ROYCE M. REED, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2004-09-01
No. 3D03-3301
Before COPE, GODERICH, and FLETCHER, JJ.
880 So. 2d 1269 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2004) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 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

Reed appeals his habitual violent felony offender sentence, arguing that a prior conviction used to enhance it was not final because sentencing had not yet occurred. The Florida District Court of Appeal affirms, holding that for habitual offender purposes, 'conviction' means adjudication of guilt, not the imposition of sentence.


Holding

The court holds that a 'conviction' under the habitual offender statute is equivalent to adjudication of guilt, not the imposition of sentence. Therefore, Reed's adjudication in 89-36248-A, which occurred before his escape and subsequent crimes, constituted a valid prior conviction for habitual offender enhancement purposes.


Headnotes

[1] For purposes of habitual offender statutes, "conviction" is equivalent to adjudication.

[2] A guilty plea to a qualifying felony constitutes a "conviction" for habitual offender purposes, even if sentencing has not yet occurred.

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Key Quotes

“For purposes of the habitual offender statute, the term "conviction" is equivalent to adjudication.”

Establishes the controlling legal principle that conviction under habitual offender law means adjudication, not sentencing.

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Facts & Procedural History

Reed pleaded guilty on January 25, 1991, and was adjudicated guilty in case number 89-36248-A. While in juvenile detention awaiting sentencing, he esc…

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Opinion of the Court
FLETCHER, Judge.

FLETCHER, Judge.

Royce M. Reed moves for rehearing and clarification. We deny the motion for rehearing but provide clarification of our af-firmance of the trial court’s denial of Reed’s petition for post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a).

On January 25, 1991, Reed entered a plea of guilty in case number 89-36248-A, and was adjudicated guilty. Because Reed was a juvenile at the time, the court placed him in a juvenile detention facility while awaiting sentencing. While there, Reed escaped and committed several other crimes for which he was convicted and sentenced as an habitual violent felony offender, case number 91-13007.

On April 8, 1991 Reed was sentenced in case number 89-36248-A, pursuant to his plea and adjudication of guilty. The sentence in case number 89-36248-A was eventually vacated and Reed was re-sentenced, nunc pro tunc to the original sentencing date of April 8, 1991. It is that conviction which was used to habitualize him in 91-13007. Reed complains that this case could not be used to habitualize him because the conviction was not final while his sentencing remained pending, and that sentence was not imposed until April 1991, after the convictions in 91-13007.

Reed is incorrect. For purposes of the habitual offender statute, the term “conviction” is equivalent to adjudication. See McCrae v. State, 395 So. 2d 1145, 1153-54 (Fla.1980)(a defendant was “convicted” within the meaning of the statute if he had entered a guilty plea to a qualifying felony, but had not yet been sentenced); cf. Benton v. State, 829 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)(adjudication withheld and probation caused defendant to be further removed from the adjudication of guilt required for treatment as a habitual felony offender); Schneider v. State, 788 So. 2d 1073, 1074 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)(habitual violent offender sentence was proper where the defendant was on community control in a prior case when he committed the instant offenses because he had been adjudicated guilty in the 'prior case).

The record shows that Reed had already been adjudicated guilty in accordance with his plea in 89-36248-A when he escaped from custody and committed the crimes for which he was eventually habitualized. The adjudication in 89-36248-A was properly considered as a prior conviction for purposes of applying habitual offender sentencing in 91-13007; both the offense and conviction occurred within five years prior to the offenses and convictions in 91-13007. § 775.084(l)(b)(2), Fla. Stat.(Supp.l988).

Motion for rehearing denied.

Concurrence
COPE, J.

COPE, J.

(concurring).

I entirely agree with Judge Fletcher’s opinion but point out that in 1993 the Legislature amended the habitual offender statute. The analysis would be different for offenses committed on or after the effective date of the 1993 act. See Rhodes v. State, 704 So. 2d 1080, 1083 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); ch. 93-406, §§ 2, 44, Laws of Fla.; § 775.084(5), Fla. Stat. (1993).


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Citator

Cited By

  • Williams v. State, 884 So. 2d 374 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)
    …ned the unnotarized oath at the end of the document. This unnotarized oath was added to the standard form by the supreme court in 1993. See State v. Shearer, 628 So. 2d 1102 (Fla.1993). Thus, the State’s motion was without merit. See Armey v. State, 880 So. 2d 1269 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004); Patmore v. State, 735 So. 2d 521 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). To further complicate matters, it is well established that a motion that is actually unsworn should not be stricken, but should be dismissed without prejudice. See Morais v.…
  • Raley v. State, 884 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)
    …orida Statutes (2008), allows an unsworn oath to be used for these purposes, an oath not acknowledging that it is made subject to the laws governing perjury is insufficient. See Young v. State, 786 So. 2d 641 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); Cf. Armey v. State, 880 So. 2d 1269 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept.1, 2004) (where motion was sworn under penalties of perjury). Accordingly, we deny the petition without prejudice to Mr. Raley to file a new petition containing a sufficient oath. PETITION DENIED without prejudice. GRIFFIN and…
  • Antione Hastie v. State, 267 So. 3d 1037 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019)

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