THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
JOHNNY WILSON, ETC., APPELLEE
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A downward departure from sentencing guidelines requires a written statement of reasons, and disagreement with the guidelines is an invalid reason for departure.
The defendant pleaded nolo contendere to robbery and kidnapping charges and was sentenced below the recommended guidelines range. The trial judge depa…
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PER CURIAM.
The state appeals the trial court’s downward departure from the sentencing guidelines. We reverse.
The defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of kidnapping with a weapon, and two counts of robbery with a firearm. The trial judge accepted the plea and adjudicated the defendant guilty. Over the state’s objection, the defendant was sentenced to seven years incarceration for each offense and three years minimum, mandatory incarceration for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, all of which were to run concurrently. This sentence was below the recommended guidelines range of nine to twelve years. Although the deviation from the guidelines was entered without an explicit, written reason, the transcript of the sentencing hearing reveals that the trial judge felt that punishment under the guidelines was severe and that the defendant’s criminal record was related to his untreated drug abuse problem. The judge recommended that the defendant serve his prison term at an institution where a drug counseling and rehabilitation program was available.
The case must be remanded for sentencing consistent with Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701(d)(ll) which requires the judge to submit a written statement reciting the reasons for the departure sentence. See Burke v. State, 483 So. 2d 404 (Fla.1985); State v. Jackson, 478 So. 2d 1054 (Fla.1985). While, the trial judge’s disagreement with the proposed sentence under the guidelines is an invalid reason for departure, Scott v. State, 508 So. 2d 335 (Fla.1987); Chenard v. State, 510 So. 2d 363 (Fla.3d DCA 1987), drug dependency may be a clear and convincing reason to mitigate a recommended sentence, see Barbera v. State, 505 So. 2d 413 (Fla.1987).
Accordingly, the sentence is reversed and remanded for a written order explicitly setting forth appropriate grounds for deviation.
Reversed and remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
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Herrin v. State, 568 So. 2d 920 (Fla. 1990)…2d 94 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); State v. Salony, 528 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 531 So. 2d 1355 (Fla.1988); State v. Whitten, 524 So. 2d 1114 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); State v. Francis, 524 So. 2d 1172, 1173 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); State v. Wilson, 523 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). At the outset, we are unwilling to say that substance abuse can only be a valid reason for a downward departure in those cases in which a defendant’s mind was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time the crime was committed. On…
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State v. Adams, 528 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…minal Procedure 3.701(d)(11). Accordingly, we vacate the sentence and remand with directions to the trial court to provide written reasons supporting the departure sentence. See State v. Frederick, 525 So. 2d 491 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); State v. Wilson, 523 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Daughtry v. State, 521 So. 2d 208 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). Sentence vacated and cause remanded for resentencing.…
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State v. Bledsoe, 538 So. 2d 94 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…departure from the sentencing guidelines. Barbera v. State, 505 So. 2d 413 (Fla.1987); State v. Salony, 528 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 531 So. 2d 1355 (Fla.1988); State v. Whitten, 524 So. 2d 1114 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); State v. Wilson, 523 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). However, as the state contends, and the defendant concedes, the trial court erred in not entering a written order delineating its reason for departure. Consequently, the sentence must be vacated and the case remanded for entry…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Jackson, 478 So. 2d 1054 (Fla. 1985)
- Barbera v. State, 505 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1987)
- Scott v. State, 508 So. 2d 335 (Fla. 1987)
- Burke v. State, 483 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 1985)
- Chenard v. State, 510 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)