GEORGE L. BROWN, 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 the sentence imposed exceeded statutory limits and that the defendant was not properly advised of his right to contest public defender fees.
[1] A sentence of fifteen years incarceration followed by thirty years of probation for a life felony exceeds the statutory maximum punishment for such a felony.
[2] When a sentence is reversed and remanded, the defendant may not receive a harsher sentence than originally imposed in the absence of an intervening event justifying a gre…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant pleaded no contest to robbery, kidnapping, and sexual battery. The trial court imposed a sentence exceeding statutory maximums and assessed …
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 Villery Sentence cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
We reverse appellant’s sentence as well as a portion of costs imposed and remand with direction. The imposition of $255 in court costs is affirmed.
Appellant entered pleas of no contest to robbery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and sexual battery with great force. The trial court sentenced him to concurrent terms of fifteen years in prison to be followed by thirty years of probation, and assessed the above $255 court costs, at which the assistant public defender informed the court there were other costs and a fee of $200. The court responded as follows: “Two hundred dollars and costs of five hundred and ninety-five dollars and twenty-four cents of costs incurred by the Public Defender’s Officer.”
First, the trial court erred by sentencing appellant to fifteen years in prison followed by thirty years probation on a life felony. Sexual battery with great force is a life felony. § 794.011(3), Fla. Stat. (1995). Life felonies are punishable by life imprisonment or a term not exceeding forty years. § 775.082(3)(a), Fla. Stat. (1995). Appellee concedes that appellant’s sentence of fifteen years incarceration followed by thirty years of probation exceeds the statutory maximum, but asks that, on remand, the trial court impose life probation or consecutive sentences, neither of which would be appropriate in this case.
With a term of fifteen years imprisonment, the maximum probation that can follow is twenty-five years. Dyer v. State, 629 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). Upon remand, appellant may not receive a harsher sentence than originally imposed in the absence of an intervening event which would justify a greater sentence. Blackshear v. State, 531 So. 2d 956 (Fla.1988); see also Davis v. State, 552 So. 2d 338 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989).
The trial court has five basic sentencing alternatives:
(1) a period of confinement; (2) a “true split sentence” consisting of a total period of confinement with a portion of the confinement period suspended and the defendant placed on probation for that suspended portion; (3) a “probationary split sentence” consisting of a period of confinement, none of which is suspended, followed by a period of probation; (4) a Villery sentence, consisting of period of probation preceded by a period of confinement imposed as a special condition; and (5) straight probation.
Poore v. State, 531 So. 2d 161, 164 (Fla.1988). Whichever option the trial court chooses, under Blackshear, the sentence imposed on remand may not exceed fifteen years of incarceration followed by twenty-five years of probation.
Second, section 27.54, Florida Statutes, allows the trial court to assess attorney’s fees and costs against a defendant who has been determined to be guilty. However, Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.720(d)(1) states:
If the accused was represented by a public defender or special assistant public defender, the court shall notify the accused of the imposition of a lien pursuant to section 27.56, Florida Statutes. The amount of the lien shall be given and a judgment entered in that amount against the accused. Notice of the accused’s right to a hearing to contest the amount of the lien shall be given at the time of sentence.
(Emphasis added). Appellant’s petition to enter plea of gufity/no contest provides as follows:
20. I understand that at the time of sentencing certain mandatory, statutory costs will be imposed against me.
21. I understand that at the time of sentencing certain non-mandatory, statutory costs may be imposed against me including but not limited to payment for cost of prosecution pursuant to Section 939.01, Florida Statutes (1991). I understand that if there is not agreement about these nonman-datory costs that I have the right to a hearing on the amount of such costs and my ability to pay such costs and that this hearing will occur at the time of sentencing.
At his sentencing, there was nothing said by anyone which reflects compliance with the above rule.
This court has previously reversed the imposition of public defender fees when the defendant was not advised at the sentencing hearing of his right to contest the amount of the fee. Peterson v. State, 645 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), quashed on other grounds, 667 So. 2d 199 (Fla.1996), receded from on other grounds, Gibbs v. State, 676 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). Appellee has provided no contrary authority; or, for that matter, any authority on the issue of costs and fees raised by appellant. Accordingly, upon remand the trial court is directed to apprise appellant of his right to contest the amount of the lien of $795.84 and to correct the probation order which reflects all of said amount as the public defender fee.
GLICKSTEIN and DELL, JJ„ and OFTEDAL, RICHARD L., Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Ladarius Brooks v. State, 199 So. 3d 974 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)…he imposition of public defender fees,” and reversing and remanding in part with instructions for jbrial court to provide defendant with “notice of his right to a hearing on the matter and to schedule a hearing if one is requested”); Brown v. State, 682 So. 2d 667, 669 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (reversing in part due to trial court’s failure to notify defendant of his right to contest the amount charged at the time of sentence as required by rule 3.720(d)(1)). The State argues that Brooks was on notice that any ri…
-
Hill v. State, 796 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…See Fla. Stat. 787.01 [1989]. Thus, the Defendant’s scoresheet correctly calculates his additional offense as a first degree felony punishable by life. See also State v. Riveron, 723 So. 2d 845, 846 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (kidnapping); Brown v. State, 682 So. 2d 667, 668 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (sexual battery); Williams v. State, 678 So. 2d 443 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (sexual battery). What has led to some confusion on the defendant’s part is the fact that the judgment erroneously includes a citation to section 775.08…
-
Broomfield v. State, 698 So. 2d 932 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)….720(d)(1), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. On remand, the trial court is directed to apprise appellant of her right to contest the amount of the liens and to set the matter for hearing if she chooses to exercise that right. See Brown v. State, 682 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). REVERSED and REMANDED. GLICKSTEIN, GUNTHER and STEVENSON, 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
- Poore v. State, 531 So. 2d 161 (Fla. 1988)
- Blackshear v. State, 531 So. 2d 956 (Fla. 1988)
- Dyer v. State, 629 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
- Gibbs v. State, 676 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- State v. Ezekiel Peterson, 667 So. 2d 199 (Fla. 1996)
- Ezekiel Peterson v. State, 645 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
- Davis v. State, 552 So. 2d 338 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)