JEAN MAZER, A/K/A MAZER JEAN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jean Mazer appealed the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a), arguing that Miller v. Alabama should apply retroactively to his life-without-parole sentence for second-degree murder committed as a juvenile. The court affirmed the denial, finding that Miller does not apply to discretionary life sentences for second-degree murder and that the trial court properly considered Mazer's youth in sentencing.
The court affirmed the denial of Mazer's motion, holding that while Miller does apply retroactively (as determined in Toye v. State), it does not preclude discretionary life-without-parole sentences for second-degree murder because such sentences are discretionary, not mandatory, and the trial court properly considered Mazer's youth in exercising its sentencing discretion.
[1] A motion to correct an illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) may be denied as untimely.
[2] The Supreme Court's holding in Miller v. …
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on 'cruel and unusual punishments'”
Establishes the core holding of Miller v. Alabama that the court discusses
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJean Mazer was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. He filed a motion to correct his sentence under Rule 3.800(a), …
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We affirm the denial of Jean Mazer’s motion to correct illegal sentence filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). The postconviction court denied Mazer’s motion as untimely based on then-binding precedent from other district courts. See Geter v. State, 115 So.3d 375, 376 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012); Gonzalez v. State, 101 So.3d 886, 888 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). In those cases, the Third District and First District, respectively, determined that Miller v. Alabama, — U.S. —, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 2460, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012) — which held that “mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on ‘cruel and unusual punishments’ ” — did not apply retroactively. But subsequently, in Toye v. State, 133 So.3d 540 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014), we decided that Miller does apply retroactively to sentences that were final before Miller was rendered and we certified conflict with Geter and Gonzalez. 1
*21It would be our normal practice to reverse and remand for the postconviction court to reconsider the appellant’s motion, see, e.g., Figueroa v. State, 139 So.3d 964, 965 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014); Baker v. State, 138 So.3d 1175, 1176 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014), but the postconviction court also examined Mazer’s motion on the merits and determined that even if it applied to Mazer’s case, Miller did not preclude a sentence of life without parole for second-degree murder. First, because second-degree murder is a felony punishable by a term of years up to life in prison, see § 782.04(2), Fla. Stat. (1997), a life sentence was discretionary in Mazer’s case, not mandatory. See Starks v. State, 128 So.3d 91, 92 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013); Mason v. State, 134 So.3d 499, 500 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014). And second, the postconviction court examined the trial court record and concluded that the trial court exercised its discretion to depart from a guidelines sentence by considering certain information related to Mazer’s youth at the time he committed the offense. See Mason, 134 So.3d at 501; cf. Mackey v. State, — So.3d—, 2014 WL 3605552, 39 Fla. L. Weekly D1526 (Fla. 4th DCA July 23, 2014) (reversing and remanding for the trial court to expressly consider whether the distinctive attributes of youth diminished the penological justifications for imposing a sentence of life without parole on the appellant). Accordingly, we affirm the postconviction court’s denial of Mazer’s rule 3.800(a) motion.
Affirmed.
MORRIS and BLACK, JJ., Concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Lindsey v. State, 168 So. 3d 267 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)…tence of a term of years, Starks was not sentenced under a sentencing scheme condemned in Miller”), disapproved of on other grounds by Lawton v. State, — So. 3d -, 2015 WL 1565725, 40 Fla. L. Weekly S195 (Fla. Apr. 9, 2015); see also Mazer v. State, 152 So. 3d 20, 21 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014); Mason v. State, 134 So. 3d 499, 500 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014). Accordingly, we must conclude that Mr. Lindsey’s sentence pursuant to section 775.087(2) does not violate Miller, and we are constrained to affirm. C. Change in Jurisp…
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Foster v. State, 261 So. 3d 758 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)…tent that it challenged his life sentence for count 43, second-degree murder. The trial court ruled, consistent with then binding case law, that since the life sentence was discretionary not mandatory, Miller did not apply. See Mazer v. State, 152 So. 3d 20 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014), and Mason v. State, 134 So. 3d 499 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), disapproved of by Landrum v. State, 192 So. 3d 459 (Fla. 2016). Appellant appealed the denial of his post-conviction relief as to the second-degree murder sentence.…
Authorities Cited
- Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (U.S. 2012)
- Drewery Geter v. State, 115 So. 3d 375 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)
- Gonzalez v. State, 101 So. 3d 886 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)
- Falcon v. State, 111 So. 3d 973 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)
- Toye v. State, 133 So. 3d 540 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
- Starks v. State, 128 So. 3d 91 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)
- Mason v. State, 134 So. 3d 499 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)
- Desmond Baker v. State, 138 So. 3d 1175 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)
- Figueroa v. State, 139 So. 3d 964 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)