MICHAEL PRINCE, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Florida District Court of Appeal upheld the trial court's decision to include youthful offender convictions in a defendant's prior record for sentencing guidelines purposes. The court held that convictions under the Youthful Offender Act, which require transfer to criminal court for prosecution, are not excludable 'juvenile dispositions' and therefore properly scored in the guidelines calculation.
Convictions under the Youthful Offender Act are not excludable 'juvenile dispositions' and must be properly scored in the sentencing guidelines calculation as part of the offender's prior record. True juvenile dispositions are adjudications of delinquency in juvenile court, not actual Y.O.A. convictions in criminal court.
[1] Convictions under the Youthful Offender Act, even for defendants under eighteen at the time of the offense, are not considered "juvenile dispositions" for purposes of sco…
[2] A youthful offender sentence, which requires transfer for prosecution to the criminal division, is distinct from a true "juvenile disposition" which is an adjudication of…
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 intelligence“the fact that youthful offender treatment requires, in the case of a person less than eighteen, a 'transfer!] for prosecution to the criminal division of the circuit court,' § 958.04(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1993), precludes treating such a sentence as a 'juvenile disposition.'”
The court's central reasoning for distinguishing Y.O.A. convictions from true juvenile dispositions—the transfer to criminal court is the key factual distinction.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMichael Prince, who was seventeen years old at the time, was convicted under the Youthful Offender Act (Y.O.A.) more than three years before the curre…
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SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
We agree with the trial court that the more-than-three-year-old convictions of the defendant for which, as a then-seventeen-year-old, he was classified and sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act, sections 958.-011-15, Florida Statutes (1993), were not excludable as “juvenile dispositions” and were therefore properly scored in the guidelines computation as part of his “prior record.” See Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(5) (1993) 1; Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)(5)(G) (1993).2
In our view, the fact that youthful offender treatment requires, in the case of a person less than eighteen, a “transfer!] for prosecution to the criminal division of the circuit court,” § 958.04(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1993), precludes treating such a sentence as a “juvenile disposition.” Under section 39.053(4), in turn, true “juvenile dispositions” are adjudications of delinquency, which are “the equivalent of convictions” under Rule 3.701(d)(5)(G), not the actual Y.O.A. convictions with which we are here concerned.3
Affirmed.
. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701(d)(5) (1993) provides:
(5) "Prior record” refers to any past criminal conduct on the part of the offender, resulting in conviction, prior to the commission of the primary offense. Prior record includes all pri-or Florida, federal, out-of-state, military, and foreign convictions, as well as convictions for violation of municipal or county ordinances that bring within the municipal or county code the violation of a state statute or statutes....
. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701(d)(5)(G) (1993) provides:
(G) All prior juvenile dispositions that are the equivalent of convictions as defined in subdivision (d)(2), occurring within 3 years of the commission of the primary offense and that would have been criminal if committed by an adult, shall be included in prior record.
.The 1994 version of the guidelines clarifies the issue by providing in rule 3.702(d)(8) (1994) that "[p]rior record shall include convictions for offenses committed by the defendant as an adult or as a juvenile...[e.s.] See also Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.702(d)(8)(B) (1994) ("Juvenile dispositions of offenses committed by the defendant within 3 years prior to the date of the commission of the primary offense are scored as prior record if the offense would have been a crime if committed by an adult.”).