SAMUEL N. REESE, 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 held that unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct cannot be considered by a trial judge at a criminal sentencing hearing as it violates fundamental due process.
[1] Unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct may not be considered by a trial judge at a criminal sentencing hearing.
[2] Consideration of unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct at sentencing violates fundamental due process.
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 intelligenceThe state argued at sentencing that the appellant was a principal in other drug transactions, citing video evidence not formally presented. The trial …
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 Criminal Sentencing cases and more on FLexlaw
[*1068] STEVENSON, Judge.
Samuel N. Reese appeals his convictions and sentences for the sale and possession of cocaine. We affirm the convictions but reverse the sentences. We agree with appellant that the trial court erred in considering argument by the state at the sentencing hearing that appellant was a principal in other drug transactions where no evidence to support the argument was placed in the record.
During the sentencing hearing, the state informed the trial judge that the appellant had shown up in other drug sting operations videos which had been filmed by the Fort Pierce Police Department. The prosecutor stated that “Mr. Reese did appear in other cases. The state did not have a prima facie case to proceed against him on multiple counts, however, he was present and certainly was a principal in other cases.” The trial court overruled the defense objection and stated that the argument was proper and would be considered for sentencing purposes.
We hold that unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct may not be considered by a trial judge at a criminal sentencing hearing and to do so violates fundamental due process. In the present case, there was no evidence placed in the record to support the state’s allegations. This court has held that a trial judge may consider other arrests at sentencing hearings if the defendant is given the opportunity to explain or offer evidence on the issue. Jansson v. State, 399 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981). Likewise, the presentence investigation report prepared by the Department of Corrections may contain the offender’s prior arrest record. § 921.231(1)(c), Fla.Stat. However, the unsupported speculations offered by the state in this case go far beyond what was approved in Jansson and allowed in the presentence investigation report.
Because we cannot determine whether the appellant’s sentence was influenced in any way by the considei’ation of the improper argument, we remand for resentencing by a different judge.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.
ANSTEAD and KLEIN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (19 total)
-
Nusspickel v. State, 966 So. 2d 441 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)…nsiderations. Id. at 130. Further, unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct or speculation that the defendant probably committed other crimes may not be relied upon by a trial court in imposing sentence. See Doty, 884 So. 2d at 550; Reese v. State, 639 So. 2d 1067, 1068 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Epprecht, 488 So. 2d at 131. In Howard v. State, 820 So. 2d 337, 340 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), the court stated that the exception to the general rule is “where the facts establish a violation of a specific constitutional righ…
-
Doty v. State, 884 So. 2d 547 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…209, 1210 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001), in holding that the state had the burden of showing that the trial court did not rely on improper factors in sentencing. Concluding that it did not meet that burden, we reversed. Id. [*550] Moreover, in Reese v. State, 639 So. 2d 1067, 1068 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), we held that “unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct may not be considered by a trial judge at a criminal sentencing hearing and to do so violates fundamental due process.” The victim’s testimony regarding appellant’s v…
-
Peters v. State, 128 So. 3d 832 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)…great cause for pause. A sex crime is a sex crime. As a general rule, “unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct may not be considered by a trial judge at a criminal sentencing hearing and to do so violates fundamental due process.” Reese v. State, 639 So. 2d 1067, 1068 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). Here, however, the record evidence shows that Peters received a DR on June 21, 1998, which was sexual in nature and resulted in a deduction of 90 days gain time. In a supporting worksheet, the female officer who witnessed…
Previewing 3 of 19 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Inell Thompson and Glen Thompson v. Grimm, 399 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- Robert v. Ettari, 399 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)