LEE NELSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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A defendant with prior non-drug felony convictions is eligible for alternative sentencing under section 948.20, Florida Statutes.
[1] A defendant with prior non-drug felony convictions is eligible for an alternative sentence under section 948.20, Florida Statutes.
[2] A court's interpretation of a statute is a question of law subject to de novo review.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant, charged with cocaine possession, moved for alternative sentencing under section 948.20. The trial court denied the motion, finding the …
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This appeal presents the question of whether a defendant with prior non-drug felony convictions is eligible for an alternative sentence under section 948.20, Florida Statutes (2008). We answer yes, and remand for the circuit court to consider the defendant’s motion for alternative' sentencing.
The State charged the defendant with possession of cocaine under section 893.13(6)(a), Florida Statutes (2008), plus three misdemeanors. The defendant entered a no contest plea to the court on the charges. During the plea colloquy, the defendant moved for alternative sentencing under section 948.20, Florida Statutes (2008), which states:
If it appears to the court upon a hearing that the defendant is a chronic substance abuser whose criminal conduct is a violation of s. 893.13(2)(a) or (6)(a), the court may either adjudge the defendant guilty or stay and withhold the adjudication of guilt; and, in either case, it may stay and withhold the imposition of sentence and place the defendant on drug offender probation.
(1) The Department of Corrections shall develop and administer a drug offender probation program which emphasizes a combination of treatment and intensive community supervision approaches and which includes provision for supervision of offenders in accordance with a specific treatment plan. The program may include the use of graduated sanctions consistent with the conditions imposed by the court. Drug offender probation status shall include surveillance and random drug testing, and may include those measures normally associated with community control, except that specific treatment conditions and other treatment approaches necessary to monitor this population may be ordered.
(2) Offenders placed on drug offender probation are subject to revocation of probation as provided in s. 948.06.
*288§ 948.20, Fla. Stat (2008).1
The defendant expressed that, if the circuit court denied the motion, the defendant would reserve the right to appeal that denial. The circuit court, relying on State v. Langdon, 978 So.2d 263 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008), denied the motion, finding that the defendant was ineligible for an alternative sentence under section 948.20 because he had prior non-drug felony convictions. After completing the plea colloquy and a brief sentencing hearing, the circuit court adjudicated the defendant guilty on all counts and sentenced him to thirty-six months in prison on the cocaine charge and time served on the misdemeanors.
The defendant appeals, arguing that the circuit court erred in finding the defendant ineligible for an alternative sentence under section 948.20 because he had prior non-drug felony convictions. The State responds that the statute’s use of the word “may” in the first paragraph gives a court the discretion to grant or deny motions under the statute, and the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion because the defendant had both non-drug and drug convictions.
The record indicates that the circuit court denied the motion as a matter of law based on its interpretation of Lang-don, not based on the exercise of its discretion under the statute. Therefore, our review is de novo. See State v. Sigler, 967 So.2d 835, 841 (Fla.2007) (“[Judicial interpretation of statutes ... are pure questions of law subject to the de novo standard of review.”).
We agree with the defendant that the circuit court erred in finding the defendant ineligible for an alternative sentence under section 948.20 because he had prior non-drug felony convictions. The circuit court inadvertently misinterpreted Langdon. That case dealt with a different statute, section 948.034, which covers terms and conditions of probation in a community residential treatment center for defendants committing the drug offenses enumerated in chapter 893. 978 So.2d at 264. We held in Langdon that a defendant who has a felony conviction of a non-drug related offense is not eligible to receive an alternate sentence under' section 948.034. Id. We reached that holding because section 893.13 expressly states that a court may sentence a defendant to probation under section 948.034 if the defendant has not previously been convicted of a non-drug felony. Id. at 264-65 (citing § 893.13(10) and (11), Fla. Stat.).
Section 893.13 does not prohibit a court from considering an alternative sentence under section 948.20 if the defendant has been convicted of a non-drug felony. Nor does any other statute contain such a prohibition. The circuit court erred by imposing such a prohibition in this case, requir*289ing that this court reverse the judgment and sentence.
On remand, the circuit court shall reconsider the defendant’s motion for alternative sentencing under section 948.20’s plain language. Neither the circuit court nor the parties should interpret this opinion as suggesting that the circuit court must stay and withhold the adjudication of guilt or the imposition of sentence or place the defendant on drug offender probation. Rather, the circuit court retains the discretion to decide the defendant’s motion under the statute’s terms.
Reversed and remanded.
DAMOORGIAN and LEVINE, JJ„ concur.
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McGRILL v. State, 82 So. 3d 130 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)…, but expressly reserved the right to appeal the court’s ruling. Analysis Because the circuit court, relying on its interpretation of the statute, denied McGrill’s motion as a matter of law, we review the court’s decision de novo. Nelson v. State, 16 So. 3d 286, 288 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). [*132] We disagree with the trial court’s view that the statute is unambiguous. A statute is ambiguous if reasonable people could find different meanings from the same language. Blanton v. City of Pinellas Park, 887 So. 2d…
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Nelson v. State, 17 So. 3d 911 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)…in failing to consider the motion for alternative sentencing for the circuit court’s stated reason that appellant was “not eligible” for alternative sentencing under section 948.20 since he had prior non-felony drug convictions. In Nelson v. State, 16 So. 3d 286 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (Nelson I), another case involving this same defendant, this court recently clarified that a defendant with prior non-felony convictions is eligible for alternative sentencing under section 948.20. Id. As in Nelson I, we rever…
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State v. COX, 19 So. 3d 1183 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Nelson v. State, 16 So. 3d 286 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). MAY, DAMOORGIAN and CIKLIN, JJ., concur.…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Sigler, 967 So. 2d 835 (Fla. 2007)
- State v. Langdon, 978 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)