JOHN KEVIN HOLT, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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John Kevin Holt appeals his convictions and sentences for capital sexual battery and related child sexual abuse offenses. The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirms all four convictions but vacates and remands for resentencing, holding that the trial court improperly considered Holt's protestations of innocence and lack of remorse as aggravating sentencing factors.
A trial court may not consider a defendant's protestations of innocence or failure to demonstrate remorse in imposing sentence. Even when a jury has unanimously found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, a defendant remains constitutionally entitled to maintain his innocence, and the trial court's consideration of this exercise of constitutional rights as a sentencing factor violates due process and Fifth Amendment protections.
[1] A trial court may not consider a defendant's protestations of innocence or failure to show remorse when determining a sentence.
[2] A defendant is constitutionally entitled to plead not guilty and maintain their innocence, even after a jury verdict.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“it was improper for the trial court to consider Holt's protestations of innocence and failure to show remorse in determining what sentence to impose”
Establishes the core holding that denying guilt and lacking remorse cannot be sentencing factors
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHolt was convicted by jury of capital sexual battery, lewd/lascivious conduct, and molestation charges involving child victims. The trial court senten…
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John Kevin Holt appeals his convictions and sentences for capital sexual battery (count I), lewd, lascivious or indecent act (count II), lewd or lascivious molestation on a person under twelve by a person over eighteen (count III), and lewd or lascivious molestation on a person twelve to sixteen by a person over eighteen (count IV). After a jury found him guilty of all charges, the trial court imposed life imprisonment on counts I and III and fifteen years on counts II and IV, all to run consecutive. We affirm Holt’s convictions on the four counts but vacate his sentences and remand for resentencing before a different judge.
In this case, Holt has repeatedly denied committing the crimes charged and has persisted in maintaining his innocence. As such, the established law compels us to conclude that it was improper for the trial court to consider Holt’s protestations of innocence and failure to show remorse in determining what sentence to impose.
A trial court generally has discretion to impose any sentence within the minimum and maximum allowed by law. Nusspickel v. State, 966 So.2d 441, 444 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007); see also § 921.002(l)(f), (g), Fla. Stat. (2008). This discretion is limited, however, by constitutional principles of *812due process and the right not to incriminate oneself. See Holton v. State, 573 So.2d 284, 292 (Fla.1990); Donaldson v. State, 16 So.3d 314, 314 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009); Johnson v. State, 948 So.2d 1014, 1017 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); Gilchrist v. State, 938 So.2d 654, 657-58 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); Soto v. State, 874 So.2d 1215, 1217 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004); Aliyev v. State, 835 So.2d 1232, 1234 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); Lyons v. State, 730 So.2d 833, 834 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); A.S. v. State, 667 So.2d 994, 996 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Exposito v. State, Dep’t of Bus. Regulation, 508 So.2d 451, 452 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Hubler v. State, 458 So.2d 350, 353 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Harden v. State, 428 So.2d 316, 317 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983).
Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, a person in Holt’s position is constitutionally entitled to plead not guilty, demand a trial, and despite a unanimous jury verdict, continue to decline to incriminate himself. See Holton, 573 So.2d at 292.
Convictions affirmed; sentences vacated and remanded for resentencing before a different judge.
MAY, J., concurs.
GROSS, G.J., concurs specially with opinion.
concurring specially.
I acknowledge the line of cases cited by the majority opinion. It is the law. The effect of this law is to require judges to be careful what they say in sentencing.
Whether a criminal defendant is remorseful for what he or she has done has long been a proper factor for a judge to consider in imposing sentence. As we wrote in St. Val v. State, 958 So.2d 1146, 1146-47 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007),
[i]f a defendant is remorseful, it means that he is sorry he committed the crime for which he is to be sentenced. One who so regrets his acts may not commit such acts in the future. This is the type of factor that judges have historically taken into consideration in imposing sentence.
Given the state of the case law, careful judges will not discuss a defendant’s lack of remorse during a sentencing hearing.
GROSS, C.J.,
concurring specially.
I acknowledge the line of cases cited by the majority opinion. It is the law. The effect of this law is to require judges to be careful what they say in sentencing.
Whether a criminal defendant is remorseful for what he or she has done has long been a proper factor for a judge to consider in imposing sentence. As we wrote in St. Val v. State, 958 So. 2d 1146, 1146-47 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007),
[i]f a defendant is remorseful, it means that he is sorry he committed the crime for which he is to be sentenced. One who so regrets his acts may not commit such acts in the future. This is the type of factor that judges have historically taken into consideration in imposing sentence.
Given the state of the case law, careful judges will not discuss a defendant’s lack of remorse during a sentencing hearing.
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Avery Corbitt v. State, 220 So. 3d 446 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016)…150, 1151 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013); Jiles v. State, 18 So. 3d 1216, 1216 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009); K.N.M., 793 So. 2d at 1198; Peters v. State, 128 So. 3d 832, 847 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013); Green v. State, 84 So. 3d 1169, 1171-72 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012); Holt v. State, 33 So. 3d 811, 812 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010); Ritter v. State, 885 So. 2d 413, 414 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). This court and others have held that the reason for the rule evaporates when a defendant freely and voluntarily enters- a plea and admits his involvement in the cri…
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Ryan v. State, 78 So. 3d 14 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011)…3d 80 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010); Soto v. State, 874 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004); A.S. v. State, 667 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Branson v. State, 492 So. 2d 1155 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Jackson v. State, 39 So. 3d 427 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010); Holt v. State, 33 So. 3d 811 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010); Whitmore v. State, 27 So. 3d 168 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010); Jiles v. State, 18 So. 3d 1216 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009); Hannum v. State, 13 So. 3d 132 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); K.N.M. v. State, 793 So. 2d 1195 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); K.Y.L. v. State,…
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Holt v. State, 82 So. 3d 898 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
Authorities Cited (13 total)
- Holton v. State, 573 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 1990)
- Hubler v. State, 458 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Nusspickel v. State, 966 So. 2d 441 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
- A.S. v. State, 667 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
- Soto v. State, 874 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
- Lyons v. State, 730 So. 2d 833 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Eleazar Laroy Johnson v. State, 948 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
- Hernandez v. State, 938 So. 2d 654 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
- Blanchard ST. VAL v. State, 958 So. 2d 1146 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)
- Azerkhan R. Aliyev v. State, 835 So. 2d 1232 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)