JOE LEWIS THOMAS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1988-12-15
No. 88-156
ORFINGER, J., concurs., DAUKSCH,. J., concurs specially with opinion.
534 So. 2d 1237 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1988) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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.

Synopsis

Thomas appealed his five-year perjury sentence, challenging the trial court's inclusion of 24 points for "legal constraint" in the sentencing scoresheet. The court held that being on trial for other offenses does not fall within the specific categories listed in the sentencing rules for "legal constraint," and therefore the points should not have been assessed.


Holding

The court held that being on trial for other offenses does not fall within the specific categories of "legal constraint" enumerated in the rule (parole, probation, community control, custody, escapee status, fugitive status, or pretrial intervention/diversion programs), and therefore 24 points for legal constraint should not have been assessed.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant is not considered under "legal constraint" for sentencing purposes when the alleged constraint is the pendency of other criminal charges for which the defenda…

[2] Sentencing guidelines require specific categories of "legal constraint" to be met before additional points can be assessed.

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Key Quotes

“We agree with Thomas that the twenty-four points for legal constraint under "legal status at time of offense" should not have been assessed in this case.”

The court's agreement with the appellant that the sentencing points were improperly included.

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Facts & Procedural History

Thomas was convicted of perjury and sentenced to five years imprisonment. At sentencing, the trial court included 24 points for "legal constraint" bas…

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Opinion of the Court
SHARP, Chief Judge.

SHARP, Chief Judge.

Thomas appeals from his sentence of five years imprisonment after his conviction of perjury.1 In compiling Thomas' scoresheet at the sentencing hearing, the trial court included twenty-four points for being under “legal constraint” at the time Thomas committed the perjury offense.2 These additional points put Thomas in the four and one-half to five and one-half year sentencing bracket. Without them, he would be in the three and one-half to four and one-half year bracket, and his five year sentence would constitute a “departure” sentence for which no reasons were articulated.

We agree with Thomas that the twenty-four points for legal constraint under “legal status at time of offense” should not have been assessed in this case. The basis for their inclusion was that Thomas committed the perjury while he was on trial for other offenses (grand theft of a motor vehicle and resisting an officer without violence).

Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701.d.6. specifically lists categories of “legal constraint” under the definition of “legal status”:

Legal status at time of offense is defined as follows: Offenders on parole, probation or community control; in custody serving a sentence; escapees; fugitives who have fled to avoid prosecution or who have failed to appear for a criminal judicial proceeding or who have violated conditions of a supersedeas bond; and offenders in pretrial intervention or diversion programs.

If a defendant falls within one of the listed categories, twenty-four points should be added to the total score. If he or she does not fall into one of those categories, and is under no legal restriction at the time of the commission of the offense, (the state concedes Thomas was not in this appeal), the rule requires that no points be assessed for category IV “legal status.” Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701.d.6. Accordingly, we reverse the sentence and remand for resentencing.

REVERSED and REMANDED for re-sentencing.

ORFINGER, J., concurs.

DAUKSCH,. J., concurs specially with opinion.

. § 837.02(1), Fla.Stat. (1987).

. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701.A6.

Concurrence
DAUKSCH, Judge,

DAUKSCH, Judge,

concurring specially.

While I agree this appellant was illegally sentenced I note the state has conceded the point. In my opinion this matter could have been resolved without the full appellate review. When it was recognized by the state that error had occurred then the common-place request for a relinquishment of jurisdiction could have allowed the case to return to the sentencing judge for correction of the error.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Jennings v. State, 595 So. 2d 251 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …ce investigation report, which had not been verified. Legal status points may be scored if at some time prior to the convicted offense, the offender had failed to appear for a criminal judicial proceeding. Fla. R.Crim.P. 3.701 d.6; Thomas v. State, 534 So. 2d 1237, 1238 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988). If an accused challenges the accuracy of his prior record, both on hearsay grounds and as to the correctness of the information, the state is required to provide further corroboration. Vance v. State, 545 So. 2d 398, 399-4…

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