WILLIE FRANK DAVIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Willie Frank Davis appeals the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence, arguing he was sentenced under 1984 sentencing guidelines despite committing his offenses before the guidelines' effective date of July 1, 1984. The court reversed and remanded, holding that if Davis did not affirmatively elect to be sentenced under the guidelines, his life sentences are illegal and he must be resentenced under pre-guidelines law.
If Davis did not affirmatively elect to be sentenced under the 1984 guidelines, his life sentences imposed under those guidelines are illegal and subject to correction under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). The trial court must provide record evidence showing Davis affirmatively elected to be sentenced under the guidelines, or he must be resentenced pursuant to pre-guidelines law.
[1] A sentence imposed under sentencing guidelines that were not constitutionally enacted for the offense date constitutes an illegal sentence subject to correction under Flo…
[2] A defendant who committed offenses before the effective date of sentencing guidelines must affirmatively elect to be sentenced under those guidelines.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A sentence that is entered pursuant to guidelines which have not been constitutionally enacted is an illegal sentence and is subject to correction pursuant to rule 3.800(a).”
Establishes the core holding that sentencing under unconstitutionally enacted guidelines is illegal and correctable.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDavis committed offenses on June 4, 1984, before the 1984 sentencing guidelines became effective on July 1, 1984. He was sentenced in 1985 under the 1…
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PER CURIAM.
Willie Frank Davis appeals the denial of his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) motion to correct illegal sentence. Davis was sentenced in 1985 for offenses committed on June 4, 1984. Davis was sentenced under the 1984 guidelines. Davis, however, committed his offenses before the effective date of the 1984 guidelines. See Smith v. State, 537 So. 2d 982 (Fla.1989) (holding that guidelines did not become effective until adopted by the legislature on July 1, 1984 and those who committed their offenses before the effective date must affirmatively elect to be sentenced under the guidelines). Thus, if Davis did not affirmatively elect to be sentenced under the guidelines, his life sentences under those guidelines, which are not parole eligible, are illegal. Davis contends that the record will conclusively show that he did not affirmatively elect to be sentenced under the guidelines.
The trial court failed to address numerous cases, many of which were specifically cited by Davis in his motion, which hold that this error constitutes an illegal sentence that may be corrected in a rule 3.800(a) motion. See Owen v. State, 864 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004); Smith v. State, 946 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (finding sentence illegal and, even though claim had been previously raised and rejected, application of a procedural bar would result in a manifest injustice (as defendant would be entitled to parole if a pre-guidelines sentence was imposed)); Wright v. State, 941 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (reversing and remanding in the same situation for attachment of records showing defendant agreed to be sentenced under the guidelines or for resentencing); Sheely v. State, 820 So. 2d 1080, 1081 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (reversing the denial of a 3.800(a) motion in the same situation and holding: “A sentence that is entered pursuant to guidelines which have not been constitutionally enacted is an illegal sentence and is subject to correction pursuant to rule 3.800(a)”).
We reverse and remand for further proceedings. If the trial court again denies the motion, it must attach record evidence which conclusively shows that Davis affirmatively elected to be sentenced under the guidelines. If Davis did not elect to be sentenced under the guidelines, then he must be resentenced pursuant to Smith v. State, 537 So. 2d 982 (Fla.1989). We affirm the trial court’s denial of Davis’s claim of scoresheet error. FARMER, KLEIN and TAYLOR, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Alphonso P. Smith v. State, 537 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 1989)
- Wright v. State, 941 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)
- Sheely v. State, 820 So. 2d 1080 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)
- Smith v. State, 946 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)
- Geronimo Garcia v. State, 864 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)
- Owen v. State, 864 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)