MICHAEL DENNARD GOODSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2017-09-05
No. CASE NO. 1D13-3549
WETHERELL, MAKAR, and KELSEY, JJ., CONCUR.
227 So. 3d 207 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2017)

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Synopsis

The appellate court reversed Michael Goodson's consecutive mandatory minimum sentences for multiple firearm offenses after the Florida Supreme Court clarified that consecutive sentencing is discretionary rather than mandatory when offenses arise from the same criminal episode and involve multiple victims. The court remanded for resentencing in accordance with the Supreme Court's decisions in Williams v. State and Walton v. State (Walton II).


Holding

Consecutive sentencing of mandatory minimum terms for multiple firearm offenses committed in the same episode is permissible but not mandatory when multiple victims are involved. The trial court has discretion to impose either concurrent or consecutive mandatory minimum sentences under these circumstances, rather than being compelled to impose consecutive sentences.


Headnotes

[1] Consecutive sentencing of mandatory minimum imprisonment terms for multiple firearm offenses is impermissible if the offenses arose from the same criminal episode and a f…

[2] If multiple firearm offenses are committed contemporaneously, during which time multiple victims are shot at, then consecutive sentencing is permissible but not mandatory…

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Key Quotes

“consecutive sentencing of mandatory minimum imprisonment terms for multiple firearm offenses is impermissible if the offenses arose from the same criminal episode and a firearm was merely possessed but not discharged.”

Establishes the rule distinguishing between cases where consecutive sentencing is prohibited versus discretionary based on whether firearm was discharged

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Facts & Procedural History

Goodson was convicted by jury of discharging a firearm in each charged offense. The offenses occurred during the same criminal episode, where Goodson …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We previously affirmed Appellant’s sentence based on our en banc decision in Walton v. State, 106 So.3d 522 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013) (Walton I), which held that mandatory mínimums under the 10-20-Life statute must be imposed consecutively regardless of whether the defendant possessed or discharged a firearm. However, the Florida Supreme Court quashed our decision in this case and remanded for reconsideration in light of its decisions in Walton v. State, 208 So.3d 60 (Fla. 2016) (Walton II), and Williams v. State, 186 So.3d 989 (Fla. 2016). See Abrams v. State, 42 Fla. L. Weekly S680, 2017 WL 2302328 (Fla. May 26, 2017).

■ In Williams, the Court held that “consecutive sentencing of mandatory minimum imprisonment terms for multiple firearm offenses is impermissible if the offenses arose from the same criminal episode and a firearm was merely possessed but not discharged.” 186 So.3d at 993; accord Walton II, 208 So.3d at 64. But, the Court also held that “[i]f ... multiple firearm offenses are committed contemporaneously, during which time multiple victims are shot at, then consecutive sentencing is permissible but not mandatory.” Williams, 186 So.3d at 993.

Here, the jury found Appellant guilty of discharging a firearm in each of the charged offenses. At sentencing, the trial court stated that it was bound by this court’s decision in Walton I to impose consecutive mandatory minimum sentences. The trial court stated that it was disallowed from identifying this incident— where Appellant discharged a firearm multiple' times into a billiards hall where multiple people were working and playing billiards—as a single episode, and consequently disallowed from imposing a single 20-year term. The trial court also stated that it was

required to impose a minimum mandatory 20 years to each count to be served consecutively without regard or consideration of defendant’s minimal criminal history or any other extenuating circumstances that may be present in this case. The ability of the trial court to exercise any discretion to determine an appropriate sentence for defendant where the State has provided [competent] and substantial evidence to support a jury verdict of attempted second degree murder through the discharge of a firearm has been entirely taken from the trial court’s authority.

But the offenses occurred in the same episode and involved multiple victims. Thus, the trial court had discretion to impose concurrent or consecutive mandatory minimum sentences in this case. Accord*209ingly, because it is clear the trial court would not have imposed the same sentence if it was not bound by Walton I, we reverse Appellant’s sentence and remand for resentencing in accordance with Williams and Walton II.

We affirm the remaining issues on appeal.

AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; REMANDED for resentencing.

WETHERELL, MAKAR, and KELSEY, JJ., CONCUR.


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