CORINE ROZINSKI, A/K/A CORINE BAILEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Appellant was sentenced to four years imprisonment for resisting an officer with violence, a crime committed in 1970 but sentenced in 1974 after probation violation. The court held that the sentence was illegal because it exceeded the statutory maximum available under the law in effect when the crime was committed in 1970, not the amended statute effective in 1972.
A defendant cannot be sentenced under a statute enacted or amended subsequent to the commission of the offense. The sentence must be imposed under the law in effect at the time the crime was committed. Under the 1970 version of F.S. 843.01, the maximum punishment was two years state prison or one year county jail, so the four-year sentence was illegal.
[1] A defendant cannot be punished under a statute enacted or amended subsequent to the commission of the offense.
[2] Sentencing must be imposed under the law in effect at the time the crime was committed.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Appellant's punishment could not legally exceed these limits as sentence must be imposed under the law in effect at the time the crime was committed.”
Establishes the fundamental rule that sentences must conform to the law existing at the time of the offense, not subsequent amendments.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 1970, appellant committed the offense of resisting an officer with violence in violation of F.S. 843.01. In 1971, she pled guilty and was placed on…
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[*547] GRIMES, Judge.
In 1971 appellant pled guilty to and was put on probation for resisting an officer with violence in violation of F.S. 843.01. The offense occurred in 1970. Subsequently, appellant violated her probation but was not apprehended therefor until 1974. After pleading guilty to violation of the probation, appellant’s probation was revoked and she was sentenced to four years imprisonment for the violation of F.S. 843.01. Appellant argues that this sentence is illegal.
The statute, F.S. 843.01, was amended effective January 1, 1972, Laws of Florida Ch. 71-136, to provide that resisting an officer with violence to his person is a third degree felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment. However, in 1970 when the crime was committed, it was punishable “by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding two years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding $1,000.” Appellant’s punishment could not legally exceed these limits as sentence must be imposed under the law in effect at the time the crime was committed. Turner v. State, 87 Fla. 155, 99 So. 334 (1924). She cannot be punished under the provisions of a statute enacted or amended subsequent to the commission of her offense. Raines v. State, 42 Fla. 141, 28 So. 57 (1900).1
The proper course when sentence is in excess of that authorized by law is to remand for imposition of a proper sentence. Bascelio v. Mayo, Fla.1955, 81 So. 2d 649; Bass v. State, Fla.App.1st, 1970, 232 So. 2d 25.
Remanded with directions.
MANN, C. J., and BOARDMAN, J., concur. . The cited cases construed Article III, Section 32, of the 1885 Constitution. They are pertinent to construction of Article X, Section 9, of the 1968 Constitution which is similar in its language and effect. Article X, Section 9, 1968 Constitution:
“Repeal or amendment of a criminal statute shall not affect prosecution or punishment for any crime previously committed.” Article III, Section 32, 1885 Constitution:
“The repeal or amendment of any Criminal Statute shall not effect the prosecution or punishment of any crime committed before such repeal or amendment.”
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Cited By
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Cooper v. Louie L. Wainwright, 308 So. 2d 182 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)…42 Fla. 141, 28 So. 57; Turner v. State, Fla.1924, 87 Fla. 155, 99 So. 334; Wood v. Cochran, Fla. 1960, 118 So. 2d 193; Collins v. State, Fla.App.1972, 271 So. 2d 156; Ellis v. State, Fla.App. 1974, 298 So. 2d 527; Rozinski v. State, Fla.App. 1974, 298 So. 2d 546. The second point challenges the legality of the five year consecutive sentence under Count II for aggravated assault. We agree with appellant on this point. Count I, of the Information, charges that the appellant: “ . . . in the vicinity of K-Mar…
Authorities Cited
- Bass v. State, 232 So. 2d 25 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970)
- Raines v. State, 42 Fla. 141 (Fla. 1900)
- Turner v. State, 87 Fla. 155 (Fla. 1924)
- Bascelio v. Mayo, 81 So. 2d 649 (Fla. 1955)