WALLACE L. WILLIAMS, JR., PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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Florida Supreme Court held that appellate courts may undertake proportionality review of non-death penalty sentences under article I, section 17 of the Florida Constitution, reversing the district court's contrary holding while affirming the conviction and sentence reversal.
Appellate courts may conduct proportionality review of non-death penalty criminal sentences under article I, section 17 of the Florida Constitution.
[1] Proportionality review of non-death penalty sentences is available under article I, section 17 of the Florida Constitution in a proper case.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWilliams was convicted and sentenced; the district court affirmed his conviction but reversed his sentence and remanded for resentencing.…
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PER CURIAM.
We have for review Williams v. State, 614 So. 2d 1108 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), in which the district court certified the following question as one of great public importance: “Does article I, section 17 of the Florida Constitution permit an appellate court to undertake proportionality review of a non-death penalty sentence?” Id. at 1109. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. We approve in part and quash in part the district court’s decision.
While we find no error in the district court’s affirmance of petitioner’s conviction or its reversal of his sentence with a remand for resentencing, we quash that portion of the district court’s decision which held that there can be no “proportionality review” of criminal penalties other than death under article I, section 17 of the Florida Constitution. 614 So. 2d at 1109. On the authority of Hale v. State, 630 So. 2d 521 (Fla.1993), we hold that there can be such review in a proper case. In view of the fact that the district court reversed petitioner’s sentence and remanded for resentencing, we find it unnecessary to reach petitioner’s argument that his sentence constituted “cruel or unusual punishment” under article I, section 17. We remand this ease to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, McDonald, shaw, grimes, kogan and HARDING, JJ., concur.
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Gibson v. State, 721 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)…sentence “cruel or unusual” under Article I, Section 17 of the Florida Constitution or “cruel and unusual” under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. See Hale v. State, 630 So. 2d 521 (Fla.1993); Williams v. State, 630 So. 2d 534 (Fla.1993). We are required to base this decision upon a proportionality review. See Hale, 630 So. 2d at 525. The methodology for such a review is not yet explained in any detail in the controlling case law. See, e.g., Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S.…
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Graff v. State, 843 So. 2d 1012 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)…e matters factored into the court's decision. Byrd was one of the cases reviewed by the supreme court in Wilson v. State, 845 So. 2d 142 (Fla. Apr. 10, 2003). . The issue of proportionality has not been raised in this appeal. See Williams v. State, 630 So. 2d 534 (Fla.1993); Hale v. State, 630 So. 2d 521 (Fla.1993).…
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COE v. State, 633 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)…y review’ of criminal penalties,” as this appellant does, then a record to support such a review must come from below (the trial court) and some direction on how to make such a review (from the supreme court) would be helpful. See Williams v. State, 630 So. 2d 534 (Fla.1993). AFFIRMED. PETERSON and GRIFFIN, JJ., concur.…
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
- Hale v. State, 630 So. 2d 521 (Fla. 1993)
- Williams v. State, 614 So. 2d 1108 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)