CURTIS PERKINS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that a sentence is illegal if the scoresheet is incorrectly calculated and the defendant is not sentenced to the lowest permissible sentence.
[1] A sentence is illegal when a defendant's scoresheet is incorrectly calculated, leading to a sentence that exceeds the lowest permissible sentence.
[2] A trial court cannot impose an illegal sentence, even if it is part of a negotiated plea agreement.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCurtis Perkins pleaded guilty to several felonies and received a sentence based on a scoresheet that erroneously included a burglary for which he had …
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Curtis Perkins appeals the order denying his motion to correct illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). The State appropriately concedes error. We reverse and remand for resentencing.
Perkins entered guilty pleas to the third-degree felonies of petit theft (two counts), possession of cocaine, and failure to appear in exchange for concurrent sentences of 80.3 months’ imprisonment and the State’s agreement to drop another failure to appear charge. After his unsuccessful attempt to argue that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to ensure that his scoresheet was correctly calculated, Perkins filed a motion to correct illegal sentence. Referring to attachments to his motion, he argued that his scoresheet erroneously scored a burglary for which he had been acquitted. Perkins asserted that without the scoring of that burglary, his lowest permissible sentence would have been 69.8 months rather than 80.3 months. He requested resentencing with a corrected scoresheet.
The postconviction court ordered the State to respond, and the State conceded, as it does in this court, that Perkins should be resentenced to 69.8 months’ imprisonment. Indeed, as the State correctly notes, when the lowest permissible sentence under the criminal punishment code exceeds the statutory maximum, the former becomes the maximum sentence a court can impose. See Butler v. State, 838 So.2d 554, 556 (Fla.2003). “Trial courts are not permitted to impose illegal sentences, even pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement.” Costin v. State, 46 So.3d 96, 97 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010). Because Perkins’ scoresheet was incorrectly scored and he was not sentenced to the lowest permissible sentence, his sentence is illegal.
Accordingly, we reverse the order denying Perkins’ motion to correct illegal sentence and remand with directions for the postconviction court to resentence Perkins to 69.8 months’ imprisonment under a corrected scoresheet as agreed to by the State.
NORTHCUTT and SLEET, JJ., Concur.
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Citator
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Miller v. State, 177 So. 3d 95 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)…n the lowest permissible sentence under the code exceeds the applicable statutory maximum sentence, the lowest permissible sentence under the code must be imposed. See § 921.0024(2), Fla. Stat. (1998); Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.704(d)(25); Perkins v. State, 123 So. 3d 678, 678 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). Because Miller’s sentences were the lowest permissible sentences under .the code, the postconviction court held that they were legal sentences and, as a result, that Miller was not entitled to relief under rule 3.800(a). Th…
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Robinson v. State, 160 So. 3d 521 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)…eds the statutory maximum sentence as provided in s. 775.082, the sentence required by the code must be imposed”). In these instances, the lowest permissible sentence becomes the maximum sentence a court may impose. As the court in Perkins v. State, 123 So. 3d 678, 678 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013), explained: [WJhen the lowest permissible sentence under the criminal punishment code exceeds the' statutory maximum, the former becomes the maximum sentence a court can impose. See Butler v. State, 838 So. 2d 554, 556 (Fla.…
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Obie Dewayne Holliman v. State, 152 So. 3d 783 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)…ant had agreed to the sentence). The trial court would have been correct to deny Appellant’s motion if his seventeen year sentence is the lowest permissible under the criminal punishment code. See § 921.0024(2), Fla. Stat. (2009); Perkins v. State, 123 So. 3d 678 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013) (“[W]hen the lowest permissible sentence under the criminal punishment code exceeds the statutory maximum, the former becomes the maximum sentence a court can impose.”). Assuming for argument’s sake that the lowest permissible sen…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Winyatta Butler v. State, 838 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 2003)
- Costin v. State, 46 So. 3d 96 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)