JUAN FIGUEROA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Figueroa appeals his convictions for first degree felony murder and attempted robbery with a firearm. The appellate court affirms the convictions but reverses the sentence for attempted robbery because the trial court violated double jeopardy protections by increasing the sentence after jeopardy had attached and the sentencing hearing concluded.
The trial court's action violated Figueroa's double jeopardy rights. Once a sentencing hearing concludes, jeopardy attaches and the sentence imposed cannot be increased, even if the original sentence was erroneous. The original twenty-year sentence must be reimposed.
[1] Once a sentencing hearing concludes and sentence is imposed, jeopardy attaches, and the sentence cannot be increased thereafter.
[2] A trial court violates double jeopardy rights by increasing a defendant's sentence after the sentencing hearing has concluded, even if the original sentence was erroneous…
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“the fact[s] reflect that a voluntary plea of guilty was entered and sentence imposed and the hearing concluded. The record also indicates that there was no further contemplated hearing for that day in the cause; thus the matter was concluded for all purposes.”
Establishes the test for when jeopardy attaches in sentencing proceedings
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFigueroa was convicted by jury of first degree felony murder and attempted robbery with a firearm. At sentencing, the trial court imposed a life sente…
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Figueroa appeals his convictions of first degree felony murder and attempted robbery with a firearm. We affirm his convictions without comment, but we reverse his sentence for attempted robbery with a firearm.
At sentencing for the two offenses, the trial court adjudicated Figueroa guilty pursuant to the verdicts of guilty rendered *429by the jury, and it sentenced him to life for the felony murder and twenty years for the attempted robbery. The court advised Figueroa that he had thirty days to appeal, and the hearing concluded. The next day, the prosecutor and defense counsel appeared before the court. The prosecutor advised the court that the applicable minimum mandatory term for attempted robbery with a firearm was not twenty years, but twenty-five years. See § 775.087(2)(a)(3), Fla. Stat. (2006). Defense counsel agreed, and the trial court amended Figueroa’s sentence accordingly.
The trial court’s action violated Figueroa’s double jeopardy rights, despite the fact that the twenty-year term was erroneous. See Pate v. State, 908 So.2d 613 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). Under nearly identical facts, the supreme court held:
[T]he fact[s] reflect that a voluntary plea of guilty was entered and sentence imposed and the hearing concluded. The record also indicates that there was no further contemplated hearing for that day in the cause; thus the matter was concluded for all purposes.
Jeopardy had attached in petitioner’s case and the sentence which had been imposed could not thereafter be increased ... in violation of defendant’s constitutional guaranty not to be twice placed in jeopardy.
Troupe v. Rowe, 283 So.2d 857, 859-60 (Fla.1973); accord Obara v. State, 958 So.2d 1019 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007); Gallinat v. State, 941 So.2d 1237, 1240 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (“Under Troupe, when the sentencing hearing concludes, jeopardy attaches .... ”).
Accordingly, we reverse Figueroa’s sentence of twenty-five years for the attempted robbery conviction and remand with directions that the trial court reimpose the original twenty-year sentence for this offense.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
CASANUEVA and LaROSE, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Gardner v. State, 30 So. 3d 629 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)…least upon his transfer into the custody of the Department of Corrections,” id. at 548 n. 6, the length of time between the end of one proceeding and the start of another has little effect upon double jeopardy considerations. See Figueroa v. State, 3 So. 3d 428, 429 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (reversing a minimum mandatory sentence imposed during a proceeding held one day after the initial sentencing); Brown v. State, 965 So. 2d 1234, 1238 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (reversing a sentencing “correction” made at an undefin…
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Charles v. State, 59 So. 3d 291 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011)…opardy principles. This is true even if the original sentence was illegal or otherwise erroneous and the correction conforms to applicable law or to the court’s and parties’ intentions at sentencing.”) (internal citation omitted); Figueroa v. State, 3 So. 3d 428, 429 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (reversing a minimum mandatory sentence imposed during a proceeding held one day after the initial sentencing); Shepard v. State, 940 So. 2d 545, 548 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (reversing a sentence imposed after the defendant was c…
Authorities Cited
- Flazell Troupe v. The Honorable Ellen Morphonios Rowe & the Honorable Paul Baker, 283 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 1973)
- Rice v. State, 908 So. 2d 613 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
- Gallinat v. State, 941 So. 2d 1237 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)
- Tywan Obara v. State, 958 So. 2d 1019 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007)