MICHAEL KNIGHT, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court affirmed Knight's life sentence under Florida's Prison Releasee Reoffender Act for robbery with a firearm, holding that the Act mandates a life sentence for such offenses and does not violate statutory requirements.
The Prison Releasee Reoffender Act requires a life sentence for robbery with a firearm, and the trial court imposed the correct sentence.
[1] The term 'felony punishable by life' in Florida Statutes section 775.082(8)(a)(2)(a) encompasses both life felonies and first degree felonies punishable by a term of year…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKnight was convicted of robbery with a firearm and sentenced to life imprisonment under the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act.…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Life Sentence cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Appellant appeals his life sentence under the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act (“Act”) for robbery with a firearm and also raises several constitutional challenges to the Act. We find that appellant received the correct sentence under the Act and affirm.
We previously have addressed appellant’s constitutional challenges to the Act and decline to address them again. See Jackson v. State, 744 So. 2d 466 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. granted, 749 So. 2d 503 (Fla.1999); Woods v. State, 740 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. granted, 740 So. 2d 529 (Fla.1999); see also Turner v. State, 745 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999); Durden v. State, 743 So. 2d 77 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999). This court has also found that the term “felony punishable by life” in subsection 775.082(8)(a)(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1997), covers both life felonies and first degree felonies punishable by a term of years not exceeding life. See Brown v. State, 24 Fla. L. Weekly D2753, — So. 2d -, 1999 WL 1112715 (Fla. 1st DCA Dec. 8, 1999). Thus, the Act requires a life sentence for robbery with a firearm, and the trial court imposed the correct sentence.
Accordingly, we AFFIRM appellant’s sentence, and, as we did in Woods, we certify the following question to the Florida Supreme Court:
DOES THE PRISON RELEASEE REOFFENDER PUNISHMENT ACT, CODIFIED AS SECTION 775.082(8), FLORIDA STATUTES (1997), VIOLATE THE SEPARATION OF POWERS CLAUSE OF THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION?
AFFIRMED.
MINER, BENTON and BROWNING, JJ., CONCUR.
PER CURIAM.
We grant Appellant’s Motion for Rehearing and Certification of a Question of Great Public Importance only to the extent that we add the following certified question to our previously issue opinion of March 27, 2000:
DOES SECTION 775.082 (9)(A)3A, FLORIDA STATUTES (1999), WHICH MANDATES A LIFE SENTENCE FOR PRISON RELEASEE REOF-FENDERS WHO COMMIT “A FELONY PUNISHABLE BY LIFE,” APPLY BOTH TO LIFE FELONIES AND FIRST DEGREE FELONIES PUNISHABLE BY IMPRISONMENT FOR A TERM OF YEARS NOT EXCEEDING LIFE?
MINER, BENTON and BROWNING, JJ., CONCUR.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Knight v. State, 808 So. 2d 210 (Fla. 2002)…ANSTEAD, J. We have for review the decision in Knight v. State, 791 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000), in which the First District certified the following question as one of great public importance: DOES SECTION [775.082(8)(a)2.a.], FLORIDA STATUTES (1997), WHICH MANDATES A LIFE SENTENCE FOR PRISON RELEASEE REOF-FENDERS WHO COMM…
-
Stabile v. State, 790 So. 2d 1235 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…YEARS NOT EXCEEDING LIFE? Bennett v. State, — So. 2d-, 2001 WL 530477 (Fla. 1st DCA May 21, 2001); Vargas v. State, 789 So. 2d 1030 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); Gaines v. State, — So. 2d -, 2001 WL 120122 (Fla. 1st DCA February 14, 2001); Knight v. State, 791 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA) (opinion granting rehearing and certification, August 22, 2000); Brown v. State, — So. 2d-, 1999 WL 1112715 (Fla. 1st DCA Dec.8, 1999). We join our sister courts in certifying the same question to the Florida Supreme Court. Finally,…
-
Gaines v. State, 816 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)…PER CURIAM. The appellant’s sentence is affirmed. See Knight v. State, 791 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000), pet. for review pending, No. SC-001987; Brown v. State, 24 Fla. L. Weekly D2753, — So. 2d -, 1999 WL 1112715 (Fla. 1st DCA Dec.8, 1999). Nevertheless, consistent with our certification in Knight, we certify the following questio…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Woods v. State, 740 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
- Mundy v. State, 745 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
- Lamarian Jackson v. State, 744 So. 2d 466 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
- Durden v. State, 743 So. 2d 77 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)