LARRY SCOTT, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1994-09-28
No. 93-2879
WARNER and POLEN, JJ., concur.
642 So. 2d 838 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1994) Caution
Cited by 4 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

Scott appealed a sentencing in a probation revocation case, challenging the inclusion of forty points for victim injury in his sentencing guidelines score. The court reversed and remanded, finding insufficient evidence to support the victim injury points under the standard established in Karchesky v. State.


Holding

The court reversed, holding that the record contained insufficient evidence to establish the victim sustained the physical trauma required by Karchesky v. State. The court also held that the five points for the DWI conviction was erroneous because 'prior record' refers to past criminal conduct prior to the primary offense, not the conduct causing the revocation.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may not score victim injury points for sentencing purposes without sufficient record evidence establishing the extent of the victim's physical trauma.

[2] Points for a conviction that forms the basis for a probation violation may not be scored as part of the defendant's prior record for sentencing purposes.

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Key Quotes

“Since the record attached by the trial court does not contain sufficient evidence to establish that the victim sustained the physical trauma as defined in Karchesky v. State, 591 So.2d 930 (Fla.1992), we reverse the trial court's order denying appellant's motion for postconvietion relief and remand this cause for a de novo hearing to determine the extent of the victim's injury, if any.”

Establishes the court's holding that conclusory statements in the PSI are insufficient to support victim injury points without evidentiary support.

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Facts & Procedural History

In 1990, Scott pleaded guilty to two felonies and received ten years probation with adjudication withheld. In 1991, his probation was revoked for driv…

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Opinion of the Court
DELL, Chief Judge.

DELL, Chief Judge.

By order, we permitted this belated appeal to proceed as an appeal from a denial of a motion for postconvietion relief without an evidentiary hearing. The trial court had previously denied appellant’s rule 3.850 motion, and on appeal this court reversed the trial court’s order, 619 So. 2d 511. We instructed the trial court on remand to conduct an evidentiary hearing or attach portions of the record to support its order relating to the issue of victim impact for purposes of sentencing appellant after revocation of probation.

The record furnished on remand shows that in 1990, appellant entered a plea of guilty on two felony counts pursuant to a plea agreement whereby the trial court withheld adjudication and sentenced appellant to ten years probation. In 1991, appellant’s probation officer alleged that appellant had violated conditions of his probation by driving while intoxicated and failing to follow recommended treatment after a psychological evaluation. The trial court determined appellant violated his probation, entered an order revoking his probation and ordered a presentence investigation report (PSI). The PSI, under the heading of “victim impact,” stated: “The victim, [T.M.], suffered physical and emotional trauma as a result of this offense.” The record contains no other evidence relating to the victim’s injury.

When appellant appeared for sentencing on the violation of probation, the guidelines scoresheet reflected a total of 287 points, including forty points for victim injury and five points for the DWI conviction which partially formed the basis for the revocation. The trial court sentenced appellant in accordance with the guidelines to twelve years in prison on Count I and five years in prison on Count II to run concurrently.

Appellant contends the trial court erred when it included forty points for victim injury and the reduction of those forty points would change the maximum permitted sentencing range to four and one-half to nine years. We agree. Since the record attached by the trial court does not contain sufficient evidence to establish that the victim sustained the physical trauma as defined in Karchesky v. State, 591 So. 2d 930 (Fla.1992), we reverse the trial court’s order denying appellant’s motion for postconvietion relief and remand this cause for a de novo hearing to determine the extent of the victim’s injury, if any. See Arreola v. State, 620 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993).

The state responds that the reduction of forty points for victim injury would not alter appellant’s sentence and thus, exclusive of any victim injury, any error in failing to reduce the total points scored in the PSI by that amount is rendered harmless. The state argues that even with the reduction of forty points for victim injury, appellant would score 257 points, resulting in a maximum permitted sentencing range of five and one-half to twelve years imprisonment after a one cell bump-up for violation of probation. See rule 3.988(b), Fla.R.Crim.P. We disagree. The reduction of the victim injury points from the total of 287 points would leave 247 points, not 257 points. With the appropriate reduction, appellant’s permitted sentencing range would change from five and one-half to twelve years to four and one-half to nine years.

We also find merit in appellant’s argument that the court erred in scoring five points for the DWI giving rise to the revocation of probation because “prior record” refers to past criminal conduct resulting in conviction prior to commission of the primary offense. See rule 3.701(d)(5), Fla.R.Crim.P. Accordingly, we reverse and remand this cause to the trial court for further proceedings consistent herewith.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

WARNER and POLEN, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Echols v. State, 660 So. 2d 782 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
    …ncing hearing. We therefore reverse appellant’s sentence and remand to the trial court with leave to conduct a hearing to determine the extent of actual injury, if any, and to assess victim-injury points if supported by the evidence. Scott v. State, 642 So. 2d 838 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Arreola v. State, 620 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). The trial court’s failure to differentiate the scores for primary and additional offenses on the guideline scoresheet also requires correction. Pursuant to Florida Rule of…
  • MAY v. State, 747 So. 2d 459 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
    …the result, the expert was in fact saying that in all probability death could not be said to have resulted from either alone. Hence the dragging was a direct cause of death — combined, of course, with the impact. We have considered Scott v. State, 642 So. 2d 838, 839 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)(finding error where the sentencing judge assessed victim injury points even though the record did not contain sufficient evidence that the victim sustained physical trauma), and Arreola v. State, 620 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 4th DC…

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