WILLIAM CECIL BAXTER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Baxter's seventeen-year sentence for possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense exceeded the statutory maximum of fifteen years for a second-degree felony, requiring reversal and resentencing or clarification of any charge enhancement.
A defendant cannot be sentenced above the statutory maximum for a second-degree felony merely by signing a plea agreement treating it as a first-degree felony without legal enhancement or reclassification of the charge.
[1] A defendant sentenced to a term exceeding the statutory maximum for the charged felony degree may obtain relief under Rule 3.800(a) even where the defendant signed a plea…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“Even though Baxter signed a plea agreement indicating that he would be sentenced on this charge as if it was a first degree felony, he could not legally agree to this sentence unless the charge was somehow enhanced or reclassified to a first degree felony, which does not appear to be the case on this limited record.”
Court explaining why the plea agreement could not authorize a sentence exceeding the statutory maximum for the charged offense.
William Cecil Baxter was sentenced to seventeen years for possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense, a second-degree felony under Fl…
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William Cecil Baxter appeals from the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). We affirm the denial order in all respects except one. Baxter’s seventeen-year sentence on the charge of possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense1 appears to exceed the maximum penalty allowed by law for this charge. The offense is a second degree felony. See § 790.07(2), Fla. Stat. (2006). As such, the penalty should not exceed fifteen years. See § 775.082(3)(c), Fla. Stat. (2006). Even though Baxter signed a plea agreement indicating that he would be sentenced on this charge as if it was a first degree felony, he could not legally agree to this sentence unless the charge was somehow enhanced or reclassified to a first degree felony, which does not appear to be the case on this limited record. See, e.g., Robbins v. State, 413 So.2d 840 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).
Accordingly, we reverse that portion of the order on appeal addressing Baxter’s *880seventeen-year sentence for a violation of section 790.07(2), Florida Statutes, and remand with directions that the trial court either resentence Baxter on this charge or attach portions of the record demonstrating how the charge was legally enhanced or reclassified to a first degree felony. In all other respects, the trial court’s order is affirmed.
REVERSED IN PART; AFFIRMED IN PART.
GRIFFIN and ORFINGER, JJ., concur.