PHILLIP PAUL PETTIT, APPELLANT,
v.
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.
Appellant Pettit was convicted of aggravated assault and petit theft. The court vacated his sentences due to the trial court's failure to comply with statutory sentencing requirements, but affirmed the trial court's inclusion of his prior juvenile dispositions in calculating his prior record score for sentencing purposes.
The trial court failed to comply with section 39.111(6)(d) by not setting forth written reasons for imposing adult sanctions, requiring remand for resentencing. However, prior juvenile dispositions that are equivalent to convictions and would have been criminal if committed by an adult may be scored as part of the prior record under the sentencing rules.
[1] A trial court's failure to provide a written statement of reasons for imposing adult sanctions, as required by statute, mandates vacation of the sentences and remand for…
[2] Prior juvenile dispositions that are the equivalent of adult convictions and occurred within three years of the commission of the primary offense must be included in the…
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“Juvenile record: All prior dispositions which are the equivalent of convictions as defined in section (d)(2), occurring within three (3) years of the commission of the primary offense and which would have been criminal if committed by an adult, shall be included in prior record.”
Establishes the rule permitting inclusion of prior juvenile dispositions in sentencing calculations when they meet specified criteria
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant Phillip Pettit was convicted of aggravated assault and petit theft. He had three prior juvenile adjudications for grand theft, receiving sto…
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.
ZEHMER, Judge.
Appellant Phillip Pettit appeals from his conviction and sentences for aggravated assault and petit theft. As to appellant's first point on appeal, the state concedes the trial court did not comply with the requirements of section 39.111(6)(d), Florida Statutes (1985), by setting forth a written statement of reasons for imposing adult sanctions. Appellant's sentences are therefore vacated and the cause remanded for resentencing in compliance with that section.
Next, appellant contends that his three prior juvenile dispositions should not have been scored as part of his prior record because section 39.111(3) provides that such an adjudication shall not be deemed a conviction. Appellant states that while Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701 permits scoring of pri-or offenses which resulted in convictions, his prior offenses were not convictions nor the equivalent of convictions and therefore could not be classified as such. We reject appellant’s argument.
Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(5)(c) states:
Juvenile record: All prior dispositions which are the equivalent of convictions as defined in section (d)(2), occurring within three (3) years of the commission of the primary offense and which would have been criminal if committed by an adult, shall be included in prior record. [Emphasis added.]
Conviction is defined in section (d)(2) as “a determination of guilt resulting from plea or trial, regardless of whether adjudication was withheld or whether imposition of sentence was suspended.” Furthermore, the Committee Note (1985 Amendment) to Rule 3.701(d)(5) states:
Juvenile dispositions, with the exclusion of status offenses, are included and considered along with adult convictions by operation of this provision. However, each separate adjudication is discharged from consideration if three (3) years have passed between the date of disposition and the commission of the instant offense.
Appellant was adjudicated delinquent on charges of grand theft, receiving stolen property, and dealing in stolen property, offenses which would have been criminal if committed by an adult. The dispositions occurred within three years of the commission of the primary offense. As appellant’s three prior juvenile dispositions fit within the rule’s definitions, it was not error for the trial court to include them in calculating appellant’s prior record score.
AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED for further proceedings.
BOOTH and WIGGINTON, JJ., concur.