Brown v. State, 89-2430
| Decision Date | 06 August 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-2430,89-2430 |
| Citation | 565 So.2d 369 |
| Parties | 15 Fla. L. Weekly D2015 Keith Bernard BROWN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Barbara Linthicum, Public Defender, Paula S. Saunders, Asst. Public Defender, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Charlie McCoy, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
The appellant was tried for first degree murder and armed robbery. Prior to trial, the state announced its intent not to seek the death penalty.
The appellant was convicted of second degree murder as well as armed robbery. The appellant raises three points on appeal. The issues are: (1) Whether the trial court erred in not granting a mistrial where testimony inferring prior criminal conduct by the defendant was introduced; (2) Whether the trial court erred in departing from the sentencing guidelines without providing a contemporaneous written statement of the reasons at the time the sentence was imposed; and (3) Whether appellant's life sentence without possibility of parole violates the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the due process clause of the state and federal constitutions. We find no merit as to issue 1 and affirm without further opinion based on Harmon v. State, 527 So.2d 182 (Fla.1988). As to issues 2 and 3, we affirm for the reasons enumerated herein.
Second degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm are first degree felonies punishable by imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life. The recommended guideline sentence for the defendant in the instant case was 22 to 27 years in prison.
The appellant, a juvenile, was certified as an adult for sentencing. The state also filed a notice of intent to seek a departure from the sentencing guidelines based on: 1) escalating pattern of criminality; 2) the excess use of force in the commission of the robbery resulting in the homicide; 3) attempt to cover up the commission of the crime; and 4) lack of respect for the law and the judicial system.
The court sentenced the defendant to a life term for the murder and 27 years for the robbery with the three-year mandatory minimums to run concurrently. Six days after sentencing, the trial court issued a written opinion outlining the reasons for the departure from the guideline sentence. The reasons were substantially similar to the ones relied on by the prosecution. 1
The question of the legality of the procedure utilized by the trial judge in departing from sentencing guidelines has now been resolved by the supreme court in Ree v. State, 565 So.2d 1329 (Fla.1990). While Ree requires that the written reasons for a departure from sentencing guidelines be produced at the sentencing hearing, the new requirements are only to be applied prospectively. We, therefore, find that the trial judge did not commit error in the sentencing procedure which he utilized at the time he sentenced the defendant.
The appellant has also challenged the legality of the life sentence for second degree murder without possibility of parole. He argues that since the state waived...
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Phillips v. State, 2D99-3734.
...and unusual punishment, that "[e]ven considering his age, appellant's sentence is not grossly disproportionate"); Brown v. State, 565 So.2d 369, 371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990) ("[T]his court has previously held that the imposition of a life sentence without possibility of parole does not constitut......
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Brown v. State
...and convicted of second degree murder and armed robbery. His judgment and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal in Brown v. State, 565 So.2d 369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). Appellant petitioned the Supreme Court of Florida for review of our decision, but the petition was denied on January 2, 19......
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Betts v. State, 1D01-0388.
...an "indefinite" life sentence for armed robbery under the HVFO statute. This claim was properly denied as meritless. Brown v. State, 565 So.2d 369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). Appellant, whose crimes were committed in April 1995, misplaced his reliance upon State v. Thompson, 750 So.2d 643 (Fla.199......
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State v. Brown
...written reasons for the departure sentence was error and entitled him to a new sentencing within the guidelines. Brown v. State, 565 So.2d 369, 370 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). During the pendency of that appeal, this Court decided Ree v. State, 565 So.2d 1329 (Fla.1990). In Ree, we held that writt......