ROBERT JOHN QUINN, 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.
Robert Quinn appeals his convictions and sentences in two criminal cases from 1995 and 1996. The appellate court affirmed his convictions and the 1996 sentence but vacated the 1995 sentence because the trial court imposed a 36-month sentence that exceeded the maximum 21.25-month guideline cap under the applicable sentencing rules.
The trial court erred by imposing a sentence in the 1995 case that exceeded the guideline maximum of 21.25 months. The error was not harmless merely because the longer 1996 sentence would subsume the shorter 1995 sentence, as shorter sentences may not remain subsumed due to future attacks on convictions and sentences.
[1] When a defendant is sentenced for multiple felonies committed under different versions or revisions of sentencing guidelines, each felony must be sentenced under the guid…
[2] A trial court must prepare separate sentencing scoresheets when a defendant is before the court for sentencing for more than one felony and the felonies were committed un…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“each felony shall be sentenced under the guideline in effect at the time the particular felony was committed”
Establishes the statutory requirement that multiple felonies committed under different guideline versions must each be sentenced according to the version in effect at the time of commission
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceQuinn entered pleas of nolo contendere to charges in two cases: one from 1995 and one from 1996. Two separate sentencing guideline scoresheets were pr…
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 Harmless Error Analysis In Sentencing cases and more on FLexlaw
THOMPSON, Judge.
Robert Quinn appeals his judgments and sentences in case numbers 95-2206-CF-A-Y (1995 case), and 96-1426-CF-C-Z (1996 case). We affirm the convictions and the sentence in the 1996 case, but we vacate the sentence in the 1995 ease and remand for resentencing.
Quinn entered pleas of nolo contendere to all counts in the two cases and was adjudicated guilty. Two separate sentencing guideline scoresheets were presented to the trial court, one for the 1995 case and one for the 1996 case, pursuant to section 921.0014(3), which states in pertinent part:
... if the defendant is before the court for sentencing for more than one felony and the felonies were committed under more than one version or revision of the guidelines, separate scoresheets must be prepared pursuant to s. 921.001(4)(b).
§ 921.0014(3), Fla. Stat. (1995). The score-sheet for the 1995 case yielded a maximum sentence of 21.25 months in the Department of Corrections whereas the maximum sentence for the 1996 case was 46.75 months. The trial court sentenced Quinn to 36 months on each count in both cases with the sentences to run concurrently with credit for time served. This was error. Section 921.001(4)(b)4 reads:
When a defendant is before the court for sentencing for more than one felony and the felonies were committed under more than one version or revision of the guidelines, each felony shall be sentenced under the guideline in effect at the time the particular felony was committed.
§ 921.001(4)(b)4, Fla. Stat. (1995). Thus, the trial court was required to receive two score-sheets and impose a guidelines sentence pur suant to each scoresheet. Accordingly, Quinn could be sentenced to no more than 21.25 months in the 1995 case.
The state argues that since the 1995 sentence would not extend beyond the completion of the 36 months imposed in the 1996 case, any error was harmless because the correct 1995 sentence would be subsumed in the greater 1996 valid sentence. We disagree. This issue was addressed in Smith v. State, 629 So. 2d 281 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (en banc), in which we stated:
The problem with that [harmless error] view is that because of the many attacks upon convictions and sentences in Florida made possible by the complexity of the section, ultimately shorter sentences may not be subsumed by the larger. The error can now be corrected while the focus is upon them.
Id. at 282. Cf Johnson v. State, 679 So. 2d 882 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996).
Accordingly, we affirm all of Quinn’s convictions and the sentence in the 1996 case, but we vacate the sentence in the 1995 case and remand for imposition of a proper guidelines sentence.
AFFIRMED IN PART; SENTENCE VACATED IN PART; and REMANDED.
PETERSON, C.J., and HARRIS, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Cresandra White, 762 So. 2d 927 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)…t it would probably be necessary to prepare two scoresheets if the defendant committed one felony during the time the 1994 guidelines applied, and another felony after the effective date of the 1995 revisions to those guidelines. See Quinn v. State, 692 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) (explaining that two scoresheets must be used when a defendant is being sentenced for two crimes, one committed in 1995 and the other in 1996).1 We agree. A defendant’s total sentence points, and thus her potential sentence, coul…1 / 2
-
Gonzalez v. State, 739 So. 2d 1260 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)…99). We vacate his sentence in Count, III because it exceeds the maximum. Five years is the maximum and he was given 4.625 years incarceration followed by 10.375 years probation. State v. Holmes 360 So. 2d 380 (Fla.1978); see also, Quinn v. State, 692 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997); Speights v. State, 711 So. 2d 167 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), quashed, Case No. 93,207,-So. 2d-(Fla. May 14, 1999). Conviction AFFIRMED; sentence in Count III VACATED; REMANDED for resentencing. ANTOON, C.J., concurs. PETERSON, J…
-
Goode v. State, 733 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)…tencing, the trial court did not have the benefit of Dillard v. State, 728 So. 2d 725 (Fla.1999), wherein the supreme court explained the procedures to be followed where, as here, two versions of the guidelines are involved. See also Quinn v. State, 692 So. 2d 988 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) (“[T]he trial court was required to receive two scoresheets and impose a guidelines sentence pursuant to each scoresheet.”). Goode’s remaining points on appeal are either without merit or have not been preserved for review. R…
Authorities Cited
- Brady Johnson v. State, 679 So. 2d 882 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Smith v. State, 629 So. 2d 281 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)