STUART WORTHINGTON IRWIN, 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 sentence departing from guidelines based on both permissible and impermissible reasons must be reversed and remanded for resentencing unless the state proves the invalid reasons did not affect the departure.
Appellant was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and received a sentence departing from the guidelines. The trial judge cited appellant'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 Conspiracy To Traffic In Cocaine cases and more on FLexlaw
HALL, Judge.
Stuart Irwin appeals his conviction for conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. We reject appellant’s arguments except as to his sentence.
The trial judge departed from the sentencing guidelines by imposing an additional five years to appellant’s sentence for conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. The judge cited appellant’s “outrageous lies” and the quantity of contraband as the basis of the departure.
We agree with appellant that the first ground is not a valid reason for departure, especially since appellant was never convicted of perjury. Beauvais v. State, 475 So. 2d 1342 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Agatone v. State, 474 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). The quantity of drugs involved in the offense is a proper circumstance to be considered in departing from a recommended sentence since it is a factor relating to the instant offense. Smith v. State, 454 So. 2d 90 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984).
We find the departure in this ease to be grounded on permissible and impermissible reasons. In such a case our supreme court has recently held that “the sentence should be reversed and the case remanded for resentencing unless the state is able to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the absence of the invalid reasons would not have affected the departure sentence.” Albritton v. State, 476 So. 2d 158 (Fla.1985). It is not clear whether the impermissible reason of appellant’s alleged perjury affected the departure in this manner. Therefore, we reverse appellant’s sentence and remand for resentencing. We affirm the conviction in all other aspects.
RYDER, C.J., and CAMPBELL, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (16 total)
-
Pursell v. State, 483 So. 2d 94 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)…le, sophisticated drug smuggling operation. In this case, the amount of cocaine involved in the conspiracy was 1,952.5 grams. We have previously held that the quantity of drugs involved in an offense is a valid reason for departure. Irwin v. State, 479 So. 2d 153 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). The court’s second reason, that appellant lied during his testimony, is an improper reason for departure. Agatone v. State, 474 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). The court found that appellant was part of a large scale, sophistica…
-
State v. Villalovo, 481 So. 2d 1303 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)…he trial judge placed Villalo-vo on five years probation subject to a condition of eighteen months community control. We think it clear that the reasons indicated by the trial court, including the small amount of contraband involved, Irwin v. State, 479 So. 2d 153 (Fla.2d DCA 1985), and the fact that the defendant was “mildly retarded” and suffered from “central nervous disfunction,”1 Steiner v. State, 469 So. 2d 179 (Fla.3d DCA 1985); State v. Mihocik, 480 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), are appropriate bas…
-
State v. Baker, 498 So. 2d 1031 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…the case law reveals that an increasing number of reasons for downward departure are being upheld, i.e., (defendant’s mild retardation) State v. Villalovo, 481 So. 2d 1303 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); (the small amount of contraband involved) Irwin v. State, 479 So. 2d 153 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), rev. denied 488 So. 2d 830 (Fla.1986); (defendant’s youth) State v. Mihocik, 480 So. 2d 711 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), we agree with the state’s position that the circumstance that defendant completed his escape from a work release cen…
Previewing 3 of 16 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- City OF Atl. Beach v. Bull, 476 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 1985)
- Albritton v. State, 476 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 1985)
- Smith v. State, 454 So. 2d 90 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)
- Juvenal Pina v. Pina, 475 So. 2d 1342 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Serge v. Dreher, 474 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985)
- Agatone v. State, 474 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)