Harris v. State, 1D05-1326.

Citation932 So.2d 551
Decision Date27 June 2006
Docket NumberNo. 1D05-1326.,1D05-1326.
PartiesMose HARRIS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Florida (US)

Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and Richard M. Summa, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Charlie Crist, Attorney General, and Anne C. Conley, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Mose Harris appeals a judgment of conviction and habitual felony offender sentence for the sale and delivery of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church in violation of section 893.13(1)(e)1, Florida Statutes (2004). Among other issues, appellant argues that, because section 893.101, Florida Statutes (2004), eliminates knowledge of the illicit nature of a substance as an element of the offense, his convictions violate the due process clauses of the federal and Florida constitutions. We cannot agree. Section 893.101 has been upheld against challenges based on the due process clause. See Wright v. State, 920 So.2d 21 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 915 So.2d 1198 (Fla.2005); Burnette v. State, 901 So.2d 925 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); see also Reynolds v. State, 842 So.2d 46, 47-8 (Fla.2002)(quoting State v. Gray, 435 So.2d 816, 819-20 (Fla.1983)("It is within the power of the legislature to declare conduct criminal without requiring specific criminal intent to achieve a certain result; that is, the legislature may punish conduct without regard to the mental attitude of the offender, so that the general intent of the accused to do the act is deemed to give rise to a presumption of intent to achieve the criminal result....")); State v. Giorgetti, 868 So.2d 512, 516 (Fla.2004)("[W]e will ordinarily presume that the Legislature intends statutes defining a criminal violation to contain a knowledge requirement absent an express indication of a contrary intent. An express provision dispensing with guilty knowledge will always control, of course, since in that instance the Legislature will have made its intent clear."). By section 893.101, the Florida Legislature has clearly stated its express intent to eliminate the guilty knowledge requirement for chapter 893 offenses.

We affirm all issues raised on appeal.

KAHN, C.J., ERVIN, and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur.

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15 cases
  • Brooks v. Sec'y
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
    • February 22, 2016
    ...893.101, Fla. Stat., to eliminate knowledge of the illicit nature of the substances as an element of the offense. Harris v. State, 932 So.2d 551 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006); Burnette v. State, 901 So. 2d 925 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); Taylor v. State, 929 So.2d 665 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Wright v. State, 920......
  • State v. Adkins, SC11–1878.
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • July 12, 2012
    ...each of the district courts of appeal has ruled that the statute does not violate the requirements of due process. See Harris v. State, 932 So.2d 551 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006); Burnette v. State, 901 So.2d 925 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); Taylor v. State, 929 So.2d 665 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Wright v. State,......
  • Shelton v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
    • July 27, 2011
    ...instruction. See Fla. Stat. § 893.13(1)(a). FN11. See, e.g., Reynolds v. State, 842 So.2d 46, 47–48 (Fla.2002); Harris v. State, 932 So.2d 551, 552 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006); Wright v. State, 920 So.2d 21 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), rev. denied, 915 So.2d 1198 (Fla.2005); Burnette v. State, 901 So.2d 92......
  • Donson v. Jones
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Florida
    • March 2, 2015
    ...of violating, section 893.13, Florida Statutes. This argument has been rejected by the First District Court of Appeal. Harris v. State, 932 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006); Flagg v. State, 74 So. 3d 138 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011). The Defendant is not entitled to relief on this claim. (Ex. O, p. 53......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • After Chicone: blasting the bedrock of the criminal law.
    • United States
    • Florida Bar Journal Vol. 82 No. 4, April 2008
    • April 1, 2008
    ...(Fla. 4th D.C.A. 2005) (stating that Fla. Stat. [section] 893.101 makes possession of cocaine a general intent crime); Harris v. State, 932 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 1st D.C.A. 2006)(same). Wright and Harris overlook the fact that general intent is a form of mens rea. See Smith v. State, 968 So. 2d ......

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