NICHOLAS DENOLE MARSH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2017-05-12
No. Case No. 2D15-3566
CASANUEVA, SALARIO, and BADALAMENTI, JJ., Concur.
219 So. 3d 214 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2017)

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Synopsis

Nicholas Denole Marsh appealed his dual convictions for felony battery and battery on a licensed security officer, arguing double jeopardy violations and insufficient evidence. The State conceded both issues, and the court affirmed the felony battery conviction while reversing the battery on a licensed security officer conviction due to insufficient evidence of a required uniform element and double jeopardy concerns.


Holding

The court affirmed Marsh's felony battery conviction but reversed and remanded the battery on a licensed security officer conviction. The evidence was insufficient to establish the uniform element required for the licensed security officer battery charge, and the dual convictions violate double jeopardy because felony battery wholly subsumes simple battery.


Headnotes

[1] A conviction for battery on a licensed security officer requires proof that the victim was wearing a uniform as described in the relevant statute.

[2] Dual convictions for felony battery and simple battery arising from the same act violate double jeopardy principles.

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Key Quotes

“the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction for battery-on a licensed security officer because the evidence did not establish that the victim was wearing a -uniform as described in section 784,07(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2014)”

Establishes the basis for reversing the battery on a licensed security officer conviction—lack of evidence of the required uniform element

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Facts & Procedural History

Marsh was convicted of one count of felony battery and one count of battery on a licensed security officer. The evidence did not establish that the vi…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Nicholas Denole Marsh appeals his judgment and sentences for one count of felony battery and one count of battery on a licensed security officer. He argues that his dual convictions for these two offenses violate the double jeopardy clauses of the United States and Florida Constitutions, that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction for battery on a licensed security officer, and that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on the count for battery on a licensed security officer.

The State concedes both that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction for battery-on a licensed security officer because the evidence did not establish that the victim was wearing a -uniform as described in section 784,07(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2014), and that Mr. Marsh’s resultant dual convictions violate double jeopardy, We accept the State’s concession as to both issues. Were we concerned solely with the sufficiency of the evidence as to the uniform element of the charge for battery on a licensed security officer, we would reverse and remand with instructions to conyict Mr. Marsh of simple battery instead of battery on a licensed security officer. See § 924.34, Fla. Stat. (2016); Rodriguez v. State, 964 So.2d 833, 838 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007) (holding that although the evidence did establish the lesser included offense of simple battery, the evidence “did not prove that there was( an unlawful battery on a law enforcement officer under section 784.07” and remanding with instructions for the trial court to adjudicate the defendant guilty of simple battery). Because convicting Mr. Marsh of both felony battery and simple battery for the same act would violate double jeopardy—as the State correctly concedes—we can affirm only the felony battery conviction. See Harris v. State, 111 So.3d 922, 925 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013) (reversing a conviction for simple battery because the defendant’s felony battery and simple battery convictions arose from the same acts and because felony battery “wholly subsumes battery”); see also § 775.021(4), Fla. Stat. (2014). Accordingly, we affirm Mr. Marsh’s judgment and sentence for felony battery, reverse his judgment and sentence for battery on a licensed security officer, and remand the case to the trial court with instructions to vacate the judgment and" sentence for battery on a licensed security officer.

Affirmed in part; reversed in part; remanded.

CASANUEVA, SALARIO, and BADALAMENTI, JJ., Concur.


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