ALEXANDER WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court affirmed conviction for possession of firearm by convicted felon but reversed sentence due to improper sentencing guidelines application, while rejecting challenge to jury venire selection based on transitional application of new statute.
A venire properly summoned under the law existing at the time of summoning may serve for jury selection even after a new statute takes effect, and sentencing points for possession cannot be added when possession is an element of the underlying crime.
[1] Sentencing points for an element of the crime may not be added to the sentence when that element is an essential component of the offense of conviction.
[2] A jury venire summoned before the effective date of a new jury selection statute may properly serve for jury selection after the statute takes effect when the venire was…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWilliams was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His jury venire was summoned for trial beginning January 5, 1998, under voter …
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HARRIS, J.
Williams was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He contends on appeal that points for possession of a firearm should not be added when possession is an element of the crime for which he was convicted. The State concedes error. Williams also urges that we should reverse because the venire from which his jury was chosen was picked from the voter registration rolls and not from those having driver’s licenses as required by section 40.01, Florida Statutes (1997). The venire from which his jury was chosen was summoned for a trial to begin on January 5, 1998. The requirement to select juries from driver’s license records did not take effect until January 1, 1998. Hence, this venire was properly summoned under the law which existed when it was summoned. In order to accommodate a trial in early January, it was essential to “call” the venire before the effective date of the new law. We believe the legislature contemplated that a venire properly selected when it was summoned could serve for the selection of trial juries even after the effective date of the act. Otherwise, there could be no jury trials during the early part of 1998. We simply do not believe that is what the legislature intended.
The conviction is AFFIRMED; the sentence is REVERSED and the cause is REMANDED for RESENTENCING.
COBB and GOSHORN, JJ., concur.
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