SHIRLEY ANN JEFFERSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jefferson appeals her 15-year manslaughter sentence imposed for beating her 21-month-old daughter to death, arguing insufficient evidence supports the trial court's reasons for departing from the 3-7 year guideline sentence. The court affirms, applying the law of the case doctrine to preclude reconsideration of previously-upheld sentencing factors.
The court affirmed the sentence, holding that the law of the case doctrine precludes Jefferson from raising issues that were or could have been raised on her prior appeal, and that the two remaining sentencing reasons (betrayal of familial trust and savage brutality) were validly established in the prior appeal and need not be reconsidered.
[1] The law of the case doctrine precludes reconsideration of issues that were or could have been raised on a prior appeal.
[2] A trial court may depart from recommended sentencing guidelines if it provides valid reasons supported by credible evidence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In the instant appeal Jefferson cannot raise any issues which either were or could have been raised on her prior appeal.”
Establishes the law of the case doctrine preventing reconsideration of previously adjudicated sentencing factors
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJefferson pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the beating death of her 21-month-old daughter. She was initially sentenced to 15 years in August 1985 bas…
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THOMPSON, Judge.
Jefferson appeals the sentence imposed pursuant to her conviction for manslaughter, contending that there was no credible proof beyond a reasonable doubt to support the trial court’s reasons for exceeding the sentence recommended by the sentencing guidelines. We affirm.
Jefferson entered a guilty plea to an information charging her with manslaughter in the beating death of her 21 month old daughter. She was sentenced the first time in August of 1985. At that time the trial judge exceeded the three to seven year recommended guideline sentence and imposed a fifteen year sentence. The judge gave as reasons for departing from the recommended guideline sentence: (1) the recommended sentence trivialized the value of human life, (2) the defendant betrayed her infant daughter’s reliance on her for love and protection, (3) the beating inflicted on the victim was savage and brutal, and (4) had the defendant promptly sought medical help the child might have survived. Jefferson appealed the sentence and in Jefferson v. State, 489 So. 2d 860 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986) this court reversed and remanded for resentencing, finding that reasons one and four were invalid.
On remand the judge again sentenced the defendant to fifteen years, giving as reasons for the departure the original reasons two and three which had been held valid by this court. Apparently recognizing that the prior decision of this court established the law of the case as to the validity of reasons two and three, Jefferson does not question the validity of those reasons in this appeal. Instead, she contends that the trial court erred in imposing a sentence exceeding the guidelines because there was no credible proof beyond a reasonable doubt that she intentionally abused her position of familial authority by committing the crime upon her daughter or that she used excessive force to commit the crime of manslaughter. In the instant appeal Jefferson cannot raise any issues which either were or could have been raised on her prior appeal. U.S. Concrete Pipe Company v. Bould, 437 So. 2d 1061 (Fla.1983); Shue v. State, 386 So. 2d 1256 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980).
The law of the case doctrine precludes this court from reconsidering the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the trial court’s determinations that defendant abused her position of familial authority and used excessive force. If these issues could be considered, we would find that there is ample credible evidence to support both of the reasons given by the trial judge for exceeding the maximum recommended guidelines sentence. The sentence is therefore AFFIRMED.
SHIVERS and ZEHMER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Tarrence L. Smith v. State, 526 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…f this departure reason, the law of the case would bar a different conclusion. See Johnson v. Dugger, 523 So. 2d 161 (Fla.1988); Preston v. State, 444 So. 2d 939, 942 (Fla.1984); Greene v. Massey, 384 So. 2d 24, 28 (Fla.1980); Jefferson v. Thompson, 516 So. 2d 33, 34 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Accordingly, we affirm the departure sentence imposed in this case. MILLS and SHIVERS, JJ., concur. . The pertinent Rules of Criminal Procedure in effect in 1985 when the offense was committed provide: 3.701(b)2. The pri…
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Mills v. State, 724 So. 2d 173 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…98) (where defendant had not originally challenged his conviction in the state’s appeal of downward departure sentence, the law of the case precluded defendant from challenging his conviction on appeal from re-sentencing) (citing Jefferson v. State, 516 So. 2d 33 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987) (law of the case precluded defendant from challenging sufficiency of proof supporting ground for upward departure where appellate court had previously ruled on validity of departure ground)), and Smith v. State, 526 So. 2d 1060 (…
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Warren v. State, 709 So. 2d 138 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…398, 400 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Neary v. State, 285 So. 2d 47, 48 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973). The law of the case doctrine applies and prevents the litigation of issues which either were or could have been raised in the prior appeal. See Jefferson v. State, 516 So. 2d 33, 34 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Appellant had ample opportunity to file his own appeal from his conviction and he failed to do so. He should not be permitted to file a long delayed appeal now. Although Wade v. State, 222 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969), seem…
Authorities Cited
- U.S. Concrete Pipe Co. v. Bould, 437 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 1983)
- Jefferson v. State, 489 So. 2d 860 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- Shue v. State, 386 So. 2d 1256 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)