EDWARD ADAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Edward Adams appealed his sentence for aggravated battery, contending the trial court improperly departed from sentencing guidelines. The appellate court affirmed the departure, holding that Florida law explicitly permits sentencing outside guidelines based on excessive victim trauma even when victim injury is already factored into the guidelines score.
The trial court did not err in departing from the guidelines based on victim trauma. Florida Statute section 921.001(7) expressly permits departure based on excessive victim trauma even when victim injury has been utilized in calculating the guidelines sentence, and such departure is not barred by the prior inclusion of victim injury in the score sheet.
[1] A trial court may depart from sentencing guidelines based on victim's excessive physical or emotional trauma, even if victim injury was used in calculating the guidelines…
[2] Statutory provisions expressly permit departure from sentencing guidelines based on victim's extraordinary physical or emotional trauma.
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“A sentence may be imposed outside the guidelines based on credible facts, which may include an oral or written statement submitted by the victim or next of kin pursuant to § 921.143, proven by preponderance of the evidence, which demonstrate that the victim suffered excessive physical or emotional trauma at the hands of the defendant; and such departure is not barred because victim injury has been utilized in the calculation of the guidelines sentence.”
This statutory provision is the basis for the court's holding that departure from guidelines can be based on victim trauma even when victim injury is already factored into the score.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAdams pled no contest to aggravated battery. The victim suffered multiple serious injuries including a fractured left wrist, fractured ring finger, fr…
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DELL, Judge.
Edward Adams contends that the trial court incorrectly sentenced him after he pled no contest to aggravated battery. He asserts that the trial court erred when it departed from the sentencing guidelines based on reasons already included in the score sheet and when it utilized an inaccurate score sheet for sentencing.
After a pre-sentence investigation, the victim’s injury was scored as “moderate.” The prosecution and the Department of Corrections recommended a guidelines sentence of 40.5 months incarceration. The trial court departed and imposed a ten-year sentence followed by five years of probation, and stated:
[T]he complainant suffered the following injuries: a fractured left wrist; a fractured ring finger; a fractured nose; a fracture to bones in her face, the upper and lower orbital bones; and that surgery was necessary to repair a fractured cheek_ Additionally, a metal plate was inserted in her face to compensate for injuries, and the victim suffered permanent nerve damage-These are obviously serious, permanent injuries that she suffered.
Appellant argues, as he did in the trial court, that the court erred in departing from the recommended guidelines sentence based on the victim’s extraordinary physical or emotional trauma because it was already calculated in the score sheet. However, section 921.001(7), Florida Statutes (1993), expressly provides:
A sentence may be imposed outside the guidelines based on credible facts, which may include an oral or written statement submitted by the victim or next of kin pursuant to § 921.143, proven by preponderance of the evidence, which demonstrate that the victim suffered excessive physical or emotional trauma at the hands of the defendant; and such departure is not barred because victim injury has been utilized in the calculation of the guidelines sentence.
§ 921.001(7), Fla. Stat. (emphasis added). This section supersedes conflicting case law prior to January 1, 1994, pursuant to rule 3.702(b), 3.703(b), Fla. R.Crim. P.1 We hold that the trial court did not err when it departed from the recommended guidelines sentence based on the victim’s extraordinary physical or emotional trauma, pursuant to sections 921.0016(3)(Z) and 921.001(7), Florida Statutes. ' Appellant also contends that the trial court did not utilize an accurately prepared scoresheet because the victim’s injury was only scored as moderate. The record supports the trial court’s evaluation of the extent of the victim’s injuries and the departure based on section 921.001(7), Florida Statutes. Accordingly, we deem the error in the score-sheet harmless, and. we affirm the departure sentence imposed by the trial court.
AFFIRMED.
GLICKSTEIN and WARNER, JJ., concur. . Appellant does not discuss the effect of section 921.001(7), Florida Statutes, in his main brief and does not respond to the State's reliance on it in his reply brief.
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Ricardo v. State, 707 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Adams v. State, 702 So. 2d 1350 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); Johnson v. State, 695 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). STONE, C.J., and GUNTHER and SHAHOOD, JJ., concur.…
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Porfirio Cruz v. Singletary, 765 So. 2d 55 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…ld when at least one of the court’s stated reasons justifies the departure. § 921.001(6), Fla. Stat. (1997). The record contains ample evidence that Cruz’s ex-wife suffered extraordinary emotional trauma as a result of this incident. Adams v. State, 702 So. 2d 1350 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997); Johnson v. State, 695 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); § 921.001(7), Fla. Stat. (1997). AFFIRMED. WARNER, C.J., POLEN and GROSS, JJ., concur.…