BRIAN K. GLASS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Circuit court lacked jurisdiction to convict Glass of felony criminal mischief where the State's final information charged only misdemeanors, requiring reversal despite a bifurcated hearing.
A circuit court lacks jurisdiction to try a defendant for a felony when the information filed before trial charges only misdemeanors, even if a bifurcated hearing is conducted.
[1] An information charging only misdemeanors deprives a circuit court of jurisdiction to try a defendant for a felony, notwithstanding the availability of a bifurcated hearing under State v. …
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGlass was arrested for refusing to leave a drinking establishment and subsequently kicked out a police cruiser window. He was initially charged with f…
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HARRIS, J.
Glass was arrested when he refused to leave a drinking establishment after receiving a warning. On the way to jail, he kicked the window out of the police cruiser. He was initially charged with felony criminal mischief (having had one or more such violation previously) and trespass after warning, a misdemeanor. At this point, the circuit court had jurisdiction. However, just before trial, the State filed its fourth (and final) information charging only two misdemeanors, simple criminal mischief and trespass after warning. The circuit court, now without jurisdiction, proceeded to try Glass and he was convicted of felony criminal mischief (now not charged) and the misdemeanor trespass. Because the circuit court lacked jurisdiction based on the information which established the charges at the time of trial, we reverse.
The State claims that there was no error because the court conducted a bifurcated hearing pursuant to State v. Harbaugh, 754 So. 2d 691 (Fla.2000). While Har-baugh does stand for the proposition that a bifurcated trial is necessary to try a defendant for a felony based on previous misdemeanor convictions, still the information before the court must charge such offense. Because there was no such charge before this court at the time of trial, the court lacked jurisdiction to conduct any trial, bifurcated or not.
REVERSED.
THOMPSON, C.J., and SAWAYA, J., concur.
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Oglesby v. State, 911 So. 2d 1288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)…y of resisting arrest without violence and not guilty of disorderly intoxication. The circuit court was divested of jurisdiction when the information was amended and all that remained to be tried by the court were two misdemeanors. Glass v. State, 832 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002); Woods v. State, 556 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); see also State v. Anderson, 537 So. 2d 1373 (Fla.1989)(recognizing that the state may orally amend an information); compare State v. Vazquez, 450 So. 2d 203 (Fla.1984)(holding…
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Floyd Bd. v. State, 128 So. 3d 208 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)…that remained to be tried were three first-degree misdemeanors. See Art. V, § 20(c)(3) & (4), Fla. Const.; §§ 26.012(2)(d) & 34.01(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (2011). See also Oglesby v. State, 911 So. 2d 1288, 1288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005) (citing Glass v. State, 832 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002), and Woods v. State, 556 So. 2d 493 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)); accord Pinkard v. State, 852 So. 2d 377 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003). The issue of subject matter jurisdiction is one of fundamental error that may be addressed for the first time…
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Andujar-Ruiz v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2021)…count"); see also Oglesby v. State, 911 So. 2d 1288, 1288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005) ("The circuit court was divested of jurisdiction when the information was amended and all that remained to be tried by the court were two misdemeanors."); Glass v. State, 832 So. 2d 837, 838 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002) (holding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to try defendant where information had been amended to charge defendant with two misdemeanors and no felonies).1 The county court was the proper forum in which to resolve Mr.…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Harbaugh, 754 So. 2d 691 (Fla. 2000)