KEVIN E. WILLIAMS, 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.
Appellant's sentence imposed in excess of sentencing guidelines was reversed because the trial court failed to provide written reasons for departure as required by Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701(d)(11).
A trial court must provide written reasons for imposing a sentence that exceeds the sentencing guidelines recommendation.
[1] Written reasons for departure from sentencing guidelines are mandatory and cannot be satisfied by oral statements alone.
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAfter pleading guilty to violation of probation, appellant's probation was revoked. The sentencing guidelines recommended community control or 12-30 m…
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 Probation Violation Sentencing cases and more on FLexlaw
GRIMES, Acting Chief Judge.
Appellant appeals the lower court’s imposition of his sentence in excess of the guidelines recommendation without written reasons for departure.
After a plea of guilty to violation of probation, appellant’s probation was revoked. Appellant’s sentencing guidelines score warranted community control or twelve to thirty months’ incarceration. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.988(g). Since the sentencing was subsequent to violation of probation, the court could have increased the sentence to the next higher cell without requiring reasons for departure. Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.701(d)(14). The recommendation for the next higher cell was 2½ to 3½ years’ incarceration. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.988(g). Instead, the court exceeded the guidelines recommendation and sentenced appellant to five years in prison. The trial judge orally stated his reason for departure but failed to submit his reason in writing.
Written reasons for departure are required by Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701(d)(ll). State v. Jackson, 478 So. 2d 1054 (Fla.1985); Torrey v. State, 482 So. 2d 552 (Fla.2d DCA 1986).
Because the court failed to reduce his reasons for departure to writing as required, we reverse the sentence and remand for resentencing.
CAMPBELL and LEHAN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. Jackson, 478 So. 2d 1054 (Fla. 1985)
- Cephus E. Torrey v. State, 482 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)