THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
TIMOTHY FORBES, 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.
Florida appealed a one-year county stockade sentence for cocaine sale and possession, challenging the trial court's downward departure from the 2.5-3.5 year sentencing guidelines. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the defendant's strong motivation for rehabilitation constituted a valid basis for departure, and that under Florida law, a departure sentence is valid if at least one valid reason supports it, even if other stated reasons are invalid.
The court held that the defendant's motivation to be rehabilitated constitutes a valid ground for downward departure from sentencing guidelines, and that even though the small amount of cocaine was an insufficient reason for departure, the sentence was valid because at least one valid circumstance justified the departure under Florida Statute § 921.001(5).
[1] A defendant's strong motivation to be rehabilitated constitutes a valid ground for departing downward from sentencing guidelines.
[2] A departure sentence must be upheld if at least one circumstance or factor justifies the departure, regardless of the presence of other factors that do not justify depart…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“the defendant's motivation to be rehabilitated constitutes a valid ground for departing downward from the sentencing guidelines”
Establishes that rehabilitation motivation is a valid basis for downward departure, supporting the trial court's decision
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTimothy Forbes was convicted of sale and possession of cocaine. The trial court sentenced him to one year in the county stockade, departing downward f…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Sentencing Guidelines cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal by the state from a one-year county stockade sentence for sale and possession of cocaine. The state’s sole point on appeal is that the trial court erred in departing downward from the sentencing guidelines range of 2½ to ZVz years imprisonment because the two reasons given by the trial court for such departure were invalid. These two reasons were (1) the defendant’s motivation to be rehabilitated, and (2) the small amount of cocaine sold and possessed. We affirm based on the following briefly stated legal analysis.
First, it is clear that the defendant’s motivation to be rehabilitated constitutes a valid ground for departing downward from the sentencing guidelines. In the instant case, the record reveals that the defendant is strongly motivated to rehabilitate and overcome his cocaine habit and that his chances for doing so are excellent.
Consequently, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in departing from the sentencing guidelines and in sentencing the defendant to one year in the county stockade so that he could participate in a drug rehabilitation program conducted at the stockade. State v. Sachs, 526 So. 2d 48 (Fla.1988); State v. Morales, 522 So. 2d 464, 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988); State v. Glasper, 506 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987); State v. Rodriguez, 496 So. 2d 240 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); State v. Twelves, 463 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985).
Second, we agree that the small amount of cocaine involved in this case was an insufficient reason for departing from the sentencing guidelines. Atwaters v. State, 519 So. 2d 611 (Fla.1988); State v. McCluster, 525 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988).
A departure sentence, however, must be upheld where, as here, “at least one circumstance or factor justifies the departure regardless of the presence of other circumstances or factors found not to justify departure.” § 921.001(5), Fla.Stat. (1987).
The aforesaid statute abrogates the contrary ruling in Albritton v. State, 476 So. 2d 158 (Fla.1985), as to sentences imposed for offenses committed, as here, after the effective date of the statute: July 1, 1987. This being so, the invalid reason for departure from the sentencing guidelines in this case cannot affect the validity of the said departure, given the valid reason for departure previously discussed.
AFFIRMED.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (25 total)
-
State v. Smith, 547 So. 2d 613 (Fla. 1989)…d on Cara-wan. See Merckle v. State, 541 So. 2d 1312 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Spadaro v. State, 539 So. 2d 1169 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Etlinger v. State, 538 So. 2d 1354 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989); Glenn v. State, 537 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); Pastor v. State, 536 So. 2d 356 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Gonzalez-Osorio v. State, 535 So. 2d 644 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); and Henderson v. State, 526 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988), all holding that Carawan is applicable to convictions obtained prior to its rendition. Contra, Harris v. Stat…
-
Herrin v. State, 568 So. 2d 920 (Fla. 1990)…nt reason to support the departure. We note, however, that other courts have permitted downward [*922] departures based primarily upon a defendant’s potential for rehabilitation. State v. Whiddon, 554 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); State v. Forbes, 536 So. 2d 356 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); State v. Morales, 522 So. 2d 464 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988). For purposes of guidelines departures, we believe that a defendant’s substance abuse must be considered together with his or her amenability to rehabilitation. Except in case…
-
Brown v. State, 538 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)…1st DCA 1988); Burgess v. State, 524 So. 2d 1132 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Cooper v. State, 524 So. 2d 738 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); McKinnon v. State, 523 So. 2d 1238 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Marion v. State, 526 So. 2d 1077 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); Pastor v. State, 536 So. 2d 356 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Hurd v. State, 536 So. 2d 361 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Anderson v. State, 530 So. 2d 1104 [*118] (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Monsanto v. State, 530 So. 2d 952 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Perez v. State, 528 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Evans v. Sta…
Previewing 3 of 25 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- City OF Atl. Beach v. Bull, 476 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 1985)
- Albritton v. State, 476 So. 2d 158 (Fla. 1985)
- Atwaters v. State, 519 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 1988)
- State v. Sachs, 526 So. 2d 48 (Fla. 1988)
- State v. Twelves, 463 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)
- State v. Rodriguez, 496 So. 2d 240 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
- State v. Morales, 522 So. 2d 464 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)
- State v. McCLUSTER, 525 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)
- State v. Glasper, 506 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)