SIMPSON
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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A trial court's oral pronouncement of sentence controls over the written judgment, and a scrivener's error adding an unauthorized habitual felony offender designation must be corrected on remand.
[1] A scrivener's error in a written judgment that adds a sentencing enhancement not orally pronounced by the trial court and not sought by the prosecution may be corrected o…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the trial court's oral pronouncement of the sentence controls over the written sentence”
Court citing Bryant v. State for the principle that oral pronouncements control written judgments
Simpson was convicted and sentenced by the trial court, which orally pronounced his adjudication and sentence without designating him as a habitual fe…
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FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
OTIS JAMES SIMPSON, Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.
No. 1D2025-0961
On appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County. Stephen S. Everett, Judge.
August 26, 2026
PER CURIAM.
We affirm Appellant's conviction and sentence and write only to correct a scrivener's error on the written judgment and sentence. See Ashley v. State, 850 So. 2d 1265, 1268 n. 3 (Fla. 2003) (defining a scrivener's error as a written clerical error that is not “the result of a judicial determination or error”). The written judgment and sentence classify Appellant as a habitual felony offender, even though the State did not seek that designation and the trial court did not announce it when orally pronouncing his adjudication and sentence. See Bryant v. State, 302 So. 3d 995, 1000 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020) (stating that the trial court's oral pronouncement of the sentence controls over the written sentence). On remand, the trial court shall correct the scrivener's error by striking the habitual felony offender designation from the written judgment and sentence. Appellant need not be present for this ministerial correction. See Gray v. State, 370 So. 3d 711, 712 (Fla. 1st DCA 2023) (explaining that the defendant's presence is not required on remand for the correction of a scrivener's error because it is a ministerial act that requires no judicial discretion).
AFFIRMED and REMANDED with instructions.
LEWIS, M.K. THOMAS, and TREADWELL, JJ., concur.