BOBBY L. REASE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Bobby Rease appealed a departure sentence imposed on remand after this Court previously reversed for resentencing due to invalid reasons for departure. The Court again reversed, finding the trial judge's stated reasons for the second departure sentence were invalid under Florida sentencing guidelines.
The Court held that none of the trial judge's stated reasons for departure were valid: community control status was already factored into the sentencing scoresheet; prior sentence length had no shown relevance to the instant offense; and the judge's general knowledge of the defendant since juvenile years provided no recorded basis for departure.
[1] A defendant's status on community control at the time of the offense is an improper reason for a departure sentence if it has already been factored into the scoresheet.
[2] A defendant having previously served a sentence longer than the guidelines recommendation is an improper ground for departure if its relevance to the current situation is…
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“Appellant's status on community control had already been factored into the scoresheet and was an improper reason for departure.”
Establishes that factors already included in the sentencing scoresheet cannot be used as additional grounds for departure.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRease was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The trial judge originally departed from the recommended guidelines sentencing ra…
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WIGGINTON, Judge.
Appellant appeals the trial court’s order, entered upon remand by this Court, reimposing a departure sentence. We again reverse and remand for resentencing.
After appellant’s conviction of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the trial judge departed from the recommended guidelines sentencing range of community control or twelve to thirty months’ incarceration and sentenced appellant to ten years in prison. In Rease v. State, 485 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), this Court found that some of the reasons given for departure were invalid and reversed and remanded for resentencing. Upon remand, the trial judge issued a second departure order stating:
The court has thoroughly restudied the file in this case and is absolutely convinced from previous dealings with this defendant and knowledge of this defendant since he was a juvenile, that the guidelines sentence was completely inappropriate. Defendant, on a previous incarceration, has already served longer than would be allowed under the sentencing guidelines. Further, the defendant was still on community control at the time of the commission of this offense. For these reasons, the court reimposes the sentence heretofore imposed on this defendant on February 1, 1985.
Appellant’s status on community control had already been factored into the scoresheet and was an improper reason for departure. Fain v. State, 488 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Hendrix v. State, 475 So. 2d 1218 (Fla.1985). As to the remaining reasons, the fact that appellant had already served a sentence longer than the guidelines recommendation on a previous incarceration has not been shown by the record to have any relevance to the instant situation and therefore was also an improper ground for departure. Further, the judge’s mere statement of his “knowledge of this defendant since he was a juvenile” provides no insight with any basis in the record that would provide a valid ground for departure.
Therefore, finding no valid reasons for departure in the court’s order, we REVERSE and REMAND for resentencing within the guidelines.
WENTWORTH and NIMMONS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hendrix v. State, 475 So. 2d 1218 (Fla. 1985)
- Fain v. State, 488 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- Rease v. State, 485 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)