DAMON WILLIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Damon Willis appeals his sentence for sexual battery, aggravated battery, and false imprisonment. The trial court imposed a life sentence suspended after 30 years followed by probation, which the appellate court found violated Florida's sentencing guidelines by imposing a sentence between the guidelines minimum and life without written reasons for departure.
The sentence imposed is not permitted under Florida's sentencing guidelines. A trial court with total sentence points equal to or exceeding 363 may sentence only to either the guidelines sentence or a straight life sentence. A life sentence suspended after a term of years circumvents the legislature's intent and plain language of the statute.
[1] A trial court may impose a life sentence when a defendant's total sentencing points equal or exceed 363, absent a departure from the guidelines.
[2] A sentence for a term of years in excess of the guidelines but less than life requires written reasons for the upward departure.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“If a recommended sentence under the guidelines exceeds the [statutory maximum sentence], the sentence under the guidelines must be [imposed], absent a departure.”
Establishes the statutory limitation on sentencing discretion when guidelines exceed statutory maximum
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWillis was convicted of three counts of sexual battery, one count of aggravated battery, and one count of false imprisonment. His sentencing guideline…
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PARKER, Acting Chief Judge.
Damon Willis appeals the sentence imposed following his convictions for three counts of sexual battery, one count of aggravated battery, and one count of false imprisonment. Because the sentence imposed by the trial court circumvents clear statutory limitations, we reverse.
The sentencing guidelines score-sheet prepared after Willis’s convictions calculated his total sentence points at 459. The statutory maximum sentence for Willis’s offenses was 15 years; however Willis’s guidelines minimum sentence was 323 months or 26.9 years. Because of the total sentencing points, the trial court had the discretion to impose a life sentence under section 921.0014(2), Florida Statutes (1997).1
At the sentencing hearing, the trial court correctly recognized that it had to sentence Willis to either 26.9 years or life. § 921.001(5), Fla.Stat. (1997) (“If a recommended sentence under the guidelines exceeds the [statutory maximum sentence], the sentence under the guidelines must be imposed, absent a departure.”). The trial court also correctly recognized that a sentence of 30 years would be considered an upward departure. Despite the recognition of these statutory limitations on its sentencing discretion, the trial court sentenced Willis to life, suspended after 30 years to be followed by 10 years’ probation. Because it had technically imposed a life sentence, the trial court did not give any written reasons to justify the upward departure from the guidelines sentence.
In addressing the proper application of the “life” provision of section 921.0014(2), this court has held that when the defendant’s total sentence points equal or exceed 363, the trial court may sentence the defendant to either a guidelines sentence or a life sentence. Cash v. State, 779 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). The plain language of the sentencing guidelines does not allow a sentence for a term of years in excess of the guidelines but less than life absent written reasons for the upward departure from the guidelines. Id.
In light of the plain language of section 921.0014(2) and our decision in Cash, we conclude that the sentence imposed by the trial court in this case is not permitted.2 The trial court in this case technically imposed a life sentence but actually imposed a sentence in excess of the guidelines but less than life without written reasons for the upward departure. If a life sentence suspended after a term of years is allowed to stand under the circumstances presented here, the trial court is, in effect, circumventing the legislature’s intent and the plain language of section 912.0014(2). Because we cannot permit the trial court to circumvent the clear language of the sentencing guidelines in this manner, Willis’s sentence must be reversed and the case remanded for the trial court to impose either a guidelines sentence or a straight life sentence.
Reversed and remanded for resentencing.
FULMER and SILBERMAN, JJ., concur. . Section 921.0014(2), Florida Statutes (1997), states in part: "If the total sentence points are equal to or greater than 363, the court may sentence the offender to life imprisonment.”
. The Cash opinion had not been issued when Willis was sentenced. However, the trial court’s statements on the record at sentencing make it clear that it understood the statute to require either a guidelines sentence or a life sentence.
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Carter v. State, 920 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)…ersal as the State properly concedes. Under the plain language of the statutory scheme at issue here, the trial judge could impose the statutory maximum of 30 years, or a life sentence, but not a term sentence in excess of 30 years. Willis v. State, 785 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Accordingly, Appellant’s sentences on counts one and two are reversed, and this cause is remanded for correction of the scoresheet and resentencing. Id. REVERSED AND REMANDED. PLEUS, C.J., and MONACO, J., concur.…
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Shamond Byrd v. State, 841 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)…efendant had submitted a pro se brief raising this exact issue), we have necessarily rejected that argument. If the sentence points are 363 or more, the court may sentence the offender to life imprisonment without departure reasons. Willis v. State, 785 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001); Cash v. State, 779 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000); Stoltzfus v. State, 735 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999); Kalapp v. State, 729 So. 2d 987 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). Affirmed.2 . The crime date was April 12, 1998. . As a procedural m…
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Pratte v. State, 946 So. 2d 1184 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…§ 812.13(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (2001); § 775.082(3)(b), Fla. Stat. (2001). However, if the defendant’s total sentencing scoresheet points equal or exceed 363, the trial court may impose a life sentence. § 921.0014(2), Fla. Stat. (2001); Willis v. State, 785 So. 2d 648, 648 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Mr. Pratte’s scoresheet totaled 943 points. Consequently, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a life sentence. Mr. Pratte argues that the trial court improperly scored his robbery convictions as first-d…
Authorities Cited
- Cash v. State, 779 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)