ROBERT EMMETT, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Robert Emmett appealed the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. The court affirmed the fifty-five-year consecutive sentence for robbery and multiple drug possession convictions, holding that such sentences are legally permissible under Florida law.
Emmett's consecutive sentences were legal and proper. Robbery and possession of controlled substances are separate offenses subject to consecutive sentencing under Florida law, and possession of eight different controlled substances constitutes eight separate offenses, each subject to separate sentencing.
[1] Consecutive sentences may be imposed for offenses arising from the same criminal transaction if each offense violates a separate criminal statute.
[2] Possession of separate controlled substances can constitute separate offenses, each subject to multiple sentencing.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There is no question that Emmett's consecutive sentences for robbery and possession of controlled substances are proper.”
Establishes that consecutive sentences for different offenses arising from the same criminal episode are permissible under Florida law.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 1982, Emmett was convicted of robbery and eight counts of possession of controlled substances. He received a fifty-five year prison sentence consis…
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PER CURIAM.
Robert Emmett appeals the summary denial of his motion to correct illegal sentence, filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). We affirm.
In 1982, Emmett was convicted of robbery and eight counts of possession of controlled substances. He received a fifty-five year prison sentence, consisting of consecutive terms of fifteen years for the robbery conviction and five years for each of the possession convictions. In his rule 3.800(a) motion, Emmett contends that he should not have received consecutive sentences because all the offenses with which he was charged arose out of the same criminal transaction; he also asserts that the eight possession counts were not separate offenses because the elements of each were the same.
The trial court denied relief finding that robbery and possession of controlled substances constituted separate offenses. The court further found that possession of eight different controlled substances constituted eight separate offenses. It accordingly concluded that Emmett’s nine consecutive sentences did not constitute an illegal sentence. We agree.
Under Florida law, Emmett’s sentences are legal. There is no question that Emmett’s consecutive sentences for robbery and possession of controlled substances are proper. See § 775.021(4), Fla. Stat. (1981) (providing for consecutive sentencing for acts committed during the course of a single criminal episode that constitute a violation of two or more criminal statutes). The more troubling question is the propriety of Emmett’s consecutive sentences for each of his possession convictions. While Emmett’s sentences on these convictions appear to be excessive, we cannot say from the record before us that they are illegal. See Jenkins v. Wainwright, 322 So. 2d 477, 479 (Fla.1975) (holding that possession of separate drug substances, each of which constitutes a separate violation of law, is subject to multiple sentencing); see also § 921.16(1) (1981) (giving trial court discretion to direct consecutive sentences for convictions charged in the same information). We accordingly affirm the trial court’s denial of relief.
Affirmed.
PARKER, A.C.J., and BLUE and SALCINES, JJ., Concur.
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Bearden v. State, 252 So. 3d 1192 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018)…2d 165 (Fla. 1985); Harmon v. State, 438 So. 2d 369 (Fla. 1983); Borges v. State, 415 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 1982); Coughlin v. State, 932 So. 2d 1224 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (en banc); Shortridge v. State, 884 So. 2d 321 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004); Emmett v. State, 764 So. 2d 675 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000); Washington v. State, 752 So. 2d 16 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (en banc); Bearden v. State, 481 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Adams v. State, 435 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). NORTHCUTT, KELLY, and LUCAS, JJ., Concur.…
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Guillen v. U.S. Attorney General, 910 F.3d 1174 (11th Cir. 2018)…ate, 323 So. 2d 594 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1975), the First District affirmed separate sentencing for convictions of possession of marijuana, possession of a barbiturate, and possession of heroin on the same ground. Id. at 595. And in Emmett v. State, 764 So. 2d 675 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2000), the Second District Court of Appeal upheld consecutive sentences for a robbery conviction and eight counts of possession of different controlled substances. Id. at 675. The court noted that the sentence may have been "exc…
Authorities Cited
- Jenkins v. Louie L. Wainwright, 322 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 1975)