CLEMMIE SANDERS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Clemmie Sanders appealed the denial of his postconviction Rule 3.850 motion raising multiple issues, including whether his sentencing was based on an erroneous Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet that improperly included nine points for a prior robbery conviction. The court affirmed the denial of most claims but reversed and remanded on the scoresheet issue, requiring the postconviction court to determine whether the error affected sentencing.
The court affirmed the denial of Sanders' other claims but reversed and remanded on the scoresheet issue. The postconviction court must either attach conclusive records establishing no scoresheet error occurred or that any error did not affect sentencing, or conduct an evidentiary hearing. If a scoresheet error is proven, the trial court's sentence must be vacated and the defendant resentenced based on a corrected scoresheet unless the record conclusively shows the same sentence would have been imposed.
[1] Resentencing is required when a scoresheet error is raised in a timely motion for postconviction relief, unless the record conclusively shows the trial court would have i…
[2] A postconviction court must attach records that conclusively prove either the absence of a scoresheet error or that any such error did not affect the sentencing decision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“When a scoresheet error is raised in a timely rule 3.850 motion, resentencing is required unless the record shows conclusively that the trial court would have imposed the same sentence using a corrected scoresheet.”
Establishes the legal standard for harmless error analysis in scoresheet cases
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSanders was convicted and sentenced following a violation of probation proceeding. His sentence was calculated using a Criminal Punishment Code scores…
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PER CURIAM.
Clemmie Sanders appeals the postconviction court’s summary denial of his motion and amended motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. After careful consideration, we affirm the postconviction court’s summary denial with regard to all but one of the issues raised on appeal. We reverse and remand with regard to an issue Sanders raised concerning whether the sentence he received following his conviction for violation of probation was improperly increased based upon consideration of an allegedly erroneous Criminal Punishment Code (“CPC”) scoresheet.
The record does not establish whether the nine points for a prior robbery conviction arising out of case number 29-1989-CF-1315-B were properly included on his CPC scoresheet. The postconviction court remarked that, even if those nine points were included erroneously, the error was harmless because the trial court did not impose the lowest permissible sentence, and the postconviction court concluded that the sentencing court would have imposed the same sentence even if those nine points had not been listed on Sanders’ scoresheet. Nothing in the records attached to its order summarily denying Sanders’ motion conclusively supports the postconviction court’s conclusion. “When a scoresheet error is raised in a timely rule 3.850 motion, resentencing is required unless the record shows conclusively that the trial court would have imposed the same sentence using a corrected scoresheet.” Alexis v. State, 258 So. 3d 471, 473 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018) (citing Sanders v. State, 35 So. 3d 864, 870–71 (Fla. 2010)). We cannot make that determination from the records attached to the postconviction court’s order in this case.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for the postconviction court to attach records that conclusively prove either that: (1) there was no scoresheet error; or (2) if the nine points for robbery were included by error, that error did not affect or contribute to the sentencing decision. Alternatively, the postconviction court may conduct an evidentiary hearing to determine if inclusion of the nine points was an error, as Sanders asserts, and as the postconviction court assumed for the sake of considering Sanders’ motion. If the 2 postconviction court determines that there was no scoresheet error, then no further action will be required. However, if Sanders proves there was an error in his CPC scoresheet, the postconviction court must determine whether the record conclusively proves that the same sentence would have been imposed by the trial court without that error. If the record does not conclusively establish that the same sentence would have been imposed by the trial court, then the postconviction court shall resentence Sanders based upon a corrected scoresheet. We affirm the denial of Sanders’ other claims without further discussion.
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER
PROCEEDINGS.
EDWARDS and EISNAUGLE, JJ., and JACOBUS, B.W., Senior Judge, concur. 3
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Sanders v. State, 35 So. 3d 864 (Fla. 2010)
- Geraldo Alexis v. State, 258 So. 3d 471 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018)