Good v. Wille, 80-364
| Decision Date | 09 April 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-364,80-364 |
| Citation | 382 So.2d 408 |
| Parties | Marvin Franklin GOOD, Petitioner, v. Richard WILLE, as Sheriff of Palm Beach County, Florida, Respondent. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Howard L. Greitzer of Lyons & Sanders, Fort Lauderdale, for petitioner.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Robert L. Bogen, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for respondent.
Petitioner seeks to review by habeas corpus and petition to review an order setting bail pending trial on the basis that the amount thereof is so excessive as to amount to a denial of bail. Marvin Good is charged with trafficking in cannabis in excess of one hundred pounds but less than two thousand pounds, and possession of methaqualone with intent to sell. Bond was set at $500,000.00 by the trial court.
The trial court concluded from the probable cause affidavit and the testimony of Deputy Sheriff Gerard Nault that the probability of conviction was great. The deputy testified that when petitioner was arrested at 4:30 a. m. on January 26, 1980, the suspect was concealing himself in the women's bathroom at Lantana Airport. Petitioner produced his pilot's license when asked for identification. A .38 automatic pistol was also found in the bathroom. A yellow clay-type dirt uncommon to Florida soil was on petitioner's trouser leg and boots. This same clay-type dirt was also found on the right wing of the airplane the deputy had just seen land at the airport in which approximately 660 pounds of marijuana and fifty pounds of quaaludes had been found. Because petitioner has not supplied us with the probable cause affidavit, we accept as correct the trial court's finding that conviction was probable. Sanders v. State, 184 So.2d 686 (Fla. 1st DCA 1966).
Petitioner took the stand at the bond hearing and testified that he resides in a condominium apartment which he owns in Miami, Florida, and has resided in Dade County, Florida, for the past eleven years. Petitioner further testified that he is self-employed in a part-time one-man rug business and has flown for two corporations, has $7,000 in a bank account and cannot pay for a $500,000 bond, has no prior felony convictions and has always appeared when charged with a traffic violation, enjoys good mental health, owns a valid passport which has no restrictions and was last out of the country two months prior to his testimony, is divorced, and has a son who stays with petitioner's parents in Kentucky.
Our function is to weigh the soundness of the trial court's discretion and determine if petitioner has produced sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption of correctness of the trial court's order. State ex rel. Smith v. Untreiner, 246 So.2d 158 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971), cert. den. 250 So.2d 643 (Fla.1971). We are of the opinion that he has overcome this presumption.
Article I, Section 14 of the Florida Constitution provides:
Until adjudged guilty, every person charged with a crime or violation of municipal or county ordinance shall be entitled to release on reasonable bail with sufficient surety unless charged with a capital offense or an offense punishable by life imprisonment and the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption is great.
Petitioner is not charged with a capital offense or offense punishable by life imprisonment. He faces a maximum term of thirty years with a mandatory minimum of three years and a $25,000 fine on the first charge and a possible five-year sentence on the second. Accordingly, he is entitled to bail.
Petitioner is also entitled to reasonable bail which brings into focus the financial condition of the defendant. Depending upon the financial circumstances of the defendant, excessive bail is tantamount to no bail. State ex rel. Bardina v. Sandstrom, 321 So.2d 630 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975).
In addition to the defendant's financial circumstances, there are numerous criteria to be considered in setting bail and each case is dependent upon its individual facts. Factors to be considered in determining the amount of bail include the nature of the offense and the penalty for it, the character and strength of the evidence or probability of guilt, the probability of the accused appearing at trial, his accessibility to means of flight, his family ties and employment, the length and stability of his residence in the community, the prior record of the accused in responding to process, whether the accused was a fugitive from justice when arrested, whether the accused is under bond for appearance at trial in other cases, his respect for the law, the accused's character and...
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