STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
HENRY LANE, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1991-06-19
No. 90-2569
DOWNEY, GLICKSTEIN and GARRETT, JJ., concur.
582 So. 2d 77 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1991) Negative Treatment
Cited by 30 cases

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Synopsis

The Florida appellate court reversed a trial court's order placing a defendant on probation after a nolo contendere plea to purchasing cocaine within 1,000 feet of a middle school. The court held that the mandatory minimum three-year sentence required by the drug statute superseded the trial court's discretion to impose probation under the drug treatment statute.


Holding

The court held that the mandatory minimum sentencing requirement of section 893.13(1)(e) controls and divests the trial court of discretionary authority to withhold imposition of sentence and place the defendant on probation, even when the defendant qualifies for drug treatment under section 397.12.


Headnotes

[1] A later-enacted statute requiring a mandatory minimum sentence controls over an earlier-enacted statute that allows for judicial discretion in sentencing.

[2] A statute requiring a mandatory minimum sentence for selling, purchasing, or possessing controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a school does not contain an exception…

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Key Quotes

“The mandatory minimum sentence statute — enacted later than section 397.12 —controlled and operated to divest the trial court of its discretionary authority to withhold imposition of sentence and place the defendant on probation.”

Establishes the primary holding that the later-enacted mandatory minimum statute supersedes the earlier drug treatment discretion statute

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Facts & Procedural History

The defendant was charged with violating Florida Statutes section 893.13(1)(e) by purchasing cocaine rocks within 1,000 feet of a middle school. He en…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The state appeals an order of probation rendered by the trial court. We reverse and remand. See State v. Baxter, 581 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991).

Appellee was charged by information with violating section 893.13(l)(e), Florida Statutes (1989), for the alleged purchase of cocaine rocks within one thousand feet of a middle school. After a plea of nolo conten-dere to the1 charge, he was found to be drug dependent pursuant to section 397.-021(6), Florida Statutes (1989), and was committed to HRS for treatment pursuant to section 397.12, Florida Statutes (1989), over the state’s objection. Section 893.-13(l)(e), Florida Statutes (1989), requires a mandatory minimum sentence of three calendar years for violating the statute. It provides in part:

(e) Except as authorized by this chapter, it is unlawful for any person to sell, purchase, manufacture, or deliver, or to possess with the intent to sell, purchase, manufacture, or deliver, a controlled substance in, on, or within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a public or private elementary, middle, or secondary school.

(Emphasis added).

In State v. Ross, 447 So. 2d 1380 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 456 So. 2d 1182 (Fla. 1984), this court reversed the trial court’s sentence pursuant to section 397.12, Florida Statutes (1981), because the defendant had violated section 775.087(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1981), which violation required a mandatory minimum sentence. The court said that the mandatory minimum sentence statute — enacted later than section 397.12 —controlled and operated to divest the trial court of its discretionary authority to withhold imposition of sentence and place the defendant on probation. As in Ross, the statute under which sentence was to be imposed in the instant case is the later promulgated statute. The current section 893.13(l)(e) took effect on June 27, 1989 (Ch. 89-524, § 3, Laws of Fla.). Section 397.12 first appeared in similar form in 1973 and took effect on July 1, 1973. The court said in Ross that under the rules of statutory construction the legislature is presumed to know the earlier law when it passes the later. Id. at 1382. Further, section 397.011, Florida Statutes (1989), provides in part:

For a violation of any provision of chapter 893, Florida Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, relating to possession of any substance regulated thereby, the trial judge may, in his discretion, require the defendant to participate in a drug treatment program licensed by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, provided the director of such program approves the placement of the defendant in such program.

(Emphasis added). The defendant was charged with purchase, not simple possession. Accordingly, we hold it was not the legislature’s intent to have section 397.12 be an exception to the mandatory minimum sentencing requirement of section 893.-13(l)(e) in all respects or it would have so stated.

This case is subtler than State v. Edwards, 456 So. 2d 575 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984), and State v. Raphael, 469 So. 2d 812 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), rev. denied, 484 So. 2d 9 (Fla.1986). Moreover, the defendant here purchased two rocks for $20, which could reasonably be interpreted to have been purchased for personal use only. Nevertheless, section 893.13(l)(e), makes no distinction in the quantity purchased within 1,000 feet of a school.

DOWNEY, GLICKSTEIN and GARRETT, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (15 total)

  • Carrick A. Scates v. State, 603 So. 2d 504 (Fla. 1992)
    …abilitation pursuant to section 397.12, Florida Statutes (1989).1 The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed on the premise that section 893.-13(l)(e)(l) required the imposition of a minimum mandatory sentence of three years. Accord State v. Lane, 582 So. 2d 77 (Fla. 4th DCA1991); State v. Baxter, 581 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 4th DCA1991), vacated on other grounds, Baxter v. Letts, 592 So. 2d 1089 (Fla.1992); State v. Liataud, 587 So. 2d 1155 (Fla. 4th DCA1991), review granted, 593 So. 2d 1052 (Fla.1992). Section…
  • State v. Carrick A. Scates, 585 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
    …POLEN, Judge. This appeal presents a factual scenario identical to those presented in State v. Lane, 582 So. 2d 77 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), and State v. Baxter, 582 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). On the authority of both Lane and Baxter, we reverse appellee’s sentence and remand to the trial court with directions that appellee be sentenced to the minimum mandatory…
  • State v. Liataud, 587 So. 2d 1155 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
    …can exercise discretion under Chapter 953 and Section [*1158] 397.12 to those cases where merely pos-sessory offense are involved, based on one phrase contained in subsection (2) of Section 397.011(2), Fla.Stat., see, State v. Lane, 16 F.L.W. 1631 [582 So. 2d 77] (Fla. 4th DCA 1991: For a violation of any provision of Chapter 893, Florida Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, relating to possession of any substance regulated thereby, the trial judge may, in his discretion, require the defend…

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