RICHARD ANDREWS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Richard Andrews appealed after the trial court reimposed a life sentence for burglary of a dwelling with battery following a Rule 3.800(a) resentencing. The appellate court had previously reversed and required a full resentencing hearing. On remand, the trial court not only reimposed the life sentence but also improperly "resentenced" Andrews on three other counts where he had already completed his sentences, which the court found improper.
The court affirmed the life sentence for the burglary of a dwelling with battery conviction but reversed and remanded with directions to vacate the resentencing on the three other convictions, holding that a defendant cannot be resentenced on offenses for which the defendant's prison term has already expired.
[1] A trial court, upon granting partial relief on a postconviction motion that affects a defendant's scoresheet, must conduct a full resentencing hearing if the original sen…
[2] A defendant cannot be resentenced on offenses for which the prison term has already expired.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“Because the partial relief granted to Andrews on his rule 3.800(a) motion affected the sentence points on his scoresheet, the trial court, under the sentencing guidelines in effect at the time of his offense, had the discretion on resentencing to impose other than a life sentence.”
Establishes that the trial court had discretion to impose a sentence other than life on the burglary conviction after the Rule 3.800(a) relief was granted.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 1990, Andrews pleaded nolo contendere to four counts: burglary of a dwelling with battery, sexual battery with force likely to cause serious injury…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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LAMBERT, J.
In 1990, Richard Andrews tendered a nolo contendere plea to charges of burglary of a dwelling with battery, sexual battery with force likely to cause serious injury, robbery, and aggravated battery. The trial court sentenced Andrews to serve life imprisonment for the burglary of a dwelling with battery conviction and to lesser, but lengthy, prison sentences on the remaining counts, with all sentences running concurrently.
Andrews did not file a direct appeal. Over the ensuing decades, he has filed a number of postconviction motions under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) challenging the legality of his sentences. In 2018, the trial court granted Andrews partial relief on such a motion pertaining to the burglary of a dwelling with battery conviction.
The court, thereafter, without a hearing, reimposed the life imprisonment sentence for this conviction.
Andrews appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by failing to conduct a de novo resentencing proceeding prior to reimposing the life term. Because the partial relief granted to Andrews on his rule 3.800(a) motion affected the sentence points on his scoresheet, the trial court, under the sentencing guidelines in effect at the time of his offense, had the discretion on resentencing to impose other than a life sentence.
Accordingly, we agreed with Andrews’s argument and reversed for the trial court to hold a full resentencing hearing in which Andrews would be represented by counsel. Andrews
v. State, 264 So. 3d 303, 304 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019).
Following this resentencing hearing mandated by our previous opinion, the trial court again imposed the life sentence on the burglary of a dwelling with battery conviction.
The amended sentencing documents entered by the trial court, however, show that the court also separately “resentenced” Andrews on his other three convictions, nunc pro tunc to the date that the original judgment and these three sentences were imposed in 1990.
This 2019 amended judgment and sentence “committed [Andrews] to the custody of the Department of Corrections” for the respective term of years that had been previously 2 imposed on him on each of these three counts more than twenty-nine years ago.
Andrews has timely appealed the amended judgment and sentences.
We affirm, without further discussion, the resentence of life imprisonment for the burglary of a dwelling with battery conviction. For the following reasons, we reverse and remand with directions that the trial court vacate that portion of its most recent written amended judgment and sentence that resentences Andrews on his other three convictions. First, our prior opinion did not direct that Andrews be resentenced on these counts. Second, it is undisputed that Andrews had already completed these three sentences. A defendant “cannot be resentenced on offenses for which the defendant’s prison term has expired.” See Ellis v. State, 913 So. 2d 1255, 1257 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (citing Willingham v. State, 833 So. 2d 237, 238 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)).
AFFIRMED, in part, REVERSED, in part, and REMANDED with directions.
EDWARDS and SASSO, JJ., concur. 3
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Willingham v. State, 833 So. 2d 237 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)
- Ellis v. State, 913 So. 2d 1255 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
- Andrews v. State, 264 So. 3d 303 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019)