Blue v. State, 88-1452

Decision Date07 April 1989
Docket NumberNo. 88-1452,88-1452
Citation541 So.2d 736,14 Fla. L. Weekly 866
Parties14 Fla. L. Weekly 866 James BLUE, Jr., Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Michael E. Allen, Public Defender, P. Douglas Brinkmeyer, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Royall P. Terry, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

WENTWORTH, Judge.

Appellant seeks review of a sentence of 18 months community control with a special condition of six months jail time imposed upon his conviction of attempted burglary of a structure. He contends the trial court erred in departing from the recommended sentencing guidelines range of any nonstate prison sanction. We reverse, finding the trial court erred in departing from the guidelines range on the basis of appellant's unscored juvenile record.

Following a jury trial, appellant was convicted of attempted burglary of a structure, in violation of sections 810.02 and 777.04, Florida Statutes, and sentenced to 18 months community control with a special condition of six months jail time. The recommended guidelines sentence was any nonstate prison sanction. In a written articulation of its reason for departure from the guidelines range, the trial court stated:

Pursuant to the requirement set forth in Rule 3.701(d)(6), the court hereby states that the sentence was imposed above the presumptive sentence because the defendant has a significant juvenile record that is not a factor calculated in the sentencing guidelines.

Courts have found that "the fact that a defendant's record reflects the commission of offenses which cannot be scored because the offenses were committed when the defendant was a juvenile may ... be a valid reason for departure...." Musgrove v. State, 524 So.2d 715, 716 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), citing Weems v. State, 469 So.2d 128 (Fla.1985) and Williams v. State, 504 So.2d 392 (Fla.1987). An unscored juvenile record may be considered as a basis for departure only "if the juvenile record is extensive, and only if the juvenile offenses were disposed of by adjudications equivalent to conviction of an adult." Musgrove at 716. In Musgrove, the trial court found that the defendant's three juvenile offenses which resulted in adjudications of guilt, one of which was a felony, were insufficient to constitute a substantial juvenile record warranting imposition of a departure sentence. In this case, appellant's presentence investigative report reveals five entries under...

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5 cases
  • Morgan v. State, 88-1196
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • October 17, 1989
    ...v. State, 524 So.2d 715 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988), but three prior juvenile convictions are insufficient to support departure. Blue v. State, 541 So.2d 736 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Musgrove v. State, 524 So.2d 715 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Jones v. State, 501 So.2d 665 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), decision approv......
  • Velez v. State
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • April 7, 1992
    ...the juvenile offenses themselves that justified departure, but the pattern of increasing violence that they formed. Cf. Blue v. State, 541 So.2d 736 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (three juvenile convictions insufficient to support departure).4 Because of our disposition of the main appeal, we do not ......
  • Puffinberger v. State
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • June 6, 1991
    ...that some district courts have found that Weems requires that a juvenile record be extensive or significant, see, e.g., Blue v. State, 541 So.2d 736 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Carter v. State, 510 So.2d 930 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 519 So.2d 986 (Fla.1987), the district court certified the ......
  • Crocker v. State, 89-1555
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • October 18, 1990
    ...present a sufficient juvenile record to justify a departure sentence. Morgan v. State, 550 So.2d 151 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Blue v. State, 541 So.2d 736 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); Musgrove v. State, 524 So.2d 715 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). These courts have concluded that in order to justify a departure s......
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