DAVID SANDERS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Appellant's sentence for possession of paraphernalia exceeded the statutory maximum for a first degree misdemeanor and was therefore illegal; the court remanded for correction of the written sentence.
A sentence for a first degree misdemeanor that exceeds one year imprisonment violates the statutory maximum and is illegal.
[1] A written sentence for a first degree misdemeanor that exceeds the statutory maximum of one year imprisonment is illegal and subject to remand for correction.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a person convicted of a first degree misdemeanor may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year”
Statutory limitation on sentencing authority for first degree misdemeanors
Appellant was convicted of possession of paraphernalia under section 893.147, Florida Statutes, a first degree misdemeanor. The trial judge imposed el…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant was convicted of one count of possession of paraphernalia, in violation of section 893.147, Florida Statutes (1995). The offense is a first degree misdemeanor. Section 775.082(4), Florida Statutes (1995), provides that a person convicted of a first degree misdemeanor may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year. The written sentence exceeds the statutory maximum by placing appellant on probation for a period of one year preceded by eleven months and twenty-eight days in county jail. Accordingly, the written sentence is illegal. It appears from the transcript of the sentencing hearing that the trial judge and counsel intended appellant to serve the county jail time as a condition of one year on probation. We remand with directions to correct the written sentence.
We note that during the sentencing hearing the trial judge announced that she would impose costs totalling $814, consisting of $261 in court costs, $50 for the Bay County drug trust fund assessment, and $3 for Teen Court. In the written order, no statutory authority is cited for several of the cost items imposed. There was, however, no objection by appellant when the costs were announced in open court and no motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b) is contained in the record on appeal. Accordingly, this issue is not preserved for appellate review.
Reversed in part and remanded.
BARFIELD, C.J., and JOANOS and KAHN, JJ., concur.