Gordon v. State

139 So. 3d 958, 2014 WL 2722762, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 8689
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided June 6, 2014·No. No. 2D12-7·Published·Cited by 13 cases

Opinion

CRENSHAW, Judge.

Celese Gordon was charged with trafficking in oxycodone, 28 grams to 30 kilograms — by possession — and conspiracy to traffic in oxycodone for the same amount, pursuant to section 893.135(1)(c)(1)(c) and 893.135(5), Florida Statutes (2011). Gordon was found guilty of trafficking 14 grams to 28 grams of oxycodone, a lesser-included offense, and guilty as charged on the conspiracy count. She was sentenced to thirty years’ prison on each count to run concurrently with a mandatory term of fifteen years on the trafficking charge and [960] a mandatory twenty-five years on the conspiracy charge. She was also fined $100,000 plus costs on the trafficking charge and $500,000 plus costs on the conspiracy charge. We affirm the judgment and sentence and write only to explain why the fines are constitutional.

I. PRESERVATION

Gordon did not preserve any error as to the fines either by objecting at sentencing or by motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 8.800(b). See Fla. R. App. P. 9.140(e). In most circumstances, this would bar any review of a sentencing error in this court. See Jackson v. State, 983 So.2d 562, 569 (Fla.2008) (“ ‘[F]or defendants whose initial briefs were filed after the effective date of rule 3.800(b)(2), the failure to preserve a fundamental sentencing error by motion under rule 3.800(b) or by objection during the sentencing hearing forecloses them from raising the error on direct appeal.’ ” (quoting Brannon v. State, 850 So.2d 452, 456 (Fla.2003))). “In other words, for sentencing errors, to raise even fundamental error on appeal, defendants must first file a motion under rule 3.800(b).” Id. However, there is an exception to that rule “applying only to a facial challenge to the constitutionality of a sentencing statute that, at the time the first appellate brief is filed in the case, has not been declared unconstitutional in any appellate decision binding on the trial court.” Brannon, 850 So.2d at 458 (discussing and limiting Harvey v. State, 848 So.2d 1060 (Fla.2003)). This case falls into that narrow exception because it facially challenges as unconstitutional a sentencing statute, and no appellate court has already addressed the issue. Thus, the issue is reviewable.

II. CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE

There is a dearth of caselaw discussing the provisions of the United States and Florida constitutions’ bars to excessive fines. United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321, 327, 118 S.Ct. 2028, 141 L.Ed.2d 314 (1998) (“This Court has had little occasion to interpret, and has never actually applied, the Excessive Fines Clause [U.S. Const. Amend. VIII].”); see art. I, § 17, Fla. Const. We must determine whether the fine is “ ‘grossly disproportional to the gravity of the defendant’s offense.’ ” United States v. Levesque, 546 F.3d 78, 83 (1st Cir.2008) (quoting Bajakajian, 524 U.S. at 337, 118 S.Ct. 2028). We conclude it is not.

There are three factors we consider to determine whether a fine is “grossly disproportional to the gravity of the defendant’s offense.” Id. “To determine whether a [fine] is grossly disproportional, a court should consider: ‘(1) whether the defendant falls into the class of persons at whom the criminal statute was principally directed; (2) other penalties authorized by the legislature ...; and (3) the harm caused by the defendant.’ ” Id. (quoting United States v. Heldeman, 402 F.3d 220, 223 (1st Cir.2005)).

A. The Class of Persons at Whom the Statute is Directed

The history of the statute Gordon violated provides insight into this first inquiry. Section 893.135, which Gordon was charged with violating, was first enacted in 1979. See Ch. 79-1, § 1, at 9, Laws of Fla. Then it did not look exactly as it does now, with one notable exception. The $100,000 and $500,000 fines were part of the trafficking statute even then. Id. (creating section 893.135(1)(c)(2)-(3)). At that time, the greatest trafficking felony was for amounts 28 grams or more. In 1990, the legislature amended the section to add a cap of 30 kilograms to the then-current offense, and added the life felony of trafficking for amounts 30 kilograms or great[961] er. Ch. 90-112, § 1, at 355, Laws of Fla.1 Finally, we note that oxycodone itself was not part of the statute but instead was added to the trafficking statute in 1995. See Ch. 95-415, § 5, at 3417, Laws of Fla.; State v. Hayes, 720 So.2d 1095, 1096 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998), quashed 750 So.2d 1 (Fla.1999), superseded by statute Ch. 02-212, § 3, at 1499, Laws of Fla. (codifying § 893.135(7)).

Set in its historical context, it is clearer that Gordon is within the “class of persons at whom the criminal statute was principally directed” regarding both fines. See Levesque, 546 F.3d at 83. “[judgments about the appropriate punishment for an offense belong in the first instance to the legislature.” Bajakajian, 524 U.S. at 336, 118 S.Ct. 2028 (citing Salem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 290, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983))); State v. Adkins, 96 So.3d 412, 416-17 (Fla.2012) (“In considering a challenge to the constitutionality of a statute, [the courts are] ‘obligated to accord legislative acts a presumption of constitutionality and to construe challenged legislation to effect a constitutional outcome wherever possible.’ ” (quoting Fla. Dep’t of Revenue v. City of Gainesville, 918 So.2d 250, 256 (Fla.2005))). While the original meaning of this provision appears to be directed at penalizing drug kingpins and those involved in cartels it is also clear that the legislature saw the offense Gordon committed, that of being a middleman, as a significant crime. Thus, it follows that the legislature would assign a significant fiscal penalty to the crime in order to further disincentivize it. And Gordon’s conduct falls into what was the maximum offense at the time of its creation.

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Gordon v. State, 139 So. 3d 958, 2014 WL 2722762, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 8689 (Fla. Ct. App. 2014).

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