Scott v. State, 90-00359
| Decision Date | 01 February 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-00359,90-00359 |
| Parties | 16 Fla. L. Weekly 356 Thomas M. SCOTT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Megan Olson, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Elaine L. Thompson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.
The defendant appeals numerous sentences, all of which were based on a single scoresheet prepared on January 9, 1990. We reverse some of these sentences, as specified below, because the trial court applied a multiplier to the factor on the guidelines scoresheet regarding "legal status at time of offense." Our decision in this case conflicts with several decisions from other districts that have permitted the trial court to multiply the points awarded for legal status by all offenses sentenced under the scoresheet. See Flowers v. State, 567 So.2d 1055 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); Walker v. State, 546 So.2d 764 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989); Carter v. State, 571 So.2d 520 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990). Our decision, however, follows this court's recent holding in Lewis v. State, 574 So.2d 245 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). The present case is an extreme example of the results obtained from the use of a legal status multiplier.
While on probation for forgery, grand theft and uttering a forged instrument, the defendant committed numerous robberies, as well as several other felonies, and four misdemeanors. Some of these offenses occurred on September 13, 1988, and the remainder of the offenses occurred on June 12 or June 13, 1989. The state filed seven separate informations charging Mr. Scott with these additional offenses, and also initiated a violation of probation proceeding. The defendant pleaded nolo contendere to these charges on January 9, 1990.
At the sentencing hearing, the parties agreed that the defendant should be sentenced for all of the offenses under a category 3 scoresheet for robbery. They disagreed on the method to calculate points for legal status at the time of the offense. The defendant maintained that legal status should receive a single entry of 17 points. Based on the calculations before the trial court, this would have resulted in a total score of 348 points, a recommended range of 17-22 years' imprisonment, and a permitted range of 12-27 years' imprisonment. The state argued that the legal status points should be multiplied for each offense sentenced under the scoresheet, and calculated 428 points for legal status. 1 This resulted in a total score of 759 points, a recommended range of life imprisonment and a permitted range of 27 years' to life imprisonment.
In the absence of conflicting precedent, the trial court correctly followed the Fifth District's decision in Walker. After the trial court ruled that it would use the scoresheet prepared by the state, the defendant acquiesced to a negotiated plea agreement under which he received sentences totalling 60 years' imprisonment and reserved the right to bring this appeal.
Because this issue is pending before the supreme court on a certified question in Flowers, and because Judge Threadgill has recently written a thorough analysis of this issue for this court in Lewis, we will not present an extensive explanation of our reasoning. We note, however, several reasons which have persuaded this court to adopt a position in conflict with that in Walker. First, we are influenced by Judge Cowart's dissent in Flowers. Second, unlike the other four factors on the scoresheet (i.e., primary offenses,...
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...567 So.2d at 1055. We likewise agree with the rationale set forth in the recent decisions of the second district in Scott v. State, 574 So.2d 247 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991), and Lewis v. State, 574 So.2d 245 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). Accordingly, we hold it was error to multiply the indicated points for ......
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