LAWRENCE LOGAN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Lawrence Logan challenged five concurrent life sentences imposed at resentencing, arguing the trial court failed to provide written reasons for departure sentences as required by the sentencing guidelines. The court affirmed, holding that Logan's 2001 election to be sentenced under the guidelines meant he was sentenced under the Criminal Punishment Code in effect at that time, under which life sentences were not departure sentences requiring written reasons.
The court held that when a defendant elects to be sentenced under the guidelines, he elects to be sentenced under the guidelines in effect at the time of election. Because Logan made his election in 2001, he was sentenced under the 2001 Criminal Punishment Code, under which the five concurrent life sentences were not departure sentences and therefore did not require written reasons.
[1] A defendant who elects to be sentenced under the guidelines at resentencing elects to be sentenced under the guidelines in effect at the time of the election.
[2] Sentences imposed under the Criminal Punishment Code are not considered departure sentences, and thus do not require written reasons for departure.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“A defendant who elects to be sentenced under the guidelines, elects to be sentenced under the guidelines in effect at the time of the election.”
Establishes the key principle that determines which sentencing guidelines apply—those in effect when the defendant makes the election, not when the original offense was committed.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLogan was convicted in 1984 of five counts of robbery with a firearm and sentenced to five concurrent life sentences as departure sentences under the …
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DAVIS, Judge.
Lawrence Logan challenges five concurrent life sentences he received upon resentencing. We affirm.
In 1984, following a jury trial, Logan was convicted of five counts of robbery with a firearm. Pursuant to the guidelines enacted by the Florida Supreme Court in 1983, the trial court sentenced Logan to five concurrent life sentences as departure sentences.
In 1999, Logan moved to correct the illegal sentences, alleging that the guidelines did not apply to crimes committed prior to July 1, 1984. See Smith v. State, 537 So. 2d 982 (Fla.1989) (holding the guidelines unconstitutional for offenses committed before July 1, 1984). Since Logan committed the offenses on March 17, 1984, the State conceded error. At resentencing in May 2001, Logan asserted his right, pursuant to Smith, to be sentenced under the guidelines. In so doing, Logan erroneously concluded that he was entitled to be sentenced under the guidelines applicable as of the date of his original sentencing. Under those guidelines, the trial court was required to file appropriate written reasons for departure sentences. At resentencing, the trial court again sentenced Logan to five concurrent life sentences but did not file the required reasons. Logan now argues that the trial court’s failure rendered the sentences illegal.
A defendant who elects to be sentenced under the guidelines, elects to be sentenced under the guidelines in effect at the time of the election. Smith, 537 So. 2d at 987. Because Logan made his election in 2001, he elected to be sentenced pursuant to the Criminal Punishment Code. See Quevado v. State, 838 So. 2d 1253, 1254 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (holding that defendant sentenced in 1999 had right to choose “either a nonguidelines sentence or one under the 1998 Criminal Punishment Code”).
Pursuant to the Criminal Punishment Code, the five concurrent life sentences received here by Logan were not departure sentences. Accordingly, the trial court was not required to file written departure reasons. See § 812.13(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2001). Therefore, we affirm Logan’s sentences.
Affirmed.
WHATLEY and CASANUEVA, JJ., concur.
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Logan v. State, 921 So. 2d 556 (Fla. 2005)…BELL, J. We have for review Logan v. State, 846 So. 2d 657 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003), which expressly and directly conflicts with our decision in Smith v. State, 537 So. 2d 982 (Fla.1989).1 In December 1984, Logan was sentenced for offenses he committed on March 17, 1984. That sentence was later set aside, and Log…1 / 2
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Johnson v. State, 889 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)…lines law, he will be eligible for parole. Id.; Braggs v. State, 642 So. 2d 129, 131 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994). If Appellant elects to be sentenced under the current guidelines, he will be sentenced pursuant to the Criminal Punishment Code. Logan v. State, 846 So. 2d 657, 658 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003); Quevado v. State, 838 So. 2d 1253, 1254 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). The trial court properly determined that Appellant had previously raised these claims in prior motions and that he was collaterally estopped from raising them in t…
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Logan v. State, 995 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)…, this court concluded that Logan’s election to be sentenced under the guidelines was an election to be sentenced under the Criminal Punishment Code and, therefore, written reasons were not required and the sentences were lawful. See Logan v. State, 846 So. 2d 657, 658 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). Logan sought further review, and in Logan v. State, 921 So. 2d 556, 559 (Fla.2006), the supreme court quashed this court’s decision and held that Logan’s election at the 2001 resentencing hearing entitled him to be sentence…
Authorities Cited
- Alphonso P. Smith v. State, 537 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 1989)
- Quevado v. State, 838 So. 2d 1253 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)