ROBERT T. BENJAMIN, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Robert T. Benjamin appeals a trial court's denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence imposed under Florida's Violent Career Criminal statute. The appellate court reverses, finding that Benjamin's VCC sentence is illegal because one of his purported qualifying offenses (battery on a law enforcement officer) does not qualify under VCC law, and manifest injustice requires correction despite prior denial of the same claim.
The court reversed and remanded, holding that despite prior denial of Benjamin's claim, the severity of the sentence and the illegality of the VCC enhancement constitute manifest injustice requiring correction of the sentence. The court vacated the VCC sentence and remanded for resentencing, allowing the State to pursue other applicable sentencing enhancements.
[1] Battery on a law enforcement officer is not a qualifying offense for Violent Career Criminal sentencing.
[2] An illegal sentence may be corrected under the 'manifest injustice' exception, even if the claim was previously denied.
Previewing 2 of 4 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 Florida Supreme Court has held that battery on a law enforcement officer is not a qualifying offense for VCC sentencing.”
Establishes the legal basis for finding the sentence illegal despite the trial court's prior pronouncement of sentence.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBenjamin was convicted of strong-arm robbery and sentenced to forty years in prison, including a thirty-year mandatory minimum as a Violent Career Cri…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Violent Career Criminal (Vcc) Sentencing cases and more on FLexlaw
On Motion for Rehearing
On Robert T. Benjamin’s proper motion for rehearing, we grant rehearing, withdraw our prior opinion dated June 24, 2009, and substitute the following:
Robert T. Benjamin seeks to reverse a trial court order denying his motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800. We reverse and remand.
Benjamin was convicted of strong-arm robbery and sentenced to a term of forty years in prison, with a thirty-year mandatory minimum sentence as a Violent Career Criminal (VCC) \ and a concurrent fifteen-year mandatory minimum as a prison release reoffender (PRR)2. On post-conviction motion, Benjamin argued that his VCC sentence is illegal because he does not have a prior qualifying offense under the VCC statute. According to the record of the oral pronouncement of sentence, one of the defendant’s qualifying offenses was battery on a law enforcement officer. The Florida Supreme Court has held that battery on a1 law enforcement officer is not a qualifying offense for VCC *947sentencing. State v. Hearns, 961 So.2d 211 (Fla.2007); De La Portilla v. State, 2 So.3d 1125 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009).
In this case, the trial court denied relief on the theory that Benjamin had previously made this same claim and the claim was denied.3 However, because of the severity of the sentence, this case fits squarely within the ‘manifest injustice’ exception set forth in State v. McBride, 848 So.2d 287 (Fla.2003); see also State v. Sigler, 967 So.2d 835, 840 (Fla.2007) (stating that an illegal conviction falls within the concept of manifest injustice); Cribbs v. State, — So.3d-, 2009 WL 2634075 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (holding that, although defendant’s VCC sentence claim was previously denied and affirmed on appeal and would typically be collaterally estopped, the court is compelled to correct a manifest injustice).
We therefore grant Benjamin’s motion for rehearing, vacate the VCC sentence and remand for resentencing. At resen-tencing, the State may attempt to establish that Benjamin qualifies for an enhanced sentence under any other applicable portion of section 775.084, Florida Statutes (2001).
Reversed, VCC sentence vacated, and remanded for resentencing.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. Antoine L. McBRIDE, 848 So. 2d 287 (Fla. 2003)
- State v. Hearns, 961 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 2007)
- State v. Sigler, 967 So. 2d 835 (Fla. 2007)
- Romeo v. State, 965 So. 2d 197 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
- Lopez v. State, 946 So. 2d 46 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)
- DE LA Portilla v. State, 2 So. 3d 1125 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009)