JOSHUA DAVID SLOAN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
The court held that the youthful offender statute grants discretion to withhold adjudication of guilt, overriding the mandatory adjudication provision for DUI manslaughter.
Joshua David Sloan was convicted of DUI manslaughter and adjudicated guilty. He argued the trial court erred in believing it lacked discretion under t…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Withholding Adjudication Of Guilt cases and more on FLexlaw
COVINGTON, Judge.
Joshua David Sloan appeals the final judgment adjudicating him guilty of DUI manslaughter pursuant to section 316.193(3), Florida Statutes (2002). He argues the trial court erred in concluding it did not have discretion under the youthful offender statute to withhold adjudication. We agree and reverse.
Section 958.04, Florida Statutes (2002), “Judicial disposition of youthful offenders,” provides:
(2) In lieu of other criminal penalties authorized by law and notwithstanding any imposition of consecutive sentences, the court shall dispose of the criminal case as follows:
(a) The court may place a youthful offender under supervision on probation or in a community control program, with or without an adjudication of guilt, under such conditions as the court may lawfully impose for a period of not more than 6 years. Such period of supervision shall not exceed the maximum sentence for the offense for which the youthful offender was found guilty.
(Emphasis added.) The trial court here stated it believed the youthful offender statute could not be used to circumvent mandatory adjudication for DUI under section 316.656(1), Florida Statutes (2002), which provides:
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 948.01, no court may suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence for any violation of s. 316.193, for manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle, or for vehicular homicide.
(Emphasis added.) The trial court was mistaken. If the trial court classifies a defendant as a youthful offender, section 316.656(1) is inapplicable. State v. Gibron, 478 So. 2d 475, 476 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985).
Accordingly, we reverse and remand with directions to the trial court to exercise its discretion as to whether withholding adjudication of guilt is appropriate. See Bristol v. State, 710 So. 2d 761, 761 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998).
Reversed and remanded.
KELLY and WALLACE, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Pacheco-Velasquez v. State, 208 So. 3d 293 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)…ation impermissible under section 775.08435(l)(a). The mandatory adjudication provision of section 775.08435(l)(a) is inapplicable to, and does not supersede, a judgment and sentence imposed pursuant to the Youthful Offender Act. See Sloan v. State, 884 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004) (holding that the mandatory adjudication provision for one found guilty of DUI (§ 316.656(1), Fla. Stat.) is inapplicable where a defendant is sentenced as a youthful offender); State v. Gibron, 478 So. 2d 475 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985) (…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Gibron, 478 So. 2d 475 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)
- Bristol v. State, 710 So. 2d 761 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)