CHARLIE BROWN, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1988-12-21
No. 88-641
ZEHMER, J., concurs.
535 So. 2d 671 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1988) Negative Treatment
Cited by 10 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

Charlie Brown, Jr. appeals his departure sentence for robbery and threatening to discharge a dangerous device, arguing the trial court's reasons for exceeding sentencing guidelines were invalid. The appellate court affirms the sentence, finding that the defendant's failure to comply with bond conditions demonstrated contempt for the judicial system, which constitutes a valid ground for departure.


Holding

The appellate court affirmed the departure sentence, finding that the defendant's failure to comply with bond conditions and the commission of serious offenses shortly after release demonstrated contempt for the judicial system, which is a valid basis for departure. Under Florida Statutes Section 921.001(f), a departure must be upheld when at least one stated reason is valid, regardless of the validity of other reasons.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's departure from sentencing guidelines is permissible if at least one of the stated reasons for departure is valid, even if other reasons are invalid.

[2] A defendant's demonstrated lack of regard for the law and the judicial system, evidenced by failure to comply with conditions of release or bond, can be a valid ground fo…

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Key Quotes

“lack of regard for the judiciary and the law, is a permissible ground”

Establishes the legal standard for valid departure reasons in sentencing

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Facts & Procedural History

Brown was convicted of two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of threatening to discharge a dangerous device. Shortly before committ…

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Opinion of the Court
SMITH, Chief Judge.

SMITH, Chief Judge.

On appeal of his sentence, Brown argues that the reasons given by the trial court for exceeding the guidelines were invalid. We believe that at least one of the reasons given is a valid basis for departure, and therefore we affirm.

Appellant was convicted of two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of threatening to discharge a dangerous device. Shortly before these offenses were committed, appellant was released from prison on an unrelated offense. His release was occasioned by the fact that his guilty plea was held to not have been intelligently made. In the instant case, the trial court departed from the guideline range of four and one-half to five and one-half years and instead sentenced appellant to two fifty year terms of imprisonment for the robbery counts, and fifteen years imprisonment for the count of threatening to discharge a dangerous device, all sentences to run concurrently.

In its written justification for the guidelines departure, the trial court listed four reasons: (1) appellant’s flagrant disregard for the safety of bystanders, (2) recent release from prison demonstrating predisposition to criminal behavior, (3) lack of regard for the law and the judicial system demonstrated by the appellant’s failure to comply with the conditions of his release on bond, and (4) premeditation. The third justification given, lack of regard for the judiciary and the law, is a permissible ground. Fry v. State, 497 So. 2d 964 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). See also, Santana v. State, 507 So. 2d 680 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1987) (lack of respect for the law and judicial system a valid reason for departure where defendant failed to appear for disposition of a delivery of cocaine violation, and committed several offenses the day after he was scheduled to appear), and Fuller v. State, 488 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1986) (lack of regard for the law and judicial system, among others, is a valid reason to justify departure). But see, Lee v. State, 486 So. 2d 709 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986) (under Hendrix v. State, 475 So. 2d 1218 (Fla. 1985), disregard for the laws imposed by society and the criminal justice system is an invalid reason); Weathers v. State, 508 So. 2d 1332 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1987) (“total disregard for the criminal justice system” invalid reason under facts given); Hendsbee v. State, 497 So. 2d 718 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1986) (disregard for criminal justice system may not be used to depart from guidelines).

In the instant case, there is an adequate factual basis for this departure ground. The appellant’s release from prison was under the condition that he not leave his father’s residence except to go to work. The trial court held that the appellant’s failure to abide by this condition while on bond coupled with the offenses committed shortly after his release demonstrates a contempt for the judicial system, and we agree. Accordingly, we find the departure based upon the appellant’s disregard for the system of justice appropriate in this case.

Section 921.001, Florida Statutes (1987), as amended by Chapter 87-110, Laws of Florida, provides that a departure from the guidelines must be upheld when at least one of the reasons given is valid regardless of the validity, vel non, of others. The offenses in the instant case were committed after the effective date of Chapter 87-110, and therefore, section 921.001, as amended, controls. Therefore, finding one reason to be valid, the departure must be affirmed. We do not pass upon the validity of the other grounds listed.

Sentence AFFIRMED.

ZEHMER, J., concurs.

BARFIELD, J., concurs with written opinion.

Concurrence
BARFIELD, Judge,

BARFIELD, Judge,

concurring:

I concur in the results reached in this case including the application of chapter 87-110, Laws of Florida. It is clear that chapter 87-110 will apply to offenses committed after its effective date. The context in which chapter 87-110 is referenced in the majority opinion suggests that it might not apply to offenses committed before its effective date. To the extent that such inference might be drawn from the opinion, I do not concur in the opinion and would leave that for determination in the appropriate case.

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Citator

Cited By

  • Brown v. State, 569 So. 2d 1223 (Fla. 1990)
    …PER CURIAM. We have for review Brown v. State, 535 So. 2d 671 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), based on express and direct conflict with Hendsbee v. State, 497 So. 2d 718 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986), and Lee v. State, 486 So. 2d 709 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. Brown was convicted in 1…
  • Campbell v. State, 558 So. 2d 34 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
    …e upheld if “at least one circumstance or factor justifies the departure regardless of the presence of other circumstances or factors found not to justify departure.” See Ch. 87-110, § 2, Laws of Fla.; § 921.001(5), Fla.Stat. (1987); Brown v. State, 535 So. 2d 671 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). In addition, the standard of proof necessary to support a departure from the recommended sentence has been changed to a preponderance of the evidence. § 921.001(5), Fla.Stat. (1987). The trial court’s first reason for departure…
  • Williams v. State, 545 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
    …hese reasons are either invalid — lack of respect for the law, see Robinson v. State, 530 So. 2d 1085 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); Dixon v. State, 513 So. 2d 1378 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Scott v. State, 488 So. 2d 146 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); but see Brown v. State, 535 So. 2d 671 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); see also Williams v. State, 500 So. 2d 501 (Fla.1986); Coleman v. State, 521 So. 2d 265 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988), or unsupported by the record— escalating pattern of violent behavior.1 See McIntyre v. State, 539 So. 2d 603 (Fla. 3d DC…

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