STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
JOHN A. WHITE, APPELLEE
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Florida's Prison Releasee Reoffender Act applies to burglary of a dwelling regardless of occupancy, so the trial court erred in refusing to sentence White under the Act.
The Prison Releasee Reoffender Act applies to burglary of a dwelling without regard to whether the dwelling was occupied at the time of the offense.
[1] The Prison Releasee Reoffender Act applies to burglary of a dwelling without regard to whether the dwelling was occupied at the time of the offense, as the disjunctive "o…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJohn A. White was convicted of burglary of a dwelling that was not occupied at the time of the burglary, and the trial court refused to sentence him a…
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BLUE, Judge.
The State appeals the trial court’s refusal to sentence John A. White as a prison releasee reoffender based on his conviction for burglary of a dwelling. The trial court refused to apply the Prison Releasee Reof-fender Act because the dwelling was not occupied at the time of White’s burglary. Because the Act does not require an occupied dwelling, we reverse.
The legislature has defined a prison re-leasee reoffender as a defendant who, within three years of being released from prison, commits or attempts to commit an offense from the list enumerated in the statute. See § 775.082(8)(a)l, Fla. Stat. (1997). The list of qualifying offenses includes “[bjurglary of an occupied structure or dwelling.” § 775.082(8)(a)lq. The State argues that the word “or” between “occupied structure” and “dwelling” indicates a legislative intent to treat the two alternatives separately. “[T]he use of the word “or” is generally construed in the disjunctive when used in a statute or rule .... [and] indicates that alternatives were intended.” Sparkman v. McClure, 498 So. 2d 892, 895 (Fla.1986). The Fourth District has concluded that “whether the dwelling was occupied has no legal effect for purposes of sentencing under the [Prison Releasee Reoffender] Act.” Scott v. State, 721 So. 2d 1245, 1246 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (citations omitted). We agree. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for re-sentencing under the Act.
Reversed and remanded.
ALTENBERND, A.C.J., and DAVIS, J., Concur.
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Citator
Cited By (18 total)
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State v. Huggins, 802 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 2001)…QUINCE, J. We have for review the decision in State v. Huggins, 744 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), which certified conflict with the Second District Court of Appeal’s decision in State v. White, 736 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. Because the language of section 775.082(8), Florida Statutes (1997), is ambiguous, we approve the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Huggins, which held that th…1 / 3
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State v. Huggins, 744 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)…e, 738 So. 2d 972 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), and to the extent that they are in conflict, we hereby recede from those decisions. We further note and acknowledge that we are in conflict with the Second District Court of Appeal’s decision in State v. White, 736 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999), which relies in part on Scott v. State. We certify conflict. AFFIRMED. WARNER, C.J., DELL, GUNTHER, STONE, POLEN, FARMER, KLEIN, STEVENSON, SHAHOOD, GROSS and TAYLOR, JJ., concur. . The Prison Releasee Reoffender Act provides…
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State v. Chamberlain, 744 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…ccupied dwelling in order to apply, the Act did not apply to him. The court agreed with appellee. The State and appellee then stipulated to a ten-year sentence of appellee as a habitual felony offender. This court has since ruled in State v. White, 736 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) that the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act does apply to a sentence for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling. In other words, the dwelling need not be occupied for the offense to qualify the offender for prison releasee reoffender stat…
Previewing 3 of 18 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Sparkman v. McCLURE, 498 So. 2d 892 (Fla. 1986)
- McKinley Scott v. State, 721 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)