FRED CARSWELL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Fred Carswell appeals his conviction for aggravated battery and 15-year sentence, arguing the trial court violated double jeopardy when it resentenced him after the State successfully appealed his earlier reduction to simple battery. The court affirmed, holding that resentencing following reversal of an arrest of judgment does not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause and that FDOC records were properly admitted for Prison Releasee Reoffender sentencing purposes.
The court held that resentencing following reversal of an arrest of judgment does not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause because allowing the State to appeal the arrest of judgment is proper, and precluding resentencing would wrongly prevent such appeals. The court affirmed the admission of FDOC records for PRR sentencing purposes, relying on Yisrael v. State.
[1] A trial court's resentencing of a defendant upon remand from a successful state appeal does not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause when the initial sentencing was based o…
[2] A jury's verdict of a lesser included offense may be the result of jury lenity, and inconsistent verdicts are permissible.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“although 'truly' or legally interlocking inconsistent verdicts require acquittal,' 'inconsistent verdicts are allowed because jury verdicts can be the result of lenity'”
Establishes that jury verdicts can reflect lenity and juries have the power to pardon, justifying the appellate reversal of the arrest of judgment
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCarswell was charged with attempted second-degree murder but the jury convicted him of aggravated battery. The trial court granted Carswell's motions …
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POLEN, J.
Appellant Fred Carswell (“Carswell”) timely appeals a conviction of aggravated battery and sentence to fifteen years in Florida state prison. We address two issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred, in violation of double jeopardy, in resentencing Carswell upon remand from a successful State appeal; and (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting Florida Department of Corrections records into evidence for Prison Releasee Reoffender (“PRR”) sentencing purposes.
Carswell was originally charged by amended information with attempted second degree murder. However, the jury found him guilty only of aggravated battery. Carswell proceeded to file a motion for judgment of acquittal, a motion for arrest of judgment and a motion for new trial. The trial court granted Carswell’s motions for judgment of acquittal and arrest of judgment, and reduced Carswell’s conviction to simple battery, sentencing him to 364 days in jail with credit for 73 days time served.1
The State appealed the trial court’s order, and this court reversed and remanded with instructions to reenter Carswell’s conviction for aggravated battery and to sentence him accordingly.2 Pursuant to this court’s mandate, the trial court vacated its order, thereby vacating Carswell’s battery adjudication and sentence. The trial court then reinstated Carswell’s conviction for aggravated battery and sentenced him to fifteen years in prison as a PRR. The court’s PRR finding was based on Florida Department of Corrections (“FDOC”) records indicating that Carswell was last released from the FDOC’s custody less than three years before he committed the current offense.
Carswell argues that the trial court violated his Fifth Amendment right not to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb for the same offense when it vacated his conviction and sentence for simple battery and re-sentenced him to aggravated battery. See Amend. V, U.S. Const. The legality of a sentence is a question of law and is subject to de novo review. Flowers v. State, 899 So. 2d 1257, 1259 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). In State v. Carswell, 914 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), we reversed the trial court’s order granting Carswell’s motion for arrest of judgment on the basis that the jury lawfully exercised its right to jury pardon. Carswell, 914 So. 2d at 11-12 (citing State v. Connelly, 748 So. 2d 248, 252-53 (Fla.1999) (stating that although “ ‘truly’ or legally interlocking inconsistent verdicts require acquittal,” “inconsistent verdicts are allowed because jury verdicts can be the result of lenity ... ”)). We did so despite the fact that Carswell had already completed service of his sentence for simple battery. To find otherwise would have improperly precluded the State from appealing the trial court’s arrest of judgment. To now hold the trial court’s subsequent resentencing violative of the Double Jeopardy Clause would also serve to wrongly prevent the State from appealing an arrest of judgment. Moreover, had the trial court truly erred in granting Cars- well’s motion for arrest of judgment, he could not have served the correct sentence. Therefore, we find no violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause.
As to Carswell’s contention that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting FDOC records into evidence for PRR sentencing purposes, we disagree and affirm on the basis of Yisrael v. State, 938 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), and, as we did in Yisrael, certify conflict with Gray v. State, 910 So. 2d 867 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005). See Yisrael, 938 So. 2d at 550.
Affirmed.
WARNER and GROSS, JJ., concur. . The trial court did not rule on Carswell’s motion for new trial.
. State v. Carswell, 914 So. 2d 9, 11-12 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (reversing trial court’s order granting Carswell's motion for arrest of judgment and motion for judgment of acquittal, where jury lawfully exercised its right to jury pardon and the evidence supported the jury’s verdict of aggravated battery).
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Lakeary Heck v. State, 966 So. 2d 515 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)…his hearsay objection. We have already decided this issue adversely to Heck and decline to revisit the matter. See Yisrael v. State, 938 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (en banc), review granted, 956 So. 2d 458 (Fla.2007); see also Carswell v. State, 947 So. 2d 692 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007); Montero v. State, 947 So. 2d 634 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). As we did in Yisrael, we certify conflict with Gray v. State, 910 So. 2d 867 (Fla. 1st DCA), review denied, 920 So. 2d 628 (Fla.2005). After considering all issues raised, i…
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Carswell v. State, 23 So. 3d 195 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)…n ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim. On remand, the trial court reinstated the conviction and sentenced the defendant to fifteen years incarceration. The defendant appealed the new sentence, which we affirmed. See Carswell v. State, 947 So. 2d 692 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). The defendant then filed a petition arguing that appellate counsel was deficient in failing to file a notice of cross-appeal. We denied the petition finding no deficiency in counsel’s performance because the notice of cross-app…
Authorities Cited
- Mitchell v. State, 938 So. 2d 546 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
- Gray v. State, 910 So. 2d 867 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)
- Flowers v. State, 899 So. 2d 1257 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)
- State v. Connelly, 748 So. 2d 248 (Fla. 1999)
- State v. Carswell, 914 So. 2d 9 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)