Behl v. State

898 So. 2d 217, 2005 WL 596984
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 16, 2005
Docket2D03-184
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 898 So. 2d 217 (Behl v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Behl v. State, 898 So. 2d 217, 2005 WL 596984 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

898 So.2d 217 (2005)

Edward A. BEHL, Appellant/Cross-Appellee,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee/Cross-Appellant.

No. 2D03-184.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

March 16, 2005.

*218 James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Allyn M. Giambalvo, Assistant *219 Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Cerese Crawford Taylor, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant.

CANADY, Judge.

Edward A. Behl appeals the judgments and sentences imposed on him for one count of the capital felony of sexual battery on a child under the age of twelve years[1] (count I) and two counts of the first-degree felony of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority[2] (counts II and III), as well as his designation as a sexual predator.[3] The State cross-appeals the trial court's order suppressing certain evidence.

We conclude that the arguments raised by Behl with respect to his convictions and his designation as a sexual predator are without merit. We therefore affirm those convictions and the sexual predator designation without further comment. In view of our affirmance of Behl's convictions, we need not address the State's cross-appeal.

Behl challenges the assessment of victim injury points for sex penetration on the sentencing guidelines scoresheet, which was used in sentencing for counts II and III. Behl, whose sentences were imposed under the sentencing guidelines[4] in place before the Criminal Punishment Code became effective, contends that the trial court's assessment of victim injury points violated the principles of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), with respect to the Sixth Amendment's requirements for jury findings of facts upon which a sentence is based. We conclude that the trial court erred in scoring sex penetration points for one of the offenses of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority. We therefore reverse Behl's sentences for counts II and III and remand for resentencing utilizing a corrected scoresheet. We affirm Behl's life sentence for count I, which was not affected by the guidelines scoresheet.

I. Background

The felony information against Behl alleged with respect to one of the counts of sexual battery on a person in familial or custodial authority (count II) that Behl committed the offense "by placing the mouth of [Behl] into or in union with the vagina of" the child victim. With respect to the other count of that offense (count III), the information alleged that Behl committed the offense "by placing the finger of [Behl] into the vagina of" the child victim. Jury instructions were given which tracked the allegations of the information. That is, the jury was instructed that in order to convict Behl on the respective counts it would have to determine that the evidence supported the facts alleged in the indictment. The jury returned verdicts finding that Behl was "guilty of Sexual Battery by a person in familial or custodial authority, as charged."

Behl was sentenced under the 1995 guidelines. The Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.991(a) sentencing guidelines scoresheet utilized in imposing sentence on Behl for the two offenses of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority contains the following notation in the portion of the scoresheet relating to victim injury: "Sex Penetration 80 x 2 = 160." It is thus apparent that points were separately *220 assessed for sex penetration with respect to both of the offenses of sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority. The scoresheet shows total sentence points of 298. The sentence calculated was for 270 state prison months, with 202.5 minimum prison months and 337.5 maximum prison months. Behl was ultimately sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 337.5 months (28.125 years) for the two offenses.

Behl filed a Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2) motion to correct sentence claiming that it was error for the trial court "to assess points for penetration because this factor was never specifically found by the jury." Behl argued that the trial court's assessment of the points for penetration violated the holding in Apprendi that where the determination of any factor, other than the existence of a prior conviction, causes a sentence to be increased beyond the statutory maximum the existence of that factor must be specifically determined by the jury. He contended that absent points for penetration his maximum recommended guidelines sentence would be 19.7 years. The trial court rejected Behl's claim.

II. Issue on Appeal

Behl argues that the sentences in counts II and III far exceed the applicable maximum sentence under the sentencing guidelines absent points for penetration. He contends that the trial court's determination that penetration occurred violates the Sixth Amendment, based on the principles articulated in Apprendi. The State argues in response that in finding Behl guilty the jury necessarily concluded that penetration occurred. Thus, the State contends, the "sentencing enhancement was based on a factor that was determined by a jury."

III. Analysis

In Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348 the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury — as applied to the states by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment — requires application of this rule: "Other than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt." The court noted "the novelty of a legislative scheme that removes the jury from the determination of a fact that, if found, exposes the criminal defendant to a penalty exceeding the maximum he would receive if punished according to the facts reflected in the jury verdict alone." Id. at 482-83, 120 S.Ct. 2348. The Court specifically ruled unconstitutional New Jersey's hate crime enhancement statute which provided for an increased term of imprisonment for certain offenders based on the trial judge's finding, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the offender committed the offense with a purpose to intimidate because of race, color, gender, handicap, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

The Court applied the principles of Apprendi to the context of capital sentencing proceedings in Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 609, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), holding that the Sixth Amendment does not permit "a sentencing judge, sitting without a jury, to find an aggravating circumstance necessary for imposition of the death penalty." "If a State makes an increase in a defendant's authorized punishment contingent on the finding of a fact, that fact — no matter how the State labels it — must be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. at 602, 122 S.Ct. 2428.

After the trial court in the instant case had rejected Behl's Apprendi claim, the *221 Supreme Court addressed the issue of Apprendi's application to the State of Washington's guidelines sentencing scheme in Blakely v. Washington, ___ U.S. ___, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004). The defendant in Blakely

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Bluebook (online)
898 So. 2d 217, 2005 WL 596984, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/behl-v-state-fladistctapp-2005.