MORRIS BILL ALLEN, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the victim's status as a law enforcement officer and the defendant's excessive use of force were invalid reasons for departing from the sentencing guidelines.
[1] A defendant's conviction for a lesser included offense precludes the use of factors related to the greater offense, for which no conviction was obtained, as a basis for s…
[2] Factors inherent in offenses for which convictions have not been obtained cannot be used as a basis for departure from sentencing guidelines.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant threw a concrete block at an undercover police officer, causing injury. The defendant was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, a…
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GRIFFIN, Judge.
Morris Bill Allen, Jr. (“defendant”) timely appeals a departure sentence. We reverse.
On April 12, 1991, Richard White, an undercover police officer, was driving slowly through defendant’s neighborhood. Defendant, who allegedly had been drinking heavily, was standing by the side of the road. As White pulled to a stop, he waved casually at defendant, spoke briefly to him, and then turned away. After someone called to the officer, identifying him as such, defendant, without warning, picked up a small concrete block, hauled back and threw the block with great force at the officer’s head from a distance of no more than 10 feet. As a consequence, the officer suffers some blurred vision, hearing loss and equilibrium impairment.
Defendant was charged by amended information with the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.1 After a jury trial, he was found guilty of the lesser included offense of attempted second degree murder. At the sentencing hearing, the trial judge unilaterally amended defendant’s scoresheet to include points for “severe” victim injury. The trial judge then departed from the guidelines sentence because the victim was a law enforcement officer and due to defendant’s excessive use of force.
On appeal, defendant contends that both reasons for departure are invalid. We agree. The fact that the victim of the attempted murder was an on-duty police officer cannot be used as a reason for departure because reasons for deviating from the guidelines cannot include “factors relating to the instant offenses for which convictions have not been obtained.” Fla. R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(ll).2 Here, although defendant was charged and tried on the charge of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, he was convicted only of the lesser included offense of attempted second degree murder. This makes the victim’s status as a police officer a factor for which no conviction was obtained.
That the defendant in this case was charged with, but not convicted of, the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer is what distinguishes this case from State v. Baker, 483 So. 2d 423 (Fla.1986) and Brown v. State, 538 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 545 So. 2d 1366 (Fla.1989), relied on by the state on appeal.3 Both of these earlier cases involve offenses committed prior to the 1988 enactment of sections 775.0825 and 784.07(3), Florida Statutes, which together provide enhanced penalties for any person convicted of the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. Ch. 88-373, Laws of Fla.4 In neither of these earlier cases was the victim’s status as an on-duty police officer an element of the offense as charged.
The other reason for departure given by the trial judge was that the force used during defendant’s attack was extreme, and the attack was particularly violent and aggravated. In general, where “severe” victim injury has been factored into the scoresheet, the use of extreme force may not be used as a basis for departure. Simmons v. State, 570 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 5th DCA1990). While an exception to this rule permits departure where the egregious nature of the defendant’s conduct goes well beyond the element of victim injury calculated by the guidelines, cases that have permitted departure for this reason most frequently involve conduct that is gratuitous or beyond the violent act which constituted the commission of the offense.5 Regardless of whether a single blow can constitute excessive force, defendant’s conduct in this case does not qualify for a guidelines departure.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
W. SHARP, and HARRIS, JJ., concur. . §§ 775.0825, 777.04, 782.04 and 784.07(3), Fla. Stat. (1989).
. See, e.g., State v. Fletcher, 530 So. 2d 296 (Fla.1988) (factors inherent in offenses for which convictions were not obtained cannot be used as basis for departure); Scurry v. State, 489 So. 2d 25 (Fla.1986) (same).
. At sentencing, the state agreed with defense counsel that the failure of the jury to find defendant guilty of attempting to murder a law enforcement officer precluded departure from the guidelines.
. In Baker, the defendant had been charged with attempted first-degree murder and six varying third degree felonies. Baker v. State, 466 So. 2d 1144, 1145 (Fla. 3d DCA1985), affirmed, 483 So. 2d 423 (Fla.1986). In Brown, the defendant was charged with attempted murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
. State v. McCall, 524 So. 2d 663 (Fla.1988); Hall v. State, 517 So. 2d 692 (Fla.1988); Vanover v. State, 498 So. 2d 899 (Fla.1986); Simmons v. State, 570 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 5th DCA1990); Henderson v. State, 567 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 1st DCA1990), rev. denied, 581 So. 2d 164 (Fla.1991); Williams v. State, 531 So. 2d 212 (Fla. 1st DCA1988). Of these cases, only Vanover involved a single act which itself constituted the offense.
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Citator
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Catalino Zolache v. State, 687 So. 2d 298 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…itted Appellant of attempted premeditated murder by its verdict for the lesser included offense, the trial court is precluded from using any factor derived from the element of premeditation to support a guidelines departure sentence. Allen v. State, 604 So. 2d 23 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992). The State argues that the trial court’s departure from the guidelines is not reviewable by this Court because in the previous appeal of this case, the same argument was made by Appellant. The State contends this Court has alrea…
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Browning v. State, 625 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)…eparture if the crime is one that was specifically drafted to protect law enforcement officers. If a law enforcement officer, as victim, is an element of the crime, then that factor cannot be used as a basis for a departure sentence. Allen v. State, 604 So. 2d 23 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); Ostrowski v. State, 509 So. 2d 1246, 1247 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Cf., State v. Baker, 483 So. 2d 423 (Fla.1986). Therefore, reasons one and two are invalid reasons for departure. Reason three is invalid because this court has prev…
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Small v. State, 667 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)…arly brutal, barbaric or grotesque result. See, e.g., State v. McCall, 524 So. 2d 663 (Fla.1988); Hall v. State, 517 So. 2d 692 (Fla.1988); Brown v. State, 611 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992), review denied, 621 So. 2d 1065 (Fla.1993); Allen v. State, 604 So. 2d 23 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992). The evidence as to how the tragic death in this case occurred is found in two statements given by appellant following her arrest, and in the opinion testimony of the medical examiner, which was given at the sentencing hearing.…1 / 2
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (11 total)
- Scurry v. State, 489 So. 2d 25 (Fla. 1986)
- Creed Martin Vanover v. State, 498 So. 2d 899 (Fla. 1986)
- J.I. Case Co. v. Henley, 517 So. 2d 692 (Fla. 1988)
- Terence A. Baker v. State, 466 So. 2d 1144 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- State v. Terence A. Baker, 483 So. 2d 423 (Fla. 1986)
- State v. McCALL, 524 So. 2d 663 (Fla. 1988)
- Williams v. State, 531 So. 2d 212 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Brown v. State, 538 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)
- State v. Linford Fletcher, 530 So. 2d 296 (Fla. 1988)
- Simmons v. State, 570 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)