JAMES CHANEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1993-05-05
No. 91-2287
ANSTEAD and STONE, JJ., concur in part and dissent in part with opinions.
617 So. 2d 844 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1993) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 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.

Synopsis

James Chaney was convicted of sexual battery with slight force and attempted robbery. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed both convictions and sentences, but modified the judgment to correctly reflect that sexual battery with slight force is a second-degree felony (not first-degree) and quashed a restitution order improperly imposed after sentencing had commenced.


Holding

The failure to make statutory findings was error but harmless given the undisputed evidence of prior convictions. The trial court cannot order restitution as part of sentence after sentencing has been pronounced and the defendant has commenced serving the sentence, so the restitution order must be quashed. The judgment must be corrected to reflect that sexual battery with slight force is a second-degree felony, not first-degree.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant is not entitled to relief based on amendments to a statute if the amendments did not affect the defendant's case.

[2] A trial court's failure to make required statutory findings of fact when classifying a defendant as an habitual felony offender is harmless error if the evidence presente…

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Key Quotes

“the court may order restitution at the time of sentencing and reserve to a later date the determination of the amount...it may not order restitution except as a part of the sentence. Once the sentence has been pronounced and the defendant has commenced serving that sentence it may not be increased.”

Establishes the rule that restitution must be imposed at sentencing as part of the sentence, and cannot be ordered after sentencing and commencement of service

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Facts & Procedural History

Chaney was convicted on a four-count information of sexual battery with slight force (Count II) and attempted robbery (Count IV). He was sentenced as …

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Opinion of the Court
OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., Senior Judge.

OWEN, WILLIAM C., Jr., Senior Judge.

On a four count information appellant was convicted of Count II, sexual battery with slight force, for which he was sentenced to twenty years as an habitual felony offender, and Count IV, attempted robbery, for which he was sentenced to five years concurrent with credit for jail time served. We affirm both the judgment and the sentences, as herein modified.

Appellant’s first two points concern evidentiary rulings, neither of which, if error, was harmful nor requires discussion. Appellant was sentenced as an habitual felony offender under section 775.084, Flor-ida Statutes (1989). His challenge to the constitutionality of the amendments to that statute contained in chapter 89-280, Laws of Florida, is academically sound. State v. Johnson, 616 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1993). However, he is entitled to no relief because he was not affected by the amendments to the statute as contained in chapter 89-280. Id.

With respect to the sentencing, the court, without making the required statutory findings of fact,1 classified appellant as an habitual felony offender and pronounced sentence. This was error. Rolle v. State, 586 So. 2d 1293 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). Notwithstanding, appellant is entitled to no relief in this respect because the error is clearly harmless. State v. Rucker, 613 So. 2d 460 (Fla.1993). At the sentencing hearing the State not only produced evidence of appellant’s prior felony convictions which qualified him for habitual felony offender status, but also produced evidence sufficient to show that such convictions had not been pardoned or set aside.

Additionally, appellant’s trial counsel confirmed the factual correctness relating to appellant’s felony offenses although contesting unrelated matters appearing on a guidelines score sheet. As noted in Ruck-er, to remand for resentencing under these circumstances would result in mere legal churning.2

The court did not at the time of sentencing enter an order of restitution nor reserve the right to do so at a later time. Rather, twelve days later and after appellant had commenced serving his sentence, the court filed a written order requiring restitution, reserving until a subsequent date a determination of the amount. While the court may order restitution at the time of sentencing and reserve to a later date the determination of the amount, see generally, Hatcher v. State, 591 So. 2d 1134 (Fla. 4th DCA), review denied, 599 So. 2d 1278 (Fla.1992), it may not order restitution except as a part of the sentence. Once the sentence has been pronounced and the defendant has commenced serving that sentence it may not be increased. Cherry v. State, 439 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Gonzalez v. State, 384 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); see also Singletary v. State, 530 So. 2d 460 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) (probation condition requiring defendant to make restitution stricken where it was not imposed at sentencing); Pooley v. State, 403 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981) (legal sentence cannot be increased after defendant had begun serving it); In Interest of D.T., 477 So. 2d 1086 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985) (trial court had no authority to impose restitution after entry and performance of probation or community control order which contained no order of restitution).

The untimely order of restitution must be quashed. Glee v. State, 539 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989) (order granting restitution quashed because when the sentence was imposed the trial court failed to retain jurisdiction to order restitution).

Contra, Grice v. State, 528 So. 2d 1347 (1st DCA 1988); cf. State v. Butz, 568 So. 2d 537 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990).

The written judgment incorrectly reflects that sexual battery with slight force is a first degree felony, and the state concurs that the judgment should be corrected to reflect that the offense is a second degree felony.

The judgment is modified to reflect that the offense for which appellant was convicted under Count II of the Information is a second degree felony, and as modified is affirmed. The order granting restitution is quashed and in all other respects the sentences on Counts II and IV are severally affirmed.

ANSTEAD and STONE, JJ., concur in part and dissent in part with opinions.

. The court’s discussion with the prosecutor and appellant's counsel concerning appellant’s prior criminal record (as disclosed by the presentence investigation) may have led the court to believe that appellant had waived the necessity for making any factual findings.

. We take this opportunity to again remind that section 775.084(3j(d) requires express findings. See Walker v. State, 462 So. 2d 452 (Fla.1985).

Other
STONE, Judge,

STONE, Judge,

concurring in part and dissenting in part.

In my judgment, an otherwise proper restitution order that is entered after a sentence is imposed should be deemed valid as long as it is imposed within the 60 day period within which the trial court has jurisdiction. Cf. State v. Butz, 568 So. 2d 537 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990). Therefore, as to that issue, I dissent. In all other respects, I concur in the opinion.

Other
ANSTEAD, Judge,

ANSTEAD, Judge,

concurring in part and dissenting in part.

Although I concur in the majority’s opinion on the sentencing issues, I believe the trial court committed reversible error in admitting, over objections, testimony by a state witness as to statements about the incident by the victim, as well as the witness’ opinion as to the truthfulness of these statements. I cannot find this testimony harmless under the test set out in State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla.1986).


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Citator

Cited By

  • Whitehead v. State, 21 So. 3d 157 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
    …ble jeopardy argument. A sentence can be changed if it is done at the same sentencing hearing, before the defendant has commenced serving his sentence. [*161] See Curtis v. State, 789 So. 2d 394, 395-96 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); see also Chaney v. State, 617 So. 2d 844, 845 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); Moore v. State, 538 So. 2d 123, 124 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). Until the sentencing hearing comes to an end, “the trial court has jurisdiction to modify, vacate, correct, change, amend, alter or vary, increase or decrease, any ea…

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