Ward v. State
| Citation | 558 So.2d 166 |
| Decision Date | 14 March 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-1381,89-1381 |
| Parties | 15 Fla. L. Weekly D709 Lonnie WARD, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Thomas F. Woods of Gatlin, Woods, Carlson and Cowdery, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Richard E. Doran, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Lonnie Ward was charged by information with kidnapping to inflict bodily harm with a firearm and attempted first-degree murder. Ward subsequently entered into a plea agreement with the state wherein, in exchange for his plea of nolo contendere to the first-degree murder charge, the state agreed to nolle prosequi the kidnapping charge and recommend a sentence of 10 years' incarceration with a 3-year minimum mandatory sentence. Ward and the state further agreed to leave probation to the court's discretion. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the court adjudicated Ward guilty of attempted first-degree murder and sentenced him to 10 years' incarceration with a 3-year minimum mandatory sentence, gave him 408 days credit for time served, and placed him on probation for life. The court further imposed $200.00 in court costs, and ordered Ward to pay $20.00 to the Crime Compensation Trust Fund and $5.00 to the Law Enforcement Education Trust Fund. Ward appeals the sentence alleging that the court erred in imposing life probation, and in imposing costs without affording him notice and an opportunity to object. We reverse on both points.
In State v. Holmes, 360 So.2d 380 (Fla.1978), the supreme court held that combined periods of incarceration and probation at the time of the original sentence may not exceed the maximum period of incarceration provided by statute for the offense. 360 So.2d at 383. The maximum period of incarceration provided by statute for the offense in this case was imprisonment for life or imprisonment not exceeding 40 years. § 775.082(3)(a), Florida Statutes (1987). Section 775.082(3)(a) has been interpreted to prohibit a court from sentencing a defendant for a life felony committed after October 1, 1983, to a term of incarceration for a period of years exceeding 40. Spivey v. State, 526 So.2d 762 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). The question raised in this case is whether section 775.082(3)(a) also disallows a sentence where the combined periods of incarceration and probation exceed 40 years. The law is well established that "a penal statute must be strictly construed in favor of those against whom it would operate." State v. Holmes, 360 at 383. Thus, we hold that once the trial judge sentences a defendant under section 775.082(3)(a) to a term of years as opposed to a term of imprisonment for life, the total sentence, including any probationary period, must not exceed 40 years. We reverse the portion of Ward's sentence placing him on probation for life, and remand the case with directions to resentence Ward to a period of...
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Hayes v. State, 91-2067
...to a term of years as opposed to a term of imprisonment for life, the term of years cannot exceed 40. See also, Ward v. State, 558 So.2d 166 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Spivey v. State, 526 So.2d 762 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). As the unarmed kidnapping offense was a first degree felony punishable by impr......
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Pearson v. State, 90-2148
...should be sentenced to a term of years, forty years was the maximum term of years permitted under the statute. See Ward v. State, 558 So.2d 166 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); see also Howe v. State, 596 So.2d 1227 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). Also, the fifteen-year mandatory minimum cannot be imposed because,......
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Dyer v. State, 93-2289
...sentence must fall within the statutory maximum of 40 years. See Wilson v. State, 622 So.2d 529 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Ward v. State, 558 So.2d 166 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). The fact that his sentence was the result of a valid plea agreement does not make the sentence imposed a legal sentence. The ......
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FARRAR v. State of Fla.
...for a sentence of natural life or a term-of-years sentence not to exceed forty years. The State conceded error based on Ward v. State, 558 So.2d 166 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). On resentencing, the trial court accomplished the same sentencing goal by imposing a forty-year prison sentence on the fi......