ROBERTO JESUS GARCIA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Roberto Jesus Garcia appealed convictions for possession of a firearm by a felon and felony driving with a suspended license. The court affirmed the firearm conviction but reversed the felony driving conviction because the State failed to prove prior convictions beyond a reasonable doubt, reducing it to a misdemeanor.
The court affirmed the firearm conviction as supported by sufficient evidence for jury consideration. The court reversed the felony driving conviction because the State failed to prove the prior convictions beyond a reasonable doubt, as required by law when prior convictions are an element of the charged offense. The conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor driving with a suspended license.
[1] Sufficient evidence to support a conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon requires that the evidence be decided by the jury.
[2] To prove a prior conviction as an element of a charged crime, the prior conviction must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by introduction of certified copies of each ju…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“When prior convictions constitute an element of a charged crime, the prior convictions must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by introduction of certified copies of each judgment.”
Establishes the legal standard requiring certified copies of judgments to prove prior convictions when they are an essential element of the crime charged.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGarcia was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon and felony driving with a suspended license. The State relied on a certified copy of Garcia…
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GREEN, Judge.
Roberto Jesus Garcia appeals his convictions of possession of a firearm by a felon and felony driving with a suspended license. Garcia contends there was insufficient evidence to support either charge. We affirm Garcia’s conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon because there was sufficient evidence for the charge to be decided by the jury. We reduce the felony driving with a suspended license to driving with a suspended license.
As to the third-degree felony of driving with a suspended license, we are required to reverse because the State, over objection, relied on a certified copy of Garcia’s driving record to prove the historical fact of Garcia’s two prior convictions for driving with a suspended license. When prior convictions constitute an element of a charged crime, the prior convictions must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by introduction of certified copies of each judgment. See State v. Harbaugh, 754 So. 2d 691 (Fla.2000); Sylvester v. State, 770 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). Because the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Garcia had two prior convictions for driving with a suspended license, we reverse Garcia’s conviction for third-degree felony driving with a suspended license.1 However, the evidence presented was sufficient to prove the misdemeanor offense of driving with a suspended license. Thus, upon remand, the trial court is directed to enter judgment and resentence Garcia on the misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license. See § 924.34, Fla. Stat. (1997).
Accordingly, we affirm Garcia’s judgment and sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. We reverse the judgment and sentence for felony driving with a suspended license and remand with directions for the trial judge to enter judgment against Garcia for the misdemeanor offense of driving with a suspended license and to resentence him accordingly.
FULMER, A.C.J., and SILBERMAN, J., Concur. . Because our reversal is based on a failure of proof, we do not address Garcia’s additional contention that the trial court erred by failing to submit to the jury the determination of whether the requisite prior convictions were proved. Likewise, we do not address the State’s contention that this issue was waived.
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Arthur v. State, 818 So. 2d 589 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…er to point out that State v. Fields, 809 So. 2d 99 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002), supports the holding of Sylvester and the position articulated in Judge Thompson’s dissent. In Fields, the court noted that it had previously cited Sylvester in Garcia v. State, 800 So. 2d 725 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001), and held in Garcia, “that proof under section 322.34(2) requires certified copies of prior convictions.” The Fields court does not recede from that holding. Rather, the court acknowledged that if Sylvester spoke to DWLS under 322…
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State v. Fields, 809 So. 2d 99 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)…to section 322.264. Both provisions achieve the same result by different methods of proof. It is not clear to us which subsection of section 322.34 the Fifth District relied on in Sylvester. Sylvester was cited in our prior case of Garcia v. State, 800 So. 2d 725 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). The Garcia case was based on a prosecution under section 322.34(2). We held in Garcia that proof under section 322.34(2) requires certified copies of prior convictions. The Fourth District in Rodgers v. State, 804 So. 2d 480 (Fla…
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Anderson v. State, 46 Fla. L. Weekly S157 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021)…. We first note that Anderson is correct that "[w]hen prior convictions constitute an element of a charged crime, the prior convictions must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by introduction of certified copies of each judgment." Garcia v. State, 800 So. 2d 725, 726 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). In Garcia, this court reversed a felony DWLSR conviction "because the State, over objection, relied on a certified copy of Garcia's driving record to prove the historical fact of Garcia's two prior convictions for driving…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Harbaugh, 754 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 2000)
- Sylvester v. State, 770 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)