WILLIAM MAITRE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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William Maitre challenged his sentence under guidelines amended by a law the Florida Supreme Court found unconstitutional for violating the single-subject rule. The court affirmed his convictions but remanded for recalculation of his sentences under the 1994 guidelines to determine whether resentencing is required.
Maitre has standing to challenge his sentences for Counts I and III as they fall within the applicable window period (October 1, 1995 to May 24, 1997) under the rule of lenity. The case must be remanded to determine whether the sentences could have been imposed under the 1994 guidelines; if not, resentencing is required.
[1] A "window period" for challenging sentences imposed under the 1995 sentencing guidelines, which were found unconstitutional for violating the single-subject rule, exists…
[2] The rule of lenity requires assuming that an offense occurred within the applicable window period when the alleged time frame extends beyond it.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“the window period for challenging 95-184 on single subject grounds opened on October 1, 1995, when such amended guidelines provisions became effective, and closed on May 24, 1997, when chapter 97-97, Laws of Florida, reenacted the amendments contained in chapter 95-184 as part of the biennial adoption process”
Establishes the temporal window within which defendants can challenge sentences imposed under the unconstitutional 1995 amendments
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMaitre was charged with three counts: lewd, lascivious or indecent acts on a child (counts I and II, occurring in 1997) and unlawful sexual activity w…
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PER CURIAM.
We grant the motion for clarification, withdraw our previous opinion, and substitute the following.
We affirm appellant’s convictions and write to address only the sentencing issue.
The Florida Supreme Court has held Chapter 95-184, Laws of Florida, to be unconstitutional because it violates the single-subject rule. See Trapp v. State, 760 So. 2d 924, 925 (Fla.2000); Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620, 621 (Fla.2000). After the briefs were filed in this case, the supreme court ruled that the window period for challenging 95-184 on single subject grounds
opened on October 1, 1995, when such amended guidelines provisions became effective, and closed on May 24, 1997, when chapter 97-97, Laws of Florida, reenacted the amendments contained in chapter 95-184 as part of the biennial adoption process. Stated another way, persons such as [appellant] who are challenging a sentence imposed under the sentencing guidelines as amended by chapter 95-184 have standing to do so if the relevant criminal offense or offenses occurred on or after October 1, 1995, and before May 24,1997.
Trapp, 760 So. 2d at 928.
Here, appellant was charged with:
Count I: Lewd, Lascivious or Indecent Act on a child between February 1, 1997 and August 31,1997;
Count II: Lewd, Lascivious or Indecent Act on a child on September 1, 1997; and
Count III: Unlawful Sexual Activity With A Minor 16 or 17 Years of Age between November 1, 1996 and December 31,1996.
Count II was committed outside the applicable window period. Count III was committed inside the window period. The time frame alleged in Count I goes beyond the date when the window closed. However, the rule of lenity requires the assumption that the offense occurred within the window period. See § 775.021(1), Fla. Stat. (1997); Griffith v. State, 654 So. 2d 936, 938 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995), quashed on other grounds, 675 So. 2d 911 (Fla.1996) (noting rule of lenity required assumption that “all of the convictions represented violations that occurred while the defendant was under the age of 16”).
Thus, Counts I and III fall within the window period and defendant has standing to challenge them. In his brief, defendant points out that proper sentencing would have required the use of two scoresheets to calculate his sentence— “[o]ne scoresheet covering counts one and three, which occurred before May 24, 1997, and another for count two which occurred after.”
In Heggs, the supreme court held that “in the sentencing guidelines context, we determine that if a person’s sentence imposed under the 1995 guidelines could have been imposed under the 1994 guidelines (without a departure), then that person shall not be entitled to relief under our decision here.”
759 So. 2d at 627.
Here, appellant’s scoresheet, using the 1995 guidelines, totaled 318.8 points, resulting in a permitted range of 218.1 to 363.5 months in prison. The record does not contain a 1994 scoresheet. As the second district wrote in Smith v. State, 761 So. 2d 419, 420 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000),
we do not anticipate that we will be able to calculate scoresheets under the 1994 guidelines in most cases because that function can involve issues of fact. Thus, rather than reversing sentences affected by Heggs, we intend to remand these cases to the trial courts to calculate new scoresheets. If the trial court determines that it must vacate an existing sentence, it should conduct a new sentencing hearing and impose a new sentence.
(Citation omitted). See Speed v. State, 764 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (agreeing with the analysis in Smith “on the need to remand such cases for a recalculation of the appellant’s sentences under the 1994 guidelines scoresheet”).
We therefore affirm the convictions and remand for a determination of whether appellant’s sentences for Counts I and III imposed under the 1995 guidelines could have been imposed under the 1994 guidelines without a departure. If not, appellant must be resentenced. If the trial court determines that resentencing is required in Counts I and III, it is authorized to resentence under Count II with a revised, recalculated scoresheet.
KLEIN, GROSS, JJ., and FINE, EDWARD H., Associate Judge, concur.
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Cairl v. State, 833 So. 2d 312 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…alleged to have committed an offense, the defendant should be sentenced under the more lenient version of the guidelines. See Schloesser v. State, 697 So. 2d 942 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997); Duer v. Moore, 765 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000); Maitre v. State, 770 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); Gilbert v. State, 680 So. 2d 1132 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). Each of these cases cites State v. Griffith, 675 So. 2d 911 (Fla.1996), as authority for applying the rule of lenity. In Griffith, the defendant was charged with committing…
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Glynn v. State, 868 So. 2d 1280 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…a. 2d DCA 2003) (en banc), that [*1281] Glynn is entitled to the “most lenient version of the guidelines in effect during the time frame alleged in the information.” Id. at 314; see also State v. Griffith, 675 So. 2d 911 (Fla.1996); Maitre v. State, 770 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); Gilbert v. State, 680 So. 2d 1132 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). We distinguish this case from Gross v. State, 820 So. 2d 1043 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), because that case involved a continuing criminal enterprise under the RICO statute. This c…
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Frederick v. State, 814 So. 2d 1123 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)…the Defen [*1124] dant’s scoresheet, but there appeared to be no finding of actual injury. Since there were a few months during the offense time frame where Karchesky would apply, the rule of lenity requires us to apply Karchesky. Maitre v. State, 770 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). We reverse and remand. for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether victim injury points should be added under Karche-sky. The Defendant also appeals his sentence to life without parole. The trial court’s oral pronouncement…
Authorities Cited
- Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 2000)
- Xzavier Trapp v. State, 760 So. 2d 924 (Fla. 2000)
- Smith v. State, 761 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)
- Speed v. State, 764 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- State v. Griffith, 675 So. 2d 911 (Fla. 1996)
- Griffith v. State, 654 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)