MICHAEL MIDDLETON, APPELLANT,
v.
THE 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.
The court held that a prior felony conviction can serve as a predicate offense for habitual offender sentencing even if the release from prison for that offense occurred more than five years before the current offense, as long as another qualifying offense was committed within the five-year window.
Michael Middleton challenged his sentence as a habitual offender, arguing that a 1983 felony conviction could not be used as a predicate offense becau…
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 Habitual Offender Sentencing cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Michael Middleton appeals the denial of his motion for postconviction relief, whereby he challenges his sentence as a habitual offender. We affirm.
According to defendant-appellant Middleton’s motion, the offense for which defendant was habitualized occurred May 24, 1994. Defendant acknowledges that the State established that defendant was convicted of a qualifying offense within the previous five years, based on felony convictions entered November 30, 1992. See § 775 .084(l)(a)2., Fla. Stat. (1993). Defendant acknowledges having another prior felony conviction, in circuit court case number 83-12144. However, defendant argues that the 1983 case cannot be used as a predicate felony because defendant was released from prison on July 15, 1987, more than five years before the 1994 crime. Defendant contends that the 1983 case must be disregarded.
Defendant is in error. The habitual offender statute “requires only that a defendant’s last prior felony [or release from imprisonment] ... be within five years of the date of the current felony offense.” Clark v. State, 681 So. 2d 816 (Fla. 5th DCA1996); see § 775.084(1)(a)2., Fla. Stat. (1993). Thus, only one of the qualifying offenses must have been committed (or the defendant released) within five years of the current offense. The other qualifying offense (or release) can be more than five years from the current offense. It follows that the 1983 case was properly counted as a predicate offense. The trial court correctly denied the motion for postconviction relief,
Affirmed
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (26 total)
-
Gutierrez v. State, 854 So. 2d 218 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)…pplies only to the most recent predicate felony. § 775.084(l)(a)2.b., Fla. Stat. (1997). So long as one of the predicate offenses is within the five-year time frame, the other predicate felony may be outside the five-year period. Middleton v. State, 721 So. 2d 792, 793 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). Further, one of the predicate offenses is allowed to be a felony conviction for “a violation of s.893.13 relating to the purchase or the possession of a controlled substance.” § 775.084(l)(a)3., Fla. Stat. (1997); see Rollin…
-
Bradley v. State, 903 So. 2d 221 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…, 880 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 888 So. 2d 621 (Fla.2004); Cook v. State, 816 So. 2d 773 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); Ishmael v. State, 735 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); Plowman v. State, 586 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991); Middleton v. State, 721 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). After this court held in Boyd, 880 So. 2d at 728, that a claim of vindictive sentencing is not cognizable in a motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a), the Fifth Distr…
-
Turner v. State, 91 So. 3d 219 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)…vision imposed as a result of the prior felony. The habitual offender statute "requires only that a defendant's last prior felony (or release from imprisonment) ... be within five years of the date of the current felony offense.” Middleton v. State, 721 So. 2d 792, 792 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998) (citing to Clark v. State, 681 So. 2d 816 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)); Gutieirez v. State, 854 So. 2d 218 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003) (holding that five-year time period described in the habitual offender statute applies only to the most rec…
Previewing 3 of 26 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Tavano v. Suely Meire Abbate Tavano, 681 So. 2d 816 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)