State v. Hatten

Decision Date10 May 1990
Docket NumberNo. 74169,74169
Citation560 So.2d 1172
Parties15 Fla. L. Weekly S301 STATE of Florida, Petitioner, v. Jimmie Duran HATTEN, Respondent.
CourtFlorida Supreme Court

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Brenda S. Taylor, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for petitioner.

James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Deborah K. Brueckheimer, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for respondent.

BARKETT, Justice.

We have for review Hatten v. State, 542 So.2d 1061 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989), due to asserted conflict with Smith v. State, 430 So.2d 448 (Fla.1983). We grant review pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(3) of the Florida Constitution, and approve the decision of the district court for the reasons stated in State v. Burton, 555 So.2d 1210 (Fla.1989).

It is so ordered.

OVERTON, McDONALD, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur.

SHAW, J., dissents with an opinion, in which EHRLICH, C.J., concurs.

SHAW, Justice, dissenting.

In State v. Smith, 547 So.2d 613 (Fla.1989), we indicated that for crimes committed before July 1, 1988, the rule of lenity articulated in Carawan v. State, 515 So.2d 161 (Fla.1987), was applicable and prohibited the state from imposing multiple punishments for sale of drugs and possession with intent to sell the same drugs. In State v. Burton, 555 So.2d 1210 (Fla.1989), we relied on Smith and held that convictions for both delivery and possession of the same drugs fail under Carawan. In the instant opinion, we rely on Burton and affirm the district court's decision setting aside dual convictions for sale and possession of a single quantity of drugs.

In my opinion, Smith does not provide a basis for these later rulings. Possession of drugs is proscribed by more than one section of the Florida Statutes (1985). Section 893.13(1)(a) describes "possession with intent to sell"; section 893.13(1)(e), on the other hand, defines "simple possession," an entirely different offense and one not dealt with in Smith. The offenses in Smith were sale and possession with intent to sell. Prosecution of these two offenses failed under Carawan because both addressed the same basic evil--the facilitation of the transfer of drugs. See Wheeler v. State, 549 So.2d 687, 692 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (Nimmons, J., concurring). The offenses at issue here are sale and simple possession. Prosecution of these two separate crimes arising from the same act passes muster even under Carawan because they contain different statutory elements and address different evils of legitimate legislative concern--one pertains to the possession of drugs by the individual without any particular intent and the other pertains to the sale or delivery of drugs. See Porterfield v. State, 553 So.2d 186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); cf. Smith v. State, 430 So.2d...

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5 cases
  • St. Clair v. State, 88-00930
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • February 8, 1991
    ...cases. These most recent cases are State v. Parker, 551 So.2d 1209 (Fla.1989), State v. Burton, 555 So.2d 1210 (Fla.1989), State v. Hatten, 560 So.2d 1172 (Fla.1990), and Porterfield v. State, 567 So.2d 429 (Fla.1990). These cases provide at least a strong inference that the analysis of Gor......
  • Arnold v. State, 88-1680
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • May 1, 1991
    ...Cf. State v. Burton, 555 So.2d 1210 (Fla.1989) (cannot have separate convictions for delivery and simple possession); State v. Hatten, 560 So.2d 1172 (Fla.1990) (cannot have separate convictions for sale and simple possession); Dukes v. State, 528 So.2d 531 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988) We therefore r......
  • Johnson v. State, 89-3288
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • January 31, 1991
    ...(Fla. 5th DCA), jurisdiction accepted, 568 So.2d 435 (Fla.1990); Porterfield v. State, 567 So.2d 429, 430 n. 2 (Fla.1990); State v. Hatten, 560 So.2d 1172 (Fla.1990); State v. Burton, 555 So.2d 1210 (Fla.1990); St. Fabre v. State, 548 So.2d 797 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); State v. Smith, 547 So.2d......
  • Porterfield v. State
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • September 20, 1990
    ...SHAW, C.J., dissents with an opinion. SHAW, Chief Justice, dissenting. I dissent for the same reason I did in State v. Hatten, 560 So.2d 1172 (Fla.1990) (Shaw, J., dissenting). FN1 This section amended subsection 775.021(4), Florida 1 Porterfield's criminal charges were based upon criminal ......
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