CHRISTINE JOHNSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1987-03-04
No. 86-888
CAMPBELL and LEHAN, JJ., concur.
503 So. 2d 955 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1987) Negative Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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.

Synopsis

Christine Johnson was convicted of aggravated battery and sentenced beyond sentencing guidelines. The appellate court reversed her sentence and remanded for resentencing because the trial court improperly departed from the guidelines without citing valid reasons, finding that lack of remorse, prior criminal record, danger to others, and victim injury were all improper or duplicative grounds for departure.


Holding

The trial court erred in departing from the sentencing guidelines. The court reversed Johnson's sentence and remanded for resentencing within the guidelines presumptive range, holding that lack of remorse is invalid as a departure ground, prior criminal record is improper because already factored into guidelines, danger to others is improper when based on prior record or non-egregious circumstances, and victim injury is improper when already factored into the scoresheet.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may depart from sentencing guidelines only upon clear and convincing reasons that are not elements of the crime charged and do not involve egregious circums…

[2] Lack of remorse is an invalid ground for departure from sentencing guidelines.

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

Key Quotes

“However, the facts must show egregious circumstances and must not be elements of the crime charged.”

Establishes the standard for valid departure from sentencing guidelines—facts must demonstrate egregious circumstances not constituting crime elements.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Christine Johnson was convicted of aggravated battery under Florida law. She was initially sentenced above guidelines, reversed on appeal for improper…

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.


Opinion of the Court
RYDER, Acting Chief Judge.

RYDER, Acting Chief Judge.

Here, we deal with yet another appeal regarding a departure from a guidelines sentence.

Christine Johnson was convicted of aggravated battery in violation of section 784.045(1)(b), Florida Statutes (1985), and sentenced to a term of imprisonment beyond the guidelines’ recommendation. On February 26, 1986, 483 So. 2d 839, we reversed her sentence and remanded the case to the trial court because the trial court had improperly delegated to the state attorney the responsibility of formulating written reasons for departure from the presumptive sentence.

On March 21, 1986, the trial court again exceeded the presumptive sentence of three to three and one-half years by sentencing Johnson to seven years incarceration. The trial court gave the following written reasons for departure:

1) The facts of this case would support the charge of attempted murder in the second degree, which would have been a twelve to seventeen-year guidelines sentence.

2) The defendant showed a total lack of remorse during all proceedings before the Court. 3) Defendant has an extensive prior criminal record indicating that she is a violent individual-

4) Defendant is a danger to others.

5) The nature of the injury sustained by the victim, which is a bullet in one lung that cannot be surgically removed and which will probably produce future complication.

Johnson appeals alleging that the trial court erred by departing from the sentencing guidelines without providing a clear and convincing reason for departure. We agree. We reverse Johnson’s sentence and remand for resentencing within the guidelines presumptive range.

The facts of the instant case did not justify departure from the sentencing guidelines. We have held that a trial court may depart from the sentencing guidelines upon the facts of the case. Mora v. State, 484 So. 2d 621 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986). However, the facts must show egregious circumstances and must not be elements of the crime charged. Neal v. State, 487 So. 2d 367 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Tompkins v. State, 483 So. 2d 115 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986).

Johnson’s cavalier attitude is an improper ground for departure. Lack of remorse is an invalid ground for departure from the sentencing guidelines. Washington v. State, 501 So. 2d 133 (Fla.2d DCA 1987); Weir v. State, 490 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986).

Johnson’s extensive prior criminal record is an improper ground for departure. Johnson’s prior record has already been figured into the guidelines scoresheet. Carnegie v. State, 498 So. 2d 1020 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Hendrix v. State, 475 So. 2d 1218 (Fla.1985).

Danger to others is an improper ground for departure. The court in referring to Johnson as a violent individual was alluding to Johnson’s prior record and to the circumstances which the court believed were sufficient to charge and convict Johnson of attempted murder in the second degree. However, Johnson’s prior record was factored into the guidelines. Hendrix. The circumstances were not egregious enough to justify departure from the sentencing guidelines. Washington; Carnegie v. State, 498 So. 2d 1020 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Mora; Neal; Tompkins.

Victim injury is an improper ground for departure where it has been factored into the guidelines scoresheet. Points for moderate victim injury were factored into Johnson’s scoresheet. Consequently, victim injury could not be used to depart from the sentencing guidelines. Hendrix.

We affirm Johnson’s conviction; reverse her sentence and remand for resentencing within the guidelines presumptive range.

Affirmed in part; reversed and stricken in part and remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

CAMPBELL and LEHAN, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Coleman v. State, 515 So. 2d 313 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)
    …1987). The first sentence of reason # 5 is speculation of future conduct, as was a part of reason # 1 above. Such speculation is invalid. Broomhead, 497 So. 2d at 735; Young, 489 So. 2d at 200. Lack of remorse is an invalid reason. Johnson v. State, 503 So. 2d 955, 956 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). Reason #6, premeditation, is invalid based on the following analysis. Appellant here was charged with, convicted of and sentenced for second degree murder. “Premeditation is the essential element that distinguishes first de…
  • Burns v. State, 513 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)
    …elines recommended range of any nonstate prison sentence without providing clear and convincing reasons. The court gave the following reasons for departure: 1. Lack of remorse — Lack of remorse is not a valid reason for departure. Johnson v. State, 503 So. 2d 955 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Washington v. State, 501 So. 2d 133 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). Moreover, the facts here do not support the court’s finding of lack of remorse. When asked why he had failed to make restitution to the victim, Burns responded that he felt…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw