Lightbourne v. State

• Decision Date: 15 September 1983
• Docket Number: No. 60871,60871
• Citation: 438 So.2d 380
• Parties: Ian LIGHTBOURNE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 380

438 So.2d 380

Ian LIGHTBOURNE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 60871.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Sept. 15, 1983.

Rehearing Denied Oct. 26, 1983.

Jerry T. Lockett, Sp. Asst. Public Defender, Tavares, for appellant.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Sean Daly, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

ADKINS, Justice.

We have for review a judgment of conviction and a sentence of death imposed by a trial court. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.

Appellant, Ian Lightbourne, was convicted of first-degree murder and as recommended by the jury, was sentenced to death. By appeal he seeks a reversal of his conviction and his sentence. For the reasons set out below we affirm both appellant's conviction and the sentence of death imposed upon him. The facts are complex and will be recited together with their respective issues which appellant raises on appeal.

I.

The indictment reads in part:

[T]hat IAN LIGHTBOURNE of the County of Marion and State of Florida, on the 16th or 17th day of January, 1981, in the County and State aforesaid, did unlawfully, from a premeditated design to effect the death of a human being and/or while engaged in the perpetration of a burglary and/or involuntary sexual battery, kill and murder Nancy A. O'Farrell, a human being, by shooting her with a firearm, to-wit: a .25 caliber automatic pistol, a more particular description being to this Body unknown, in violation of Florida Statute 782.04.

Appellant's (hereinafter defendant) initial claim is that the indictment does not allege the time of the offense "as definitely as possible" under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.140(d)(3). However, it is not necessary that an indictment or information state the exact date of the offense if such date is not known. Rather the indictment or information in such cases will be deemed sufficient if it is alleged that the offense occurred within stated specific time limits. Sparks v. State, 273 So.2d 74 (Fla.1973); State v. Bandi, 338 So.2d 75 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976), cert. denied, 344 So.2d 323 (Fla.1977).

The statement of particulars given by the state narrowed the time period for the alleged offense to sometime between 5:30 p.m. on January 16, 1981, and 4:00 p.m. on January 17, 1981. Furthermore, this time frame was based on scientific evidence obtained at the crime scene and during the subsequent autopsy and later presented at trial. Scientific experts could only narrow the time of death to approximately midnight of January 16, 1981.

Given the limited information possessed by the state relative to the time of death of the decedent, the indictment sufficiently charged the time of the offense and notified the defendant of the time of the murder as specifically as possible. As such, the trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment on this ground. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.140(d)(3).

The defendant also challenges the indictment on grounds of overbreadth and vagueness, arguing that the state, by charging in the disjunctive in this case, has effected the result of charging two inconsistent offenses, that is felony murder and premeditated murder.

An indictment or information will be dismissed for vagueness only if it is so vague, indistinct and indefinite so as to mislead a defendant or embarrass him in the preparation of his defense or expose him after conviction or acquittal to substantial danger of a new prosecution for the same offense. State v. Dilworth, 397 So.2d 292 (Fla.1981); State v. Black, 385 So.2d 1372 (Fla.1980); Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.140(o).

Under section 782.04, Florida Statutes (1981), the offense of first-degree murder may be committed in several ways, including murder by premeditated design or a felony murder supported by various felonies, among which are included the felonies of burglary and sexual battery. The instant indictment tracked the statute and adequately placed the defendant on notice that he was charged with first-degree murder resulting from any one or a combination of the three specific methods in the indictment. The single offense of first-degree murder may be proven by alternate methods, so it follows that the charging instrument should be free to include such alternate bases for conviction.

The allegations of the indictment are sufficient to charge murder in the first degree, regardless of whether the murder was committed with premeditated design or in the perpetration of the enumerated felonies. Knight v. State, 338 So.2d 201 (Fla.1976); Barton v. State, 193 So.2d 618 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966), cert. denied, 201 So.2d 459 (Fla.1967). Consequently, the indictment was not vague or overbroad since it specifically apprised the defendant of the criminal acts allegedly committed which support the charge of first-degree murder.

The defendant's final challenge under Point I is that the indictment could be construed as charging only felony murder and that charging only felony murder and proving premeditated murder is impermissible under Ables v. State, 338 So.2d 1095 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976), cert. denied, 346 So.2d 1247 (Fla.1977). The indictment herein clearly incorporates an allegation that the murder was premeditated in design. The Ables decision involved a case in which premeditated murder was never alleged, and as such that case is clearly distinguishable from the instant case.

II.

The defendant claims that the trial court erred in denying his second motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that the aggravating circumstances to be applied at the sentencing stage in capital felony cases must be originally alleged in the indictment in order to confer jurisdiction on a court to impose a sentence of death. If such allegations are not made, argues the defendant, death is not a permissible penalty, for it is now established that the sentencing process, as well as the trial itself, must satisfy the requirements of due process. See, Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349, 97 S.Ct. 1197, 51 L.Ed.2d 393 (1977).

The defendant's arguments raised under Point II are clearly without merit, having been previously addressed and rejected in Sireci v. State, 399 So.2d 964 (Fla.1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 984, 102 S.Ct. 2257, 72 L.Ed.2d 862 (1982). The trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment or to declare that death was not a possible penalty.

III.

The defendant raises a number of constitutional challenges to sections 775.082(1), 782.04(1), and 921.141, Florida Statutes, (1981). Such challenges for the most part have been previously considered and disposed of by this and other courts.

First, the defendant claims that section 775.082, by fixing the penalties for capital felony convictions, infringes on the principle of separation of power, eliminates judicial discretion at the sentencing stage, and is therefore unconstitutional. This argument is clearly misplaced. The constitutionality of this section has been repeatedly upheld. Antone v. State, 382 So.2d 1205 (Fla.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 913, 101 S.Ct. 287, 66 L.Ed.2d 141 (1980); Alvord v. State, 322 So.2d 533 (Fla.1975), cert. denied, 428 U.S. 923, 96 S.Ct. 3234, 49 L.Ed.2d 1226 (1976); State v. Dixon, 283 So.2d 1 (Fla.1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 943, 94 S.Ct. 1950, 40 L.Ed.2d 295 (1974). Additionally, the determination of maximum and minimum penalties is a matter for the legislature. Also, when a statutory sentence is not cruel and unusual on its face it will be upheld against an attack based on separation of powers grounds. Sowell v. State, 342 So.2d 969 (Fla.1977).

Second, the defendant attacks the constitutionality of section 921.141, arguing that the aggravating and mitigating circumstances contained in the statute are impermissibly vague and overbroad. This Court has ruled on numerous occasions upholding the constitutionality of the section, finding that the statutorily prescribed circumstances were not vague but rather provided "[m]eaningful restraints and guidelines for the discretion of judge and jury." State v. Dixon, 283 So.2d at 9. Subsequent decisions buttress the constitutionality of the statute. Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976); Spinkellink v. Wainwright, 578 F.2d 582 (5th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 976, 99 S.Ct. 1548, 59 L.Ed.2d 796 (1979); Foster v. State, 369 So.2d 928 (Fla.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 885, 100 S.Ct. 178, 62 L.Ed.2d 116 (1979); Alvord v. State.

The defendant's claim that the mitigating factors contained in section 921.141(6) are constitutionally deficient because limited by statute is without merit. In Sireci v. State and Songer v. State, 419 So.2d 1044 (Fla.1982), all relevant factors were authorized to be presented in mitigation at the sentencing phase of the proceedings.

Finally, the defendant asks this Court to reverse its position on the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty statutes, sections 782.04(1)(a) and 775.082. This we decline to do. These statutes have been repeatedly upheld against claims of denial of due process and equal protection, as well as against assertions that they constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Proffitt v. Florida; Spinkellink v. Wainwright; Ferguson v. State, 417 So.2d 639 (Fla.1982); Songer v. State, Booker v. State, 397 So.2d 910 (Fla.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 957, 102 S.Ct. 493, 70 L.Ed.2d 261 (1981); Antone v. State; Foster v. State; Martin v. State, 377 So.2d 706 (Fla.1979); Cooper v. State, 336 So.2d 1133 (Fla.1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 925, 97 S.Ct. 2200, 53 L.Ed.2d 239 (1977); Alford v. State, 307 So.2d 433 (Fla.1975), cert. denied, 428 U.S. 912, 96 S.Ct. 3227, 49 L.Ed.2d 1221, Alvord v. State; Swan v. State, 322 So.2d 485 (Fla.1975); State v. Dixon. The defendant has failed to establish or demonstrate that this Court's position on the death penalty statutes should be disturbed.

Accordingly, we hold that the trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion to declare sections 775.082(1), 9...