Berry v. State

636 So. 2d 555, 1994 WL 169542
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided May 6, 1994·No. 92-02701·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

636 So.2d 555 (1994)

Fletcher BERRY, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 92-02701.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.

May 6, 1994.

James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Megan Olson, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Katherine V. Blanco, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.

LAZZARA, Judge.

This is an appeal by Anders[1] brief of Fletcher Berry's conviction and sentence for possession of cocaine. We affirm in part, reverse in part, remand for resentencing, and certify a question of great public importance.

Even though Berry was seventeen years of age at the time he committed this offense, the state elected to charge him as an adult by direct information. See § 39.047(4)(e)5, Fla. Stat. (1991). After his motion to suppress evidence was denied, Berry entered an open plea of nolo contendere, specifically reserving his right to appeal.

Prior to his plea, Berry executed a written waiver of his rights under section 39.059(7), Florida Statutes (1991). The form tracked the basic requirements of the statute and recited as follows:

I HEREBY STATE UNDER OATH that I have been advised by my attorney and the Court that as a Defendant who was a juvenile at the time of the offense(s) charged in this cause I have the following rights pursuant to Florida Statute 39.059:
1. To have the Court order and consider a Predisposition Report and a Presentence Investigation prior to the imposition of sentence.
*556 2. To have the opportunity to present to the Court prior to sentencing reasons why I should be treated as a juvenile rather than as an adult for sentencing purposes.
3. To have the Court determine prior to the imposition of sentence whether I am suitable for juvenile sanctions rather than adult sanctions.
Knowing these rights I hereby state under oath that I freely, voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently waive my right to be treated as a juvenile for sentencing purposes and elect to be treated by the Court as an adult at time of sentencing.

During the plea colloquy, the trial court did not advise Berry of his rights under the statute or of the consequences of a waiver of those rights. Nor did it question him about the significance of the waiver form, although his trial counsel represented that Berry had previously signed it in her presence and that of a guardian.

After accepting Berry's plea, the trial court sentenced him as an adult within the permitted range of the sentencing guidelines. Relying on the written waiver, the trial court did not follow the mandates of the statute. Specifically, it did not order and consider a predisposition report. § 39.059(7)(a). It did not conduct a hearing on the suitability or nonsuitability of imposing adult sanctions based on the relevant statutory criteria. § 39.059(70(b) and (c). And, it did not enter a written order delineating why adult sanctions, as opposed to juvenile sanctions, were appropriate. § 39.059(7)(d).

Berry was ordered to serve two years of community control followed by three years of probation.[2] As a special condition of community control, the trial court specified his residency at the county jail for a period of 364 days followed by a like number of days in the probation and restitution center.

Berry's appellate counsel identified only two possible issues for reversal: whether the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress and whether the trial court's sentence was within the sentencing guidelines. The state agreed in its brief that neither issue warranted reversal.

In accordance with our obligation under State v. Causey, 503 So.2d 321, 322 (Fla. 1987), we "examine[d] the record to the extent necessary to discover any errors apparent on the face of the record." Based on this review, we directed counsel to submit supplemental briefs directed to the issues of whether the trial court satisfied the requirements of section 39.059(7) in sentencing Berry as an adult and whether the trial court's sentencing structure of consecutive specified residencies in the county jail and restitution center violated section 948.03(5), Florida Statutes (1991).

We conclude from our review of the briefs and the record that the trial court was correct in denying the motion to suppress but erred in the procedure it used in sentencing Berry as an adult and also in imposing consecutive specified residencies as special conditions of community control. We therefore reverse Berry's sentence and remand for resentencing.[3] We discuss these issues in inverse order.

We have held that under section 948.03(5) "[b]oth the county jail and probation and restitution centers are included in the definition of incarceration." Solis v. State, 622 So.2d 584, 584-585 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). Since incarceration under this statute cannot exceed 364 days, the trial court's sentence of an additional 364 days in the restitution center was illegal. Based on the date of Berry's sentencing, he obviously has served his specified residency in the county jail. Accordingly, if Berry is still confined in the restitution *557 center, we direct that he be released immediately. Solis.

In State v. Rhoden, 448 So.2d 1013 (Fla. 1984), the supreme court construed the provisions of section 39.111(6), Florida Statutes (1981), the predecessor to section 39.059(7).[4] It determined that under the statutory scheme of juvenile justice, the legislature "grant[ed] to juveniles the right to be treated differently from adults." 448 So.2d at 1016 (emphasis in original). The court held that to protect this right, the legislature "emphatically mandated" that trial courts were required to evaluate the specific statutory criteria relating to suitability for adult sanctions and to enter written orders detailing the reasons for sentencing a juvenile as an adult. It ruled that a failure to follow this procedure required a remand for resentencing. 448 So.2d at 1016-1017. The court then concluded by stating that "[t]rial judges cannot avoid [the statutory] mandate absent an intelligent and knowing waiver of that right by a juvenile." 448 So.2d at 1017 (emphasis added). It noted the absence in the record of such a waiver by Rhoden.

The supreme court revisited section 39.111 in Sirmons v. State, 620 So.2d 1249 (Fla. 1993). It reaffirmed the principles of Rhoden and specifically held "that absent an intelligent and knowing waiver that is manifest on the record, a juvenile entering a negotiated plea agreement does not waive any rights under section 39.111." 620 So.2d at 1250 (emphasis added).[5] Although it noted one of the rights under the statute "is to have the court determine the suitability of imposing adult sanctions by considering the criteria listed in" the statute, the court also explained that "[t]his does not preclude a juvenile from negotiating a plea waiving that right" under certain circumstances. 620 So.2d at 1252. It then directed trial courts, before accepting a plea agreement from a juvenile, to insure that the juvenile is fully informed of the rights provided in the statute and that the juvenile "voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waives those rights." 620 So.2d at 1252 (emphasis added).

We conclude that Berry did not make an intelligent and knowing waiver of his rights under section 39.059(7). Even though the record contains a written waiver of rights form,

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