Chaison v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida

Chaison v. State

608 So. 2d 560, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 11752, 1992 WL 341996

CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida

DecidedNovember 18, 1992

DocketNo. 91-01418

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 608 So. 2d 560 (Chaison 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

Chaison v. State, 608 So. 2d 560, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 11752, 1992 WL 341996 (Fla. Ct. App. 1992).

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Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This cause is before us on appeal from judgments and sentences. Appellant raises five issues, but we need only discuss his contention that his habitual violent felony offender sentences are illegal. This court has previously held that chapter 89-280, Laws of Florida, which amended inter alia section 775.084(l)(b), Florida Statutes, the habitual violent felony offender provision under which appellant was sentenced, violates the single-subject rule of the Florida Constitution.¹ Johnson v. State, 589 So.2d 1370, 1371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). Appellant’s failure to raise this issue in the trial court does not prevent him from raising the issue here. Claybourne v. State, 600 So.2d 516, 517 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).

Appellant committed the offenses for which he was sentenced between the October 1, 1989 effective date of the 1989 amendments, and May 2, 1991, the date the amendments were reenacted as part of the Florida Statutes. Our review of the record indicates that appellant did not qualify for habitual violent felony offender sentencing under the 1988 version of the habitual violent felony offender statute. We must therefore reverse. As in Johnson and Clayboume, however, we certify the following question to the Supreme Court as one of great public importance:

WHETHER THE CHAPTER 89-280 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 775.084, FLORIDA STATUTES, WERE UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRIOR TO THEIR REENACTMENT OF THE FLORIDA STATUTES, BECAUSE IN VIOLATION OF THE SINGLE-SUBJECT RULE OF THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION.

BOOTH, SHIVERS and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.

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PER CURIAM.

This cause is before us on appeal from judgments and sentences. Appellant raises five issues, but we need only discuss his contention that his habitual violent felony offender sentences are illegal. This court has previously held that chapter 89-280, Laws of Florida, which amended inter alia section 775.084(l)(b), Florida Statutes, the habitual violent felony offender provision under which appellant was sentenced, violates the single-subject rule of the Florida Constitution.¹ Johnson v. State, 589 So.2d 1370, 1371 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991). Appellant’s failure to raise this issue in the trial court does not prevent him from raising the issue here. Claybourne v. State, 600 So.2d 516, 517 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).

Appellant committed the offenses for which he was sentenced between the October 1, 1989 effective date of the 1989 amendments, and May 2, 1991, the date the amendments were reenacted as part of the Florida Statutes. Our review of the record indicates that appellant did not qualify for habitual violent felony offender sentencing under the 1988 version of the habitual violent felony offender statute. We must therefore reverse. As in Johnson and Clayboume, however, we certify the following question to the Supreme Court as one of great public importance:

WHETHER THE CHAPTER 89-280 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 775.084, FLORIDA STATUTES, WERE UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRIOR TO THEIR REENACTMENT OF THE FLORIDA STATUTES, BECAUSE IN VIOLATION OF THE SINGLE-SUBJECT RULE OF THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION.

BOOTH, SHIVERS and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.

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608 So. 2d 560, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 11752, 1992 WL 341996, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chaison-v-state-fladistctapp-1992.

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