MARTHA PERRY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Martha Perry appeals the denial of her motion to correct an alleged scoresheet error in her sentencing. The court affirmed the denial, holding that because Perry's sentence was imposed pursuant to a plea agreement specifying a particular sentence term, scoresheet calculation errors do not render the sentence illegal or subject to correction under Rule 3.800.
The court affirmed the denial of Perry's motion, holding that because Perry's sentence was entered pursuant to a plea agreement specifying an agreed sentence, scoresheet calculation errors do not render the sentence illegal. Additionally, the sentence was legal because it did not exceed the statutory maximum, and an incorrectly calculated scoresheet does not render a negotiated sentence illegal.
[1] A defendant who enters a plea agreement for a specific sentence cannot later challenge that sentence based on a scoresheet error that would have resulted in a different s…
[2] A sentence entered pursuant to a plea agreement is not rendered illegal by reliance on an incorrectly calculated scoresheet during negotiations.
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“Perry did not enter a plea to a guidelines sentence; she pled guilty with the understanding that she would receive 5.75 years in the Department of Corrections followed by ten years of sexual offender probation.”
Establishes the critical distinction that Perry's sentence was based on a plea agreement rather than guidelines calculation, making scoresheet errors irrelevant to legality.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePerry pleaded nolo contendere on January 4, 1996 to three counts of sexual battery upon a person between ages 12-18 by a person in familial or custodi…
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GRIFFIN, Chief Judge.
Martha Perry [“Perry”] appeals the denial of her 3.800 motion to correct an alleged scoresheet error. Perry pled nolo contendere on January 4, 1996 to three counts of sexual battery upon a person between the ages of twelve and eighteen by a person in familial or custodial authority1 and one count of committing a lewd or lascivious act in the presence of a child under sixteen.2 Each of the sexual batteries was alleged to have been committed between November 1, 1992 and January 1, 1995, while the lewd and lascivious assault was alleged to have been committed between December 1, 1994 and December 31, 1994. Despite allegations that the sexual batteries were committed as early as November 1, 1992, the plea agreement specifically acknowledged that Perry fell under the 1993 guidelines.
Perry’s scoresheet listed the sexual batteries as level nine offenses, and the lewd and lascivious assault as a level seven offense. The scoresheet thus showed a total of 121 points, for a minimum sentence of sixty-nine months in the Department of Corrections (5.75 years) and a maximum sentence of 116 months (9.67 years). Perry’s plea agreement specified that she would receive 5.75 years in the Department of Corrections followed by ten years of sexual offender probation. This was the sentence imposed.
Perry filed a rule 3.800 motion to correct her sentence in which she contended that the sexual batteries had been improperly scored as level nine offenses, when they should have been scored as level seven offenses. Perry’s argument is an attempt to take advantage of the repeal of section 794.041(2)(b), Florida Statutes, which contained the offense of sexual battery upon a person between the ages of twelve and eighteen by a person in familial or custodial authority. The original offense was ranked under earlier versions of the guidelines as a level nine offense. See § 921.0012, Fla. Stat. (1993); § 921.0012, Fla. Stat. (Supp.1994).
The original statute was repealed, however, in 1993. See Ch. 93-156, § 4, Laws of Florida. It was immediately reenacted as section 794.011(8)(b), Florida Statutes (1993), in essentially identical form, but due to a legislative oversight, the new statute was not added to the guidelines’ list of enumerated offenses until 1995. See Ch. 95-184, § 5, Laws of Florida. Instead, up until 1995 the guidelines showed only section 794.041(2)(b) as an enumerated offense. Perry urges that it can be “clearly determined” that the law in effect at the time her offenses were committed required that her offenses be ranked at level seven. Depending on when her offenses actually were committed, which “1993 Florida Sentencing Guidelines” were intended to be applied and the legal effect of the plea agreement, her argument that her offenses should have been ranked at level seven may or may not have merit. She asserts that, absent this error, she would have scored a total of 58.8 points, for a minimum sentence of thirty months in the Department of Corrections and a maximum sentence of 37.5 months.
The court held a hearing on Perry’s motion and the court denied the motion. Whatever the technical merit of Perry’s argument, Perry has failed to recognize that her sentence was entered pursuant to a plea agreement. Perry did not enter a plea to a guidelines sentence; she pled guilty with the understanding that she would receive 5.75 years in the Department of Corrections followed by ten years of sexual offender probation. This is, in fact, the sentence she received. Perry’s sentence is also a legal sentence since it does not exceed the statutory maximum. See Davis v. State, 661 So. 2d 1193, 1196 (Fla.1995).
Even if Perry had relied upon an incorrectly calculated scoresheet during negotiations, her sentence would not thereby be rendered illegal. Skidmore v. State, 688 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997).
AFFIRMED.
HARRIS and ANTOON, JJ., concur. . Formerly § 794.041, Fla. Stat., now § 794.011 (8)(b).
. § 800.04, Fla. Stat. (1993).
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Thomas v. State, 773 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)…PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Perry v. State, 705 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). HARRIS, PETERSON and GRIFFIN, JJ., concur.…
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White v. State, 816 So. 2d 820 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…tly calculated score-sheet during negotiations, the sentence is not illegal for purposes of a rule 3.800 motion, as long as the sentence does not exceed the statutory guidelines. Skidmore v. State, 688 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Perry v. State, 705 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). This is because a plea bargain is a valid ground for a departure sentence. Skidmore, 688 So. 2d at 1015. The reasoning in Skidmore applies to cases involving claims for relief under Heggs. See Dunenas v. Moore, 762 So. 2d 1007 (…
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Speer v. State, 734 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…an it should have. If appellant pled to a specific term of years, without any condition that it be within the sentencing guidelines, then he would have waived this claim and it would not have qualified for rule 3.800(a) relief. See Perry v. State, 705 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998); Skidmore v. State, 688 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). However, if he pled guilty on the condition that he would receive a guidelines sentence, and that sentence was the product of miscalculations, then he would be entitled to r…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Davis v. State, 661 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 1995)
- Skidmore v. State, 688 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)