LARRY CUNNINGHAM, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2001-11-16
No. 5D01-2080
GRIFFIN and PLEUS, JJ., concur.
799 So. 2d 442 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2001) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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.

Synopsis

Cunningham appeals his conviction on multiple felonies, challenging his sentencing under the 1995 guidelines and arguing that his counsel was ineffective for failing to move to dismiss an armed burglary charge based on his ownership interest in the vehicle burglarized. The court rejected the sentencing challenge but found merit in the ineffective assistance claim and remanded for further proceedings.


Holding

The court rejected the sentencing challenge under Heggs, finding his sentence fell within the constitutional 1994 guidelines. However, the court found that Cunningham raised a meritorious ineffective assistance of counsel claim regarding the armed burglary charge, as a burglary victim must have an ownership or possessory interest in the property superior to that of the burglar, and the ownership status of the vehicle presented a genuine question about whether Cunningham could legally be convicted of burglary.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant cannot be convicted of burglary of a conveyance in which the defendant has a rightful ownership or possessory interest superior to that of the victim, absent…

[2] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on the failure to challenge a burglary charge due to the defendant's ownership interest in the property may warrant an…

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Key Quotes

“A burglary victim must have an ownership or possessory interest in the property which was burglarized that is rightful and superior to that of the burglar.”

Establishes the legal standard for burglary liability and the critical issue regarding Cunningham's ownership interest in the vehicle.

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Facts & Procedural History

Cunningham was convicted of attempted voluntary manslaughter, armed burglary of a conveyance, aggravated battery, aggravated fleeing police, DUI with …

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Opinion of the Court
SHARP, W., J.

Cunningham appeals from the trial court’s summary denial of his motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, challenging his convictions and sentencing for attempted voluntary manslaughter, armed burglary of a conveyance with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, driving under the influence with property damage or personal injury, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage, and reckless driving. Initially, he raises a Heggs issue,1 claiming that he was sentenced under the unconstitutional 1995 sentencing guidelines.

We reject this ground, since it appears from the record his total incarceration of 106.6 months would not exceed the sentencing range under the constitutional 1994 guidelines.

However, the second issue merits further consideration. Cunningham argues that his counsel was ineffective for not arguing that one of the charges, aimed burglary of a conveyance, should have been dismissed. The automobile involved was being occupied by Cunningham’s wife and her friend at the time he leaned over into the vehicle, fought with the friend and stabbed his wife. He asserts that the car was titled in both his name and his wife’s name and that he could not be charged with burglarizing his own car.

The trial court rejected this argument because “burglary” means “entering or remaining in a ... conveyance with the intent to commit an offense therein.” See § 810.02(1), Fla. Stat. (2000). In Cladd v. State, 398 So. 2d 442 (Fla.1981), the supreme court held that a husband physically but not legally separated from his wife, could be guilty of burglary when he entered the premises possessed by the wife without her consent.

However, in Cladd the husband had no ownership or possessory interest in the premises.

In this case, the appellant claims an ownership interest in the automobile. It is questionable whether he can therefore be found guilty of trespass or burglary as to the car, without proof of specific circumstances. 2 A burglary victim must have an ownership or possessory interest in the property which was burglarized that is rightful and superior to that of the burglar. Because Cunningham raised a meritorious issue not controverted by the record attached to the summary denial, we reverse and remand for the trial court to either attach documents conclusively refuting Cunningham’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, or hold an evidentiary hearing.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

GRIFFIN and PLEUS, JJ., concur. . Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla.2000) (Chapter 95-184, Laws of Florida, unconstitutional for violating the single subject rule of the state constitution).

. Cf. Whetstone v. State, 778 So. 2d 338 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000), receded from on other grounds, Jones v. State, 790 So. 2d 1194 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001) (defendant could not be convicted of armed burglary of dwelling which he and his wife had jointly leased); State v. Suarez-Mesa, 662 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), rev. denied, 669 So. 2d 252 (Fla.1996).


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Citator

Cited By

  • Howard v. State, 932 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
    …ing him instead to enter the plea; had counsel ad [*484] vised him of the defense and obtained the documents to support his claim that he owned the truck, he would not have entered the plea but would have proceeded to trial. See Cunningham v. State, 799 So. 2d 442, 444 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (reversing summary denial of postconviction claim that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to argue that the charge of armed burglary of a conveyance should have been dismissed, where the automobile in question was o…

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