GABORUGH F. DONALDSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
Gaborugh F. Donaldson appeals his convictions and sentences for attempted burglary of a dwelling, possession of burglary tools, grand theft, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest without violence. We affirm Donaldson’s convictions on all five counts, but vacate his sentences and remand for resentencing before a different judge because the trial court improperly considered his protestations of innocence and lack of remorse in sentencing him.
In this case, Donaldson pled not guilty, did not testify at his trial, and maintained his innocence throughout the trial and sentencing proceedings. However, at sentencing the trial court expressly considered Donaldson’s protestations of innocence and failure to show remorse in determining what sentence to impose. In so doing, the trial court violated Donaldson’s due process right against self-incrimination. See Holton v. State, 573 So.2d 284, 292 (Fla.1990); St. Val v. State, 958 So.2d 1146, 1146-47 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007); Gilchrist v. State, 938 So.2d 654, 657-58 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006).
Convictions Affirmed; Sentences Vacated and Remand,ed for resentencing before a different judge.
GERBER and LEVINE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
-
Whitmore v. State, 27 So. 3d 168 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)…Florida Supreme Court held that a trial court violates due process by using a protestation of innocence against a defendant at sentencing. This is in accord with a long, unwavering line of cases, both before and after Holton. See Donaldson v. State, 16 So. 3d 314, 314 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (holding that the trial court violated defendant’s right against self-incrimination by considering defendant’s protestations of innocence and lack of remorse in sentencing); Johnson v. State, 948 So. 2d 1014, 1017 (Fla. 3d D…
-
Peters v. State, 128 So. 3d 832 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)…of remorse.” Robinson v. State, 108 So. 3d 1150, 1151 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013). These holdings emanated from cases where a defendant consistently maintained his innocence. See Hannum v. State, 13 So. 3d 132, 135-36 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Donaldson v. State, 16 So. 3d 314 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009); Gilchrist v. State, 938 So. 2d 654 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (defendant maintained that he acted in self-defense); Lyons v. State, 730 So. 2d 833, 834 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); Exposito v. State, Dep’t of Bus. Regulation, 508 So. 2d 451, 4…
-
Davis v. State, 149 So. 3d 1158 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)…e on the defendant’s failure to show any inclination toward repentance, the court violates the defendant’s right not to be required to incriminate himself.” Gilchrist v. State, 938 So. 2d 654, 657-58 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); see also Donaldson v. State, 16 So. 3d 314 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009); Soto v. State, 874 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2004) (stating that although defendant’s lack of remorse and unwillingness to admit guilt were not the only factors in the trial court’s sentencing decision, where the judge’s own sta…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Holton v. State, 573 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 1990)
- Hernandez v. State, 938 So. 2d 654 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
- Blanchard ST. VAL v. State, 958 So. 2d 1146 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)