
- Dixon v. State, 451 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- Pendarvis v. State, 400 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)
- Austin v. State, 400 So. 2d 495 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)