DANNY EDWARD CHAISON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1992-11-18
No. 91-01418
BOOTH, SHIVERS and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.
608 So. 2d 560 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1992) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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.


Holding

The court held that the habitual violent felony offender sentences were illegal because the statute under which they were imposed, chapter 89-280, Laws of Florida, violates the single-subject rule of the Florida Constitution.


Facts & Procedural History

Appellant was sentenced under the habitual violent felony offender statute, chapter 89-280, Laws of Florida, which amended section 775.084(l)(b), Flor…

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.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This cause is before us on appeal from judgments and sentences. Appellant raises five issues, but we need only discuss his contention that his habitual violent felony offender sentences are illegal. This court has previously held that chapter 89-280, Laws of Florida, which amended inter alia section 775.084(l)(b), Florida Statutes, the habitual violent felony offender provision under which appellant was sentenced, violates the single-subject rule of the Florida Constitution.1 Johnson v. State, 589 So. 2d 1370, 1371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). Appellant’s failure to raise this issue in the trial court does not prevent him from raising the issue here. Claybourne v. State, 600 So. 2d 516, 517 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).

Appellant committed the offenses for which he was sentenced between the October 1, 1989 effective date of the 1989 amendments, and May 2, 1991, the date the amendments were reenacted as part of the Florida Statutes. Our review of the record indicates that appellant did not qualify for habitual violent felony offender sentencing under the 1988 version of the habitual violent felony offender statute. We must therefore reverse. As in Johnson and Clayboume, however, we certify the following question to the Supreme Court as one of great public importance:

WHETHER THE CHAPTER 89-280 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 775.084, FLORIDA STATUTES, WERE UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRIOR TO THEIR REENACTMENT OF THE FLORIDA STATUTES, BECAUSE IN VIOLATION OF THE SINGLE-SUBJECT RULE OF THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION.

BOOTH, SHIVERS and WEBSTER, JJ., concur. . Art. III, § 6, Fla.Const.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Marblee Seabrook v. State, 629 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 1993)
    …PER CURIAM. We have for review Seabrook v. State, 608 So. 2d 560 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), in which the district court affirmed Seabrook’s sentencing as a habitual felony offender pursuant to section 775.084, Florida Statutes (1989). The district court of appeal certified the following question as being of great publi…
  • London v. State, 623 So. 2d 527 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)
    …KAHN, Judge. Appellant, in his motions for rehearing and certification, requests that this court certify as a question of great public importance the following question certified in Seabrook v. State, 608 So. 2d 560 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), and Porter v. State, 609 So. 2d 640 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992): DOES SECTION 775.084, FLORIDA STATUTES (1989), DENY EITHER DUE PROCESS OR EQUAL PROTECTION OF LAW UNDER EITHER THE FLORIDA OR THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION; OR VIOLATE T…
  • Baker v. State, 635 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
    …statute is unconstitutionally inequitable, irrational, vague, and subject to arbitrary and capricious application; provides no due process; and violates the principle of separation of powers. These arguments are without merit. See Seabrook v. State, 608 So. 2d 560 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), approved 629 So. 2d 129 (Fla.1993); Porter v. State, 609 So. 2d 640 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), approved, 629 So. 2d 834 (Fla.1993). We therefore affirm the habitual felony offender sentences imposed herein. With regard to the sentenc…

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw