JOE EDWIN ROGERS, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Rogers was convicted of 125 counts of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 75 years in prison. On appeal, he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the constitutionality of his sentence, and the admission of a recorded conversation, but the Florida appellate court affirmed all convictions and sentences.
The State's evidence was sufficient to survive Rogers' motion for judgment of acquittal and support the convictions. The 75-year sentence does not violate the cruel and unusual punishment clauses of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions. The admission of the unredacted recording, absent contemporaneous objection at trial, did not constitute fundamental error.
[1] Evidence is sufficient to survive a motion for judgment of acquittal if it is legally sufficient to support a conviction.
[2] A sentence does not violate the cruel and unusual punishment clauses of the United States and Florida constitutions solely because it may be considered harsh or severe.
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“Although the State's evidence was certainly not overwhelming, we conclude that it was sufficient to survive Rogers' motion for judgment of acquittal.”
Establishes the court's sufficiency of evidence standard and finding that convictions were supported despite modest evidentiary showing
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRogers possessed 125 child pornographic images on a single CD-ROM. He had no prior felony convictions. At trial, the State introduced an unredacted re…
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We affirm Rogers’ convictions and sentences on 125 counts of possession of child pornography. Although the State’s evidence was certainly not overwhelming, we conclude that it was sufficient to survive Rogers’ motion for judgment of acquittal.
Rogers received a composite sentence of seventy-five years in prison. Given that the 125 child pornographic images were on a single CD-ROM and given that Rogers had no prior felony convictions, one might well conclude that the sentence was unduly harsh. However, we cannot accept Rogers’ argument that his sentence violates the cruel and unusual punishment clauses of the United States1 and Florida2 constitutions. See, e.g., Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11, 123 S.Ct. 1179, 155 L.Ed.2d 108 (2003) (upholding sentence of twenty-five years to life for theft of golf clubs under California’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law); Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 111 S.Ct. 2680, 115 L.Ed.2d 836 (1991) (imposition of life imprisonment sentence for trafficking in cocaine did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment notwithstanding defendant’s lack of prior felony convictions); Hutto v. Davis, 454 U.S. 370, 102 S.Ct. 703, 70 L.Ed.2d 556 (1982) (sentence of two consecutive terms of twenty years’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute nine ounces of marijuana and distribution of marijuana was constitutional); Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263, 100 S.Ct. 1133, 63 L.Ed.2d *924382 (1980) (upholding imposition of mandatory life sentence under Texas recidivist statute where defendant’s third felony conviction was for obtaining $120.75 by false pretenses).
Finally, Rogers challenges the admission of an unredacted recording of an approximate one hour conversation between Rogers and his former girlfriend. He argues that the recording includes several improper and prejudicial statements made by the former girlfriend as well as certain inadmissible hearsay. However, no contemporaneous objection was made to the introduction of the recording at trial, and its admission did not constitute fundamental error. These arguments are more appropriately addressed in a post-conviction motion.
AFFIRMED.
ORFINGER, C.J. and TORPY, J., concur.
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Stephens v. State (Fla. 3d DCA 2020)…omero v. State, 105 So. 3d 550, 552-53 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012); Vennisee v. State, 235 So. 3d 947, 953 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017) (concluding Graham/Miller is not implicated where the defendant committed new felony offenses as an adult). In Rogers v. State, 96 So. 3d 922, 923 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012), Rogers was convicted of one hundred twenty-five counts of possession of child pornography, receiving “a composite sentence of seventy-five years in prison.” Noting that all one hundred twenty-five images of child pornograp…
Authorities Cited
- Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263 (U.S. 1980)
- Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957 (U.S. 1991)
- Hutto v. Davis, 454 U.S. 370 (U.S. 1982)
- Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (U.S. 2003)