LISA COLLINS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, 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.
The Court affirmed the judgment, holding that the petitioner failed to make a persuasive showing of actual innocence, and therefore, the question of whether federal courts may entertain such claims was reserved.
[1] A defendant cannot be convicted of both DUI/Manslaughter and vehicular homicide for the same death.
[2] Reckless driving is a necessarily included offense of vehicular homicide.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioner, convicted of murder, sought to present newly discovered evidence of actual innocence ten years after his conviction. The evidence consiste…
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 Necessarily Included Offense cases and more on FLexlaw
W. SHARP, Judge.
Collins appeals from her judgment and sentence for DUI/manslaughter,1 DUI with serious bodily injuries,2 driving with a suspended license,3 and reckless driving.4 Collins was adjudicated guilty at trial of the first three crimes but not the last, because the judge thought double jeopardy applied. However, the judgment and sentence forms include the reckless driving count. The judgment also lists the DUI with serious injuries as a second degree felony, whereas it is a third degree felony.5 Aside from those two errors, we affirm.
These criminal charges grew out of an accident which occurred when Collins drove her vehicle through a red light at high speed and hit a truck and a car in the intersection. The driver of the car (No-tholt) was killed and the passenger seriously injured. Collins argues on appeal that the trial judge should have prevented four eyewitnesses to the accident from testifying they thought Collins caused the accident. Although admission of this testimony appears erroneous, there was overwhelming evidence to support the jury's conclusion that Collins caused the accident. We therefore view the error as harmless. State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla.1986).
We think the trial court properly declined to adjudicate Collins on the reckless driving count. In the amended information, Lisa was charged with DUI/Manslaughter resulting in the death of Barbara Notholt and with the vehicular homicide resulting in the death of Barbara Notholt. Even though they are separate crimes, the courts have held that a person cannot be convicted of DUI/Manslaughter and vehicular homicide for the same death. Houser v. State, 474 So. 2d 1193 (Fla.1985); Stancato v. State, 526 So. 2d 723 (Fla. 3d DCA1988); Vela v. State, 450 So. 2d 305 (Fla. 5th DCA1984). This court has concluded that the rule that there is only one homicide conviction for a single death survives the statutory amendment to section 775.021(4). Logan v. State, 592 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 5th DCA1991), cause dismissed, 599 So. 2d 656 (Fla.1992). Accord Kurtz v. State, 564 So. 2d 519 (Fla. 2d DCA1990) (question certified). Contra Murphy v. State, 578 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 4th DCA1991) (question certified).
Thus it appears Collins could not be convicted of both DUI/Manslaughter and vehicular homicide for the death of Ms. No-tholt. Both charges, however, were submitted to the jury. The jury found Collins guilty of DUI/Manslaughter. It did not find Collins guilty of vehicular homicide but instead found her guilty of reckless driving.
Reckless driving is a necessarily included offense of vehicular homicide. State v. Barritt, 531 So. 2d 338 (Fla.1988); Chikitus v. Shands, 373 So. 2d 904 (Fla.1979); Rushton v. State, 395 So. 2d 610 (Fla. 5th DCA1981). Vehicular homicide is the killing of a human being by the operation of a motor vehicle by another in a reckless manner likely to cause the death of or great bodily harm to another. § 782.071(1), Fla. Stat. (1989). Reckless driving is driving any vehicle with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. § 316.192(1), Fla.Stat. (1989).
In contrast, DUI/Manslaughter requires proof only of simple negligence while operating an automobile under the influence of alcohol. Magaw v. State, 537 So. 2d 564 (Fla.1989). Reckless operation of the vehicle is not a required element of the crime of DUI/Manslaughter. Murphy v. State, 578 So. 2d at 411. But, since the jury found Collins guilty of DUI/Manslaughter, a guilty verdict for vehicular homicide (or its lesser includeds) would have to be set aside under the one death/one conviction rule.6
Accordingly, we affirm the convictions and sentences on the first three counts. However, we vacate the judgment and sentence for reckless driving. We also note on remand the judgment form which improperly states that the second count (DUI with serious injuries) is a second degree felony, should be corrected.
AFFIRM in part; REVERSE in part; REMAND.
GOSHORN, C.J., and HARRIS, J., concur. . § 316.193(3)(a), (b), (c)3, Fla.Stat. (1989).
. § 316.193(3)(a), (b), (c)2, Fla.Stat. (1989).
. § 322.34(3), Fla.Stat. (1989).
. § 316.192, Fla.Stat. (1989).
. § 316.193(3)(a), (b), (c)2, Fla.Stat. (1989).
. DUI/Manslaughter is a felony of the second degree, § 316.193(3)(a), (b), (c)3. Vehicular homicide is a felony of the third degree, § 782.-071(1). Reckless driving is a misdemeanor, § 316.192. Since DUI/Manslaughter is the highest degree crime, it would stand and the others would be set aside.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Williams v. City OF Minneola, 619 So. 2d 983 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)…v. Dupont, 455 So. 2d 1026, 1027-1028 (Fla.1984); Carraway v. Revell, 116 So. 2d 16, 20 n. 12 (Fla.1959). Reckless driving has been described as driving with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. See Collins v. State, 605 So. 2d 568, 569 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992). In a vehicular homicide case, for purposes of jury instructions or statutory construction, the terms reckless or willful or wanton conduct have no significant difference because they are used interchangeably. See W.E.B. v.…
-
State v. Lewek, 656 So. 2d 268 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…d of DUI manslaughter. Despite this clear rule saying that a defendant cannot be convicted of both manslaughter and vehicular homicide for a single death, there is no such rule saying that he cannot be charged with both crimes. In Collins v. State, 605 So. 2d 568 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992), charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide were both submitted to the jury, which found the defendant guilty of DUI manslaughter and of vehicular homi [*269] cide’s necessarily lesser included offense of reckless driving…
-
State v. MAY, 670 So. 2d 1002 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…e death of another. Magaw v. State, 537 So. 2d 564 (Fla.1989); see § 316.193(3), Fla.Stat. (1991). Reckless driving is not an element of DUI manslaughter; the state need only prove simple negligence in the operation of the vehicle. Collins v. State, 605 So. 2d 568 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992). Whether May negligently operated her vehicle and caused Hassan’s death was a question of fact for the jury. Since this was a factual issue, the trial court erred in substituting its judgment for that of the jury and granting the…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (12 total)
- State v. DiGUILIO, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla. 1986)
- Magaw v. State, 537 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 1989)
- Ramsey v. State, 474 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 1985)
- Houser v. State, 474 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 1985)
- Kurtz v. State, 564 So. 2d 519 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- State v. Barritt, 531 So. 2d 338 (Fla. 1988)
- Chikitus v. Shands, 373 So. 2d 904 (Fla. 1979)
- Vela v. State, 450 So. 2d 305 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)
- Murphy v. State, 578 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)
- Logan v. State, 592 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)