SANDRA FAIN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1986-05-16
Nos. BF-382, BF-383
SHIVERS, J., concurs., BOOTH, C.J., dissents with written opinion.
488 So. 2d 169 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1986) Negative Treatment
Cited by 14 cases

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Synopsis

Sandra Fain appeals her sentencing on two grand theft convictions, arguing the trial judge improperly departed from Florida's sentencing guidelines. The appellate court reverses and remands for resentencing, finding that three of the four grounds cited for departure were based on factors already scored in the guidelines.


Holding

The departure was improper and the sentences must be reversed and remanded for resentencing. Three of the four stated grounds (prior record/pattern of theft, probation violation, and prior incarceration) were based on factors already factored into the guidelines score or were insufficiently specific to justify a greater-than-recommended prison term.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may not depart from sentencing guidelines based on factors already accounted for in the calculation of the guidelines score.

[2] A pattern of theft, a violation of probation due to a theft charge, and a finding of being an habitual thief are improper grounds for departure if already factored into t…

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Key Quotes

“factors already taken into account in calculating the guidelines score can never support departure”

Established the core principle from State v. Mischler that determines whether reasons for departing from guidelines are legally sufficient

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Facts & Procedural History

Fain pled guilty to two counts of grand theft in separate cases, scored under the same guidelines scoresheet. Her scoresheet showed three prior catego…

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Opinion of the Court
WIGGINTON, Judge.

WIGGINTON, Judge.

Appellant appeals the sentencing orders of the trial court which were handed down pursuant to one guidelines’ scoresheet, from which the trial judge departed. We reverse.

In two separate cases, appellant pled guilty to one count each of grand theft. The offenses were scored under the same scoresheet, showing that appellant had three prior category six offenses, which were scored, as well as another prior conviction. Appellant also was assessed six points for being under legal constraint at the time of the present offenses. Her scoresheet contained fifty-three points, which resulted in a guidelines’ recommendation of community control or twelve to thirty months’ incarceration.

On the following grounds, the trial judge departed from the guidelines and sentenced appellant to two concurrent five-year terms:

1. Defendant has exhibited continued pattern of theft.

2. Defendant was on probation and violated probation by another theft charge.

3. Defendant has previously been sentenced to the state prison and has not been rehabilitated.

4. The court finds that defendant is an habitual thief. Grounds one and four appear to be based exclusively upon appellant’s prior record, which has already been scored and therefore is an improper ground for departure. Hendrix v. State, 475 So. 2d 1218 (Fla.1985). Reason number two also has already been factored into the scoresheet and thus is an inappropriate ground for departure. Moore v. State, 483 So. 2d 37 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986): In State v. Mischler, 488 So. 2d 523 (Fla.1986), the court listed three categories of reasons that, if given by the trial court to justify departure, require reversal by an appellate court. One of those reasons is that “factors already taken into account in calculating the guidelines score can never support departure.” Consequently, in light of the above-cited cases, as well as Mischler, we must reverse and remand for resentencing on the basis of the impropriety of reasons one, two and four. Reason number three is likewise insufficient in that it fails to bear any relationship to departure from the guidelines since the guidelines’ recommendation allowed for imposition of a twelve to thirty-month prison term. Compare Sabb v. State, 479 So. 2d 845 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985) and Brooks v. State, 456 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), in which this Court refused to support departure from a recommended sentence of incarceration to an increased term of incarceration merely on the ground that incarceration appeared to be necessary. Reason number three in the instant case is likewise not sufficiently specific to justify imposition of a greater than recommended prison term.

Reversed and remanded for resentencing.

SHIVERS, J., concurs.

BOOTH, C.J., dissents with written opinion.

Dissent
BOOTH, Chief Judge,

BOOTH, Chief Judge,

dissenting:

I must dissent. Unless and until the Supreme Court eliminates all discretion from the judicial function of imposing sentence, written reasons such as those in the instant case should be considered collectively and upheld as a basis for departure from the guidelines. The trial court in his wisdom has evaluated defendant’s past performance in the justice system and found reasons for departure which are not to be found listed on the guidelines sheet. I do not interpret Hendrix v. State, 475 So. 2d 1218 (Fla.1985), or other decisions of the Florida Supreme Court to preclude all consideration of a defendant’s past record; indeed, what else is the judge to consider? What is precluded is departures based on matters already scored under the guidelines. In the instant case, the trial court’s reasons for departure (continued pattern of theft and habitual thievery; repeated violation of probation and inability to be rehabilitated) are supported by the record but are not matters scored as such on the guidelines sheet.

I would affirm.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Nichols v. State, 504 So. 2d 414 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)
    …ana and cocaine, and the failure to appear. These crimes are in our judgment not escalations but rather represent a continuing pattern of drug-related offenses. A continuing pattern of offenses is not a valid reason for departure. See Fain v. State, 488 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986) (a continuing pattern of theft is an invalid reason for departure); Casteel v. State, 481 So. 2d 72, 73 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), reversed on other grounds, 498 So. 2d 1249 (Fla.1986) (a pattern of conduct rendering the defendant “a c…
  • Robinson v. State, 530 So. 2d 1085 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)
    …So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). We recognize that an earlier opinion of this court, Abt v. State, 504 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), stated that the failure to rehabilitate the defendant was an invalid ground for departure. See also Fain v. State, 488 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Gibson v. State, 510 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Bradley v. State, 509 So. 2d 1137 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). However, the authority followed in Abt v. State, (Samuel) Williams v. State, 492 So. 2d 1308 (Fla. 1986), and Scurry v.…
  • Bailey v. State, 492 So. 2d 738 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
    …dequately reflect the serious nature of the charge and the danger to the community in general, Cortez v. State, 488 So. 2d 163 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); The defendant had previously been sentenced to prison and had not been rehabilitated, Fain v. State, 488 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); [*741] Prior history indicates rehabilitation not possible, protection of society requires restraint, Harris v. State, 489 So. 2d 838 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); A pattern of conduct (prior history of theft and dishonest behavior) rend…

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