JAMES DONALD BURKHALTER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1991-04-04
No. 90-85
BOOTH and WOLF, JJ., concur.
578 So. 2d 345 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1991) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Synopsis

James Burkhalter appeals his 5-year concurrent sentences for aggravated battery and assault imposed after he violated community control. The court vacates and remands for resentencing because the trial court erroneously added legal constraint points to the guidelines scoresheet, exceeding the permitted sentencing range.


Holding

The trial court erred in adding legal constraint points because those points may only be added if the defendant was under legal constraint when committing the original offense, not when committing the violation of community control. The 5-year concurrent sentences improperly exceeded the permissible sentencing range under the original scoresheet with a one-cell bump-up.


Headnotes

[1] Points for legal constraint may not be added to a defendant's sentencing guidelines score for being under legal constraint at the time of violating probation or community…

[2] An error in calculating a defendant's sentencing guidelines score is reviewable on appeal even without a contemporaneous objection at the trial court level.

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Key Quotes

“When a defendant is being sentenced upon a violation of probation or community control for the original offenses, points may be added for legal constraint only if the defendant was under legal constraint at the time he committed the original offense; such points cannot be added for the fact that he was under legal constraint at the time he committed the violation of community control.”

Establishes the governing legal standard that legal constraint points are tied to the original offense, not the violation

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Facts & Procedural History

In June 1989, Burkhalter pleaded no contest to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault. The trial court withheld adjudication a…

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Opinion of the Court
ZEHMER, Judge.

ZEHMER, Judge.

James Burkhalter appeals his concurrent sentences of 5 years’ incarceration upon the adjudication of his guilt of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault pursuant to a finding he violated the conditions of his community control. Because the trial court erred in adding points for legal constraint to Burkhalter’s original sentencing guidelines score, we vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

In June 1989, Burkhalter pleaded no contest to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in case number 89-1005, and to aggravated assault in case number 89-972. The consolidated scoresheet prepared for the sentencing hearing did not include any points for legal constraint and reflected a guidelines sentencing range of community control or 12-30 months’ incarceration. The court withheld adjudication of guilt and placed Burkhalter on 1 year’s community control followed by 5 years’ probation in each case.

In November 1989, Burkhal-ter pleaded no contest to allegations that he had violated the conditions of his community control in both cases. A new score-sheet was prepared that included an additional 36 points for legal constraint. While the record does not contain any explanation for including these points, we must assume it was based on his being on community control under the original sentence. The guidelines range reflected on the revised scoresheet was 3'A to 4Vz years.

The trial court adjudicated Burkhalter guilty of the original offenses in both cases and imposed concurrent sentences of 5 years’ incarceration.

These judgments adjudicate Burk-halter guilty of the originally charged offenses; he was not adjudicated guilty of any additional offenses allegedly committed during his community control. When a defendant is being sentenced upon a violation of probation or community control for the original offenses, points may be added for legal constraint only if the defendant was under legal constraint at the time he committed the original offense; such points cannot be added for the fact that he was under legal constraint at the time he committed the violation of community control. Taylor v. State, 485 So. 2d 900 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986).

See also Guardado v. State, 562 So. 2d 696 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990).

Since the appealed judgments and sentences show that Burkhalter was being sentenced only for the original offenses, and nothing in the record shows (nor is it argued) that he was under legal constraint at the time he committed the original offenses, the trial court erred in adding points to Burkhal-ter’s original guidelines score for legal constraint.

The permitted sentencing range reflected on the original guidelines scoresheet (113— 154 points) was “any nonstate prison sanction or community control or 1-3½ years’ incarceration.” The authorized one-cell bump-up would place Burkhalter in the permitted sentencing range of “community control or 1-4½ years’ incarceration.” The concurrent sentences of 5 years’ incarceration, therefore, improperly exceed the range allowed pursuant to the one-cell bump-up.

The state also argues that this error was not preserved for appellate review because no objection on this ground was made to the trial court. Contrary to the state’s argument, error that results from an incorrectly calculated scoresheet may be reviewed at any time without contemporaneous objection at trial. State v. Whitfield, 487 So. 2d 1045 (1986); Brown v. State, 502 So. 2d 1293 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); rule 3.800, Fla.R.Crim.P. The sentences are VACATED and the cause is REMANDED with directions to sentence Burkhalter within the permitted range of the one-cell increase using the original scoresheet.

BOOTH and WOLF, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Tillman v. State, 592 So. 2d 767 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)
    …al court erred in adding points on the scoresheet for legal constraint. Points for legal constraint may only be added if the appellant is under legal constraint at the time he commits the offense for which he is being sentenced. Burkhalter v. State, 578 So. 2d 345 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). The appellant was not under legal constraint at the time of the original offenses of robbery and aggravated assault, and it was therefore error to add points for this reason. The appellant also challenges the following conditio…
  • Jeter v. State, 604 So. 2d 1250 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …t be scored unless the defendant was on legal constraint when he committed the original offenses. Points cannot be added merely because the defendant was [*1252] on community control or probation when he committed the violation. Burkhalter v. State, 578 So. 2d 345, 346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). In the instant case, the four counts of battery on a law enforcement officer were scored as primary offense at conviction, while the count of resisting arrest with violence was scored as an additional offense at conviction…
  • Deparvine v. State, 603 So. 2d 679 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …as 77, which lowers the recommended and permitted sentence ranges by [*680] two cells to 3-⅛⅛ to 4-V2 years, and 2-⅞⅛ to 5-½ years, respectively. Deparvine notes that his failure to object below does not bar the issue on appeal, Burkhalter v. State, 578 So. 2d 345 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991), and that the error is not harmless, in that the corrected total does not correspond to the same guidelines cell. See Sellers v. State, 578 So. 2d 339 (Fla. 1st DCA), approved on other grounds 586 So. 2d 340 (Fla.1991). The state…

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