JAMES W. DIORIO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Defendant Diorio challenges his probation sentence for leaving the scene of an accident, arguing the two-year probation term exceeds the maximum permissible sentence for the crime and that the restitution condition was imposed improperly. The court agrees on both grounds and remands for resentencing.
The two-year probation term is excessive and cannot exceed the maximum permissible sentence of one year for the crime. The restitution condition is improper both procedurally (lack of notice and opportunity to be heard) and substantively (the offense had no relationship to any damage to the victim, making restitution impossible under the governing standard). The case is remanded for resentencing.
[1] A period of probation cannot exceed the maximum permissible sentence for the underlying crime.
[2] A restitution condition of probation requiring payment to a victim must not exceed the amount of damage caused by the criminal conduct.
Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the period of probation was excessive by one year”
Establishes that probation cannot exceed the maximum permissible sentence for the crime
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDiorio's car struck and injured an elderly woman crossing a street in St. Petersburg, and Diorio fled the scene. He entered a nolo contendere plea to …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Waiver Of Right To Appeal cases and more on FLexlaw
DANAHY, Judge.
Defendant challenges his order of probation in two respects: first, the term of the probation, which is in excess of the maximum permissible sentence for the crime; and second, the imposition of a restitution condition of the probation. We agree with appellant’s position in both respects and remand for resentencing.
Appellant’s car struck and injured an elderly lady who was crossing a street in St. Petersburg. Appellant fled, and was charged with leaving the scene of an accident which resulted in injury, a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year.1 Section 316.027, Florida Statutes (1977).
Appellant entered a plea of nolo conten-dere. He was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to a term of one year in the Pinellas County jail. That sentence was suspended and appellant was placed on probation for two years. One of the conditions of probation was that appellant make restitution to the victim of the accident in the amount of $1,000 over and above any and all monies paid by any insurance company. Appellant was given no notice that a restitution condition would be imposed, and no opportunity to be heard with respect to that condition of his probation. When the condition was imposed, appellant made no objection.
On this appeal, the state concedes that appellant is correct in his argument that the period of probation could be no more than one year, since the maximum permissible sentence for the crime is only one year. Watts v. State, 328 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). We note that the purpose of the trial judge in imposing a probationary period of two years was to give appellant that much time to meet the terms of the restitution condition, since the trial judge felt that requiring a payment of $1,000 within the space of one year would work a hardship on appellant. Though that purpose is laudable, we nevertheless must hold that the period of probation was excessive by one year. In any event, however, the restitution condition itself is improper under the holding of the Florida Supreme Court in Fresneda v. State, 347 So. 2d 1021 (Fla.1977). In that case, the court established a two part rule for the imposition of a condition of probation requiring the probationer to pay money to or for the benefit of the victim of his crime. First, the condition must not require payment in excess of the amount of damage the criminal conduct caused the victim. Second, before ordering restitution as a .condition of probation, the trial judge should give the defendant notice of the proposed restitution order and allow the defendant the opportunity to be heard as to the amount of damage or loss caused by his offense. Section 948.03(1)(g), Florida Statutes (1977).
Clearly, the procedure specified in Fresneda was not followed in the instant case. Furthermore, the state has conceded on this appeal that the offense with which appellant was charged (leaving the scene of the accident) did not result in or have any relationship to any damage or injury to the victim. Accordingly, no restitution condition could be imposed in this case regardless of the procedure followed.
Appellant suggests that this court modify the order under review by reducing the term of probation to one year and striking the restitution condition, and affirm as so modified. We decline to perform that excision on a sentence which was devised by the trial judge as a whole and should stand or fall as a whole. We choose to return this case for resentencing.
The state has raised the further point that appellant’s silence at the time of sentencing constituted a waiver of any objection to the conditions of probation. We think not. Appellant’s right to appeal an order of probation is granted by Section 924.06, Florida Statutes (1977). We hold that his right of appeal is not contingent upon the registering of objections at the time probation is granted. Coulson v. State, 342 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977).
Reversed and remanded for resentencing.
HOBSON, Acting C. J., and GRIMES, J., concur. . Appellant was not charged with any offense in connection with the accident itself.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Myren Wayne Larson v. State, 572 So. 2d 1368 (Fla. 1991)…(Fla.1985); Crews v. State, 456 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984), review denied, 464 So. 2d 556 (Fla.1985). The same logic applies equally to illegal conditions of probation. Miller v. State, 407 So. 2d 959, 960 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); DiOrio v. State, 359 So. 2d 45, 46 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978), receded from on other grounds, Goodson v. State, 400 So. 2d 791 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). As defined in Black’s Law Dictionary 1082 (5th ed. 1979), probation is “[a] sentence releasing the defendant into the community under the sup…
-
Goodson v. State, 400 So. 2d 791 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)…itution may be imposed as a condition of probation. To the extent that our decision may be inconsistent with statements made in Stokes v. State, 377 So. 2d 766 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Kroenke v. State, 366 So. 2d 46 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); DiOrio v. State, 359 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978); Latti v. State, 364 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978), we recede from such statements. Accordingly, we affirm the order placing the appellant on probation with the special condition that he make restitution. GRIMES and CAMPBELL, JJ…
-
W.N. v. State, 426 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)…able amount or manner to be determined by the court.” (Emphasis supplied.) Thus, though the court has the power to order a delinquent child to make restitution, that order must have some relation to the offense charged. Id. See also DiOrio v. State, 359 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978), wherein an adult’s sentence was reversed. The court in DiOrio said that payment could not be “in excess of the amount of damage the criminal conduct caused the victim” and that “the offense with which appellant was charged ... di…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Fresneda v. State, 347 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 1977)
- Watts v. State, 328 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)
- Coulson v. State, 342 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)