MICHAEL ASBELL, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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 Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict between district court decisions regarding whether sentencing enhancement points for firearm possession may be added when the defendant is convicted of carrying a concealed weapon or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The Court held that such enhancement points are impermissible under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.702(d)(12) when firearm possession is an essential element of the underlying offense.
It is error for a trial court to assess additional sentencing points for possessing a firearm where the sole underlying crime is carrying a concealed firearm or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.702(d)(12) does not contemplate the addition of sentencing points for carrying or possessing a firearm where such possession is an essential element of the underlying offense. Attempted murder, being enumerated in section 775.087(2), is not subject to firearm possession enhancement.
[1] Additional sentencing points for possessing a firearm may not be assessed where the sole underlying crime is carrying a concealed firearm or possession of a firearm by a…
[2] Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.702(d)(12) does not contemplate the addition of sentencing points for carrying or possessing a firearm when the carrying or possessio…
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“it is error for the trial court to assess additional sentencing points for possessing a firearm, where the sole underlying crime is carrying a concealed firearm or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.”
States the core holding regarding impermissibility of firearm enhancement when firearm possession is the essential element of the offense
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMichael Asbell was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The trial court assessed eighteen addi…
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 Carrying A Concealed Firearm cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
We have for review Asbell v. State, 696 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), based on conflict with the opinion in White v. State, 689 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), quashed, 714 So. 2d 440 (Fla.1998), concerning the issue of whether additional sentencing points for carrying or possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime may be added to a defendant’s sentencing score where the defendant is convicted of carrying a concealed weapon or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. We resolved this conflict in White v. State, 714 So. 2d 440 (Fla.1998), wherein we held that it is error for the trial court to assess additional sentencing points for possessing a firearm, where the sole underlying crime is carrying a concealed firearm or possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In other words, we held that Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.702(d)(12) does not contemplate the addition of sentencing points for carrying or possessing a firearm where the carrying or possession of a firearm is the essential element of the underlying offense. In Asbell, the defendant was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The trial court assessed eighteen additional sentencing points for possessing a firearm during the commission of the possession offense. Under rule 3.702(d)(12) of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, additional sentencing points for possession of a firearm may not be assessed against offenses enumerated in section 775.087(2), Florida Statutes (1993). Attempted murder is one of the enumerated offenses in section 775.087(2); therefore, it is not subject to enhancement under rule 3.702. Because attempted murder is not subject to the assessment of additional points for the possession of a firearm, the only remaining offense the trial court could conceivably have considered was petitioner’s conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, which we found impermissible in White.
Therefore, in accordance with our decision in White, we quash the decision below. We also decline to review petitioner’s second point on review as it is beyond the scope of the conflict issue.1
It is so ordered. HARDING, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, KOGAN and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur. WELLS, J., dissents with an opinion.
. As his second point on appeal, petitioner argues that the trial court improperly scored his conviction for attempted first-degree murder as a level 10 offense.
WELLS, Justice,
dissenting.
The majority’s opinion clearly usurps legislative authority by simply ignoring the plain language of section 921.0014(1), Florida Statutes. It is a serious error for this Court to violate the separation of powers doctrine, as do this decision and the majority’s decision in White v. State, 714 So. 2d 440 (Fla.1998). Regardless of the rationalization expressed, the majority’s decision in sum is that the legislature’s mandate for eighteen points for the commission of this felony while possessing a firearm is too harsh, so the majority’s substitutes its judgment on the issue for that of the legislature.
I believe that it is wrong for this Court to ignore that the legislature decided to include “any felony other than those enumerated in subsection 775.087(2).” This does not provide a basis for this Court to construe this as “any felony other than those enumerated in subsection 775.087(2)” and those felonies which the Supreme Court decides should be excepted out of the statute.
The cases in the criminal courts and domestic violence courts of this state daily illuminate the human tragedies wrought by the illegal use of firearms. I accept this provision in the sentencing guidelines as part of the legislature’s attempt to reduce those tragedies. I applaud this legislative initiative.
Moreover, this decision is contrary to the express language of rule Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.702(a), which states in pertinent part:
This rule is intended to implement the 1994 revised sentencing guidelines in striet accordance with chapter 921, Florida Statutes, as revised by chapter 93-406, Laws of Florida.
I dissent.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (13 total)
-
Murphy v. Int'l Robotic Sys., Inc., 766 So. 2d 1010 (Fla. 2000)…that this Court address the "reasonable reliance” jury instruction issue, which they raised in their motion for new trial. However, because that issue is outside the scope of (he conflict issue, we decline to address it. See, e.g., Asbell v. State, 715 So. 2d 258, 258 (Fla.1998). Further, we consider the Plaintiffs' claim that the verdict was against the manifest weight of the evidence only to the extent necessary to analyze whether the closing argument comments being challenged as improper warrant a new tri…
-
Shiver v. State, 717 So. 2d 524 (Fla. 1998)…WELLS, Justice, dissenting. I dissent for the reasons stated in my dissenting opinions in Asbell v. State, 715 So. 2d 258 (Fla.1998); and White v. State, 714 So. 2d 440, 23 Fla. L. Weekly S311 (Fla. June 12, 1998).…
-
Knowles v. State, 848 So. 2d 1055 (Fla. 2003)…igh probability that an error is harmful does not justify categorizing the error as reversible per se). Finally, we decline to address any additional issues raised by the parties that are beyond the scope of the conflict issue. See Asbell v. State, 715 So. 2d 258, 258 (Fla.1998) (declining to address additional issues raised during discretionary conflict review). It is so ordered. ANSTEAD, C.J., and LEWIS, QUINCE, and CANTERO, JJ., concur. BELL, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with an opinion. W…
Previewing 3 of 13 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- White v. State, 714 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 1998)
- Ozell McNABB v. State, 689 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)
- White v. State, 689 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)
- Asbell v. State, 696 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)