State v. Knighton
Court | United States State Supreme Court of Florida |
Citation | 235 So.3d 312 |
Docket Number | No. SC16–1426,SC16–1426 |
Parties | STATE of Florida, Petitioner, v. Ronnie J. KNIGHTON, Respondent. |
Decision Date | 01 February 2018 |
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, Celia Terenzio, Bureau Chief, and Jeanine M. Germanowicz, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, Florida, for Petitioner
Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Tatjana Ostapoff, Assistant Public Defender, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, West Palm Beach, Florida, for Respondent
The State of Florida seeks review of the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Knighton v. State, 193 So.3d 115 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016), on the ground that it expressly and directly conflicts with the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal in Harris v. State, 742 So.2d 835 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999), on a question of law. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.
Knighton was charged with one count of lewd or lascivious battery. Knighton, 193 So.3d at 116. The information charged Knighton by specifically alleging penile union or penetration with the child victim's vagina. Id. Id. The trial court denied Knighton's request and the jury ultimately convicted Knighton of lewd or lascivious battery. Id.
The Fourth District reversed, explaining that Knighton was entitled to the unnatural and lascivious instruction because, agreeing with the Fifth District in Funiciello v. State, 179 So.3d 388 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015), "digital penetration and sexual intercourse between an adult perpetrator and a child victim constitute unnatural and lascivious acts in that such conduct is not in accordance with nature or with normal feelings or behavior and are lustful acts performed with sensual intent on the part of the defendant." Knighton, 193 So.3d at 117 (emphasis omitted) (quoting Funiciello, 179 So.3d at 391 ). Because Knighton, an adult, engaged in sexual intercourse with a minor victim, the Fourth District found that he was entitled to the unnatural and lascivious instruction. Id. The State then sought review of the Fourth District's decision in Knighton in this Court, alleging conflict with Harris, 742 So.2d 835.
In Harris, which also involved an adult perpetrator having sexual intercourse with a child victim, the Second District came to the opposite conclusion, holding that a defendant charged with lewd or lascivious battery is not entitled to an instruction on unnatural and lascivious act where penile union with a child victim's vagina is alleged in the information, regardless of the evidence adduced at trial. 742 So.2d at 838. The Second District reasoned that Id.
This review follows.
Because this matter involves a solely legal determination based on undisputed facts, our standard of review is de novo. See Khianthalat v. State, 974 So.2d 359, 360–61 (Fla. 2008) ; Williams v. State, 957 So.2d 595, 598 (Fla. 2007).
At issue in this case is whether Knighton was entitled to an instruction on the permissive lesser included offense of unnatural and lascivious act.
We begin by defining lesser included offenses. Lesser included offenses fall into two categories: necessary and permissive. Necessarily lesser included offenses are those offenses in which the statutory elements of the lesser included offense are always subsumed within those of the charged offense. State v. Paul, 934 So.2d 1167, 1176 (Fla. 2006). A permissive lesser included offense exists when "the two offenses appear to be separate [on the face of the statutes], but the facts alleged in the accusatory pleadings are such that the lesser [included] offense cannot help but be perpetrated once the greater offense has been." State v. Weller, 590 So.2d 923, 925 n.2 (Fla. 1991).
Sanders v. State, 944 So.2d 203, 206 (Fla. 2006) (alterations in original). We have previously explained the circumstances under which a defendant is entitled to an instruction on a permissive lesser included offense:
Upon request, a trial judge must give a jury instruction on a permissive lesser included offense if the following two conditions are met: "(1) the indictment or information must allege all the statutory elements of the permissive lesser included offense; and (2) there must be some evidence adduced at trial establishing all of these elements." We recently reiterated this longstanding rule by stating that "[a]n instruction on a permissive lesser included offense is appropriate only if the allegations of the greater offense contain all the elements of the lesser offense and the evidence at trial would support a verdict on the lesser offense."
Khianthalat, 974 So.2d at 361 (citations omitted) (quoting Jones v. State, 666 So.2d 960, 964 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) ; Williams, 957 So.2d at 599 ).
Knighton was charged with and convicted of lewd or lascivious battery under section 800.04(4), Florida Statutes (2013). The standard jury instruction for lewd or lascivious battery (engaging in sexual activity) reads as follows:
Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 11.10(a). " ‘Union’ means contact." Id. Furthermore, " ‘lewd’ and ‘lascivious' mean the same thing and mean a wicked, lustful, unchaste, licentious, or sensual intent on the part of the person doing an act." Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 11.10.
At trial, Knighton requested that the trial court instruct the jury on the permissive lesser included offense of unnatural and lascivious act under section 800.02, Florida Statutes (2013). The standard jury instruction for unnatural and lascivious act reads as follows:
Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 11.8.
In addressing the question of whether "unnatural" in the unnatural and lascivious act instruction includes penile-vaginal sexual intercourse, we must look to the well-established rules of statutory interpretation.
Quarantello v. Leroy, 977 So.2d 648, 651–52 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) (some citations omitted) (quoting United Sav. Ass'n v. Timbers of Inwood Forest Assocs., 484 U.S. 365, 371, 108 S.Ct. 626, 98 L.Ed.2d 740 (1988) ; Kokoszka v. Belford, 417 U.S. 642, 650, 94 S.Ct. 2431, 41 L.Ed.2d 374 (1974) ; and Heart of Adoptions, Inc. v. J.A., 963 So.2d 189, 198–99 (Fla. 2007) ).
Notably, the term "unnatural" in the unnatural and lascivious act instruction is separately defined from the term "lascivious," which distinguishes unnatural from lascivious. Therefore, the "unnatural" element of section 800.02 is what separates the crime of unnatural and lascivious act from the crime of lewd and lascivious battery under ...
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