RANDALL JOHN CASON, APPELLANT,
v.
THE 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.
The court held that the appellant's grounds for relief did not constitute reversible error, affirming his conviction and sentence.
[1] An information adequately apprises a defendant of a conspiracy charge when its language tracks the relevant statutory provisions.
[2] Circumstantial evidence is sufficient to support a guilty verdict if it excludes any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was convicted and sentenced for conspiracy and bribery by a public servant. He appealed his conviction and sentence, raising four grounds fo…
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 Principals (Criminal Law) cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Randall John Cason appeals his conviction and sentence of imprisonment. We find that none of the four grounds for relief claimed by Cason constituted reversible error and, thus, affirm the conviction and sentence.
Cason first contends that Count I of the information was fatally deficient since it failed to inform him adequately of the conspiracy charges against him. Our review reveals that the language of the information properly tracked the conspiracy statute and sufficiently apprised Cason of the charge. State v. Mena, 471 So. 2d 1297 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); § 777.04, Fla.Stat. (1985).
Cason’s next allegation, that the circumstantial evidence adduced against him by the state did not exclude his reasonable hypothesis of innocence, is also without merit. The evidence was more than sufficient to support the jury’s verdict of Ca-son’s guilt on the bribery by a public servant charge. Tresvant v. State, 396 So. 2d 733 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 408 So. 2d 1096 (Fla.1981).
As his third point on appeal, Cason argues that the trial court committed fundamental error in its jury instructions. No error exists here because Cason waived the need for a specific instruction regarding the admission of co-conspirator statements by not raising it on the trial level. Darden v. State, 475 So. 2d 214 (Fla.1985). Additionally, the doctrine of fundamental error does not excuse Cason’s failure to object below to the omission of one element from the jury instruction on principals. Morton v. State, 459 So. 2d 322 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), rev. denied, 467 So. 2d 1000 (Fla.1985).
We find no merit in Cason’s final point concerning the validity of his departure sentence. The reasons listed by the trial court were clear and convincing since Cason breached the public trust placed in him by virtue of his position as a police officer, Spain v. State, 475 So. 2d 944 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985), rev. denied, 486 So. 2d 597 (Fla.1986), and created an extreme risk to the safety of both citizens and other police officers through his participation in this scheme, Garcia v. State, 454 So. 2d 714 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Perez v. State, 604 So. 2d 916 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…ter and this clear and convincing reason for departure has been proven beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt. Moreira v. State, 500 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Previlon v. State, 500 So. 2d 716 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987); Cason v. State, 508 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). c. The defendant, Rolando Perez, and his partner used excessive force to commit this robbery. The testimony at trial showed that Mrs. Chinique was lying across her bed when she was approached by a man with a gun. The man pointed…
-
Vidal v. State, 518 So. 2d 939 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)…d to enter an order reciting its own reasons for departure.1 First, addressing the grounds contained in the motion apparently adopted by the trial court, we hold that “abuse of position of trust” is a valid reason for departure, see Cason v. State, 508 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Neal v. State, 492 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Spain v. State, 475 So. 2d 944 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985), review denied, 486 So. 2d 597 (Fla.1986), and is supported by credible evidence. The second reason, “extreme risk to the safe…
-
Hardwick v. State, 683 So. 2d 1169 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)…1317, 131 L.Ed.2d 198 (1995); Valle v. State, 581 So. 2d 40 (Fla.1991), cert, denied, 502 U.S. 986, 112 S.Ct. 597, 116 L.Ed.2d 621 (1991); White v. State, 377 So. 2d 1149 (Fla.1979); Jones v. State, 508 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Cason v. State, 508 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 518 So. 2d 1273 (Fla.1987); Goldberg v. Ross, 421 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Onelia Garcia and Matthew Lee Wilson v. State, 454 So. 2d 714 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Tresvant v. State, 396 So. 2d 733 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Morton v. State, 459 So. 2d 322 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- Darden v. State, 475 So. 2d 214 (Fla. 1985)
- State v. Carmelo O. Mena, 471 So. 2d 1297 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Spain v. State, 475 So. 2d 944 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985)