EDWARD VANWAGNER, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. 4th DCA | 2010-10-20
No. 4D10-1253
STEVENSON, TAYLOR and DAMOORGIAN, JJ., concur.
45 So. 3d 572 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2010)

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Synopsis

Edward VanWagner was convicted of armed kidnapping based on jury instructions that allowed conviction under intent elements not charged in the indictment. The Fourth District granted his habeas corpus petition for ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, finding fundamental error in the jury instructions, vacating the kidnapping conviction, and remanding for a new trial.


Holding

The court granted VanWagner's habeas petition, finding that instructing the jury on alternate intent elements not charged in the information constitutes reversible fundamental error. The kidnapping conviction was vacated and remanded for a new trial on that count, with the trial court directed to consider whether resentencing is necessary on the armed robbery conviction.


Headnotes

[1] Instructing a jury on alternate intent elements for an offense, when those elements have not been charged, constitutes fundamental error not subject to harmless error rev…

[2] Fundamental error occurs when a criminal statute defines an offense by distinct methods with different elements, and a defendant is charged with one method but the jury i…

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Key Quotes

“Instructing a jury on alternate intent elements, which have not been charged, is reversible error not subject to harmless error review.”

Establishes the controlling legal standard that the jury instruction error is fundamental and cannot be harmless

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Facts & Procedural History

VanWagner was charged with robbery with a firearm and kidnapping with intent to commit or facilitate robbery under Florida Statute § 787.01(1)(a). The…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Edward VanWagner timely petitions this court for a writ of habeas corpus based upon a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for failure to raise a fundamental error in the jury instructions used in his criminal case. In response to our order to show cause, the State conceded that the error was fundamental. We agree and grant the petition.

By way of background, VanWagner was charged with (1) robbery with a firearm and (2) kidnapping “with the intent to commit or facilitate the commission of robbery” in violation of section 787.01(l)(a), Florida Statutes (2004). Section *573787.01(l)(a) provides four separate and distinct acts, any one of which can be used to establish the intent element in kidnapping.1 VanWagner was charged only with the intent to commit or facilitate commission of robbery which applies to subpart 2 under the definition of “kidnapping” in section 787.01(l)(a).

At the close of the trial, the jury was instructed that kidnapping could be proved if VanWagner acted with intent to: (a) hold for ransom or reward or as a shield or hostage or (b) commit or facilitate commission of a robbery or (c) inflict bodily harm upon or to terrorize the victim or another person. This instruction went beyond what was listed in the charging document.

Following trial, VanWagner was convicted of armed robbery with a firearm and armed kidnapping. In his petition, VanWagner argues that it was fundamental error to give the jury an instruction which provided alternative methods of committing the offense of armed kidnapping, consisting of different elements, which were not charged in the amended information. In Garzon v. State, 939 So.2d 278, 287 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006), approved on other grounds, 980 So.2d 1038 (Fla.2008), we held that: Instructing a jury on alternate intent elements, which have not been charged, is reversible error not subject to harmless error review. Id. at 287.

Fundamental error occurs where a criminal statute contains two or more distinct methods of committing an offense, consisting of different elements, and a defendant is charged with one of the means, but the jury is instructed in a manner that permits conviction for another, uncharged mode of guilt.

Accordingly, we grant VanWagner’s petition alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, vacate petitioner’s kidnapping conviction and remand for a new trial on that count. We further direct the trial court to consider whether the outcome of VanWagner’s kidnapping charge necessitates resentencing on his armed robbery conviction, which has not been disturbed, and, if so, to resentence him accordingly. See Rogers v. State, 935 So.2d 639, 640 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006).

Petition granted.

STEVENSON, TAYLOR and DAMOORGIAN, JJ., concur.


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