Grumet v. State

771 So. 2d 39, 2000 WL 1396216
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedSeptember 27, 2000
Docket4D99-4399
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 771 So. 2d 39 (Grumet 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
Grumet v. State, 771 So. 2d 39, 2000 WL 1396216 (Fla. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

771 So.2d 39 (2000)

Jason GRUMET, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 4D99-4399.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

September 27, 2000.

*40 Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Sophia Letts, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kristine Keaton, Assistant Attorney General, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee.

DELL, J.

Jason Grumet appeals the revocation of his probation for failing to register with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DMV) within forty-eight hours of changing his address, pursuant to section 943.0435(4), Florida Statutes (1999). We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

On February 8, 1999, appellant pled no contest to two counts of sexual battery with great force not used, contrary to section 794.011(5), Florida Statutes (1995), and was sentenced to ten years sexual offender probation. That same day, appellant signed a sex offender registration form, which stated in part:

The sexual offender is required to report in person to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for purposes of updating this registration within 48 hours of any and each change of residence, and whenever his/her driver's license or identification card is subject to renewal.
Failing to register is a felony of the third degree as specified in 943.0435(10)[[1]] and 944.607(10).

On September 23, 1999, the state filed a violation of sex offender probation affidavit. It alleged that appellant violated condition K-4 which states that a defendant "shall not ... violate any law of any city, county, state or the United States." Although appellant had been living in Coral Springs for more than a month, the affidavit alleged that a search of appellant's residence on September 22, 1999, revealed that his driver's license listed a Boca Raton address. According to the affidavit, appellant violated the registration requirements of section 943.0435, Florida Statutes (1999), by failing to notify the DMV of the change in his permanent or temporary residence within forty-eight hours of his move.

At appellant's revocation hearing, appellant's probation officer testified that he told appellant when he moved from Boca Raton to Pompano Beach and from Pompano Beach to his current address in Coral Springs that he had to register as a sex offender with the DMV within forty-eight hours. Appellant testified that he moved from Boca Raton to his brother's residence in Pompano Beach for about three days at the end of July, 1999, but was asked to leave when his brother was informed that his neighbors would be told of appellant's sexual offender status. Appellant then moved to Coral Springs on or about August 2, 1999.

The evidence further showed that on the date of the revocation hearing, November 3, 1999, appellant had not registered his Coral Springs address with the DMV. Appellant testified that he registered as a *41 sexual offender with the sheriffs department and told his probation officer of his move to Coral Springs, but he did not register with the DMV because he "forgot all about it." Appellant's probation officer testified that appellant was not required to register as a sexual offender with the sheriff's department.

At the conclusion of the revocation hearing, the trial court stated:

Well, forgetting does not make it willful. [Appellant] knew he had to do it, he didn't do it. It's a substantial violation. One of the parts of the sexual offender statute is that he must register, and therefore we must find him guilty of violating condition K-4, failing to register as per Florida law. The testimony is uncontradicted in that regard and we're going to find [appellant] guilty.

The trial court then revoked appellant's probation and sentenced him to 144 months in prison.

Thereafter, appellant filed a motion for rehearing. Appellant alleged that the trial court found that he had violated the terms of his probation by not registering his change of address, pursuant to section 775.21, Florida Statutes. He argued that he did not have to comply with the registration requirements of section 943.0435, Florida Statutes, because the trial court did not verbally declare appellant to be a "sexual predator" pursuant to section 775.21, Florida Statutes. He further argued that his alleged violation did not support the revocation of his probation because it was not a willful, but a technical violation.

The trial court denied appellant's motion for rehearing. It concluded that appellant was not subject to the registration requirements contained in section 775.21, Florida Statutes. However, the trial court concluded that because appellant met the definition of a "sexual offender" in sections 943.0435(1)(a)1(b), Florida Statutes, he was bound by the registration requirement in 943.0435(4), Florida Statutes. The trial court further concluded:

[Appellant] [ ] signed a sexual offender registration form on February 8, 1999, agreeing to notify the Department of any change in his residence, see attached Exhibit D. Therefore, [appellant] was aware of the reporting requirements that he ultimately violated. Consequently, [appellant's] claim that his violation was not willful is without merit.

Appellant raises three issues on appeal.[2] Appellant contends that the DMV registration requirement was a special condition of his probation and because the trial court failed to orally announce it at sentencing, it must be stricken from his probation. Next, appellant contends that the trial court erred in revoking his probation for violating section 943.0435, Florida Statutes, because the statute does not apply to him. Lastly, appellant contends that his violation was a technical non-willful violation that did not support the revocation of his probation.

First, we disagree with appellant's argument that the trial court erred when it failed to orally announce the DMV registration requirement at appellant's sentencing. This condition is required by statute and therefore appellant is charged with constructive notice of its application. See Vasquez v. State, 663 So.2d 1343, 1347 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)("[W]e continue to adhere to the general principle that all conditions of probation must be orally pronounced at the time of sentencing unless the conditions are statutorily-authorized pursuant to section 948.03 or otherwise based on a Florida statute which will provide the defendant with constructive notice.")(emphasis added); see also Leroux v. *42 State, 665 So.2d 1115, 1116 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).

Next, appellant argues that because he was not released on or after October 1, 1997, from his probation,[3] pursuant to section 943.0435(1)(a)2, Florida Statutes, he does not have to register with the DMV, as required under section 943.0435(4), Florida Statutes. Section 943.0435, Florida Statutes, must be read in conjunction with Section 944.607, Florida Statutes, which states in part:

(1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) "Sexual offender" means a person who is in the custody or control of, or under the supervision of, the department or is in the custody of a private correctional facility on or after October 1, 1997, as a result of a conviction for committing, or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit, any of the criminal offenses proscribed in the following statutes in this state or similar offenses in another jurisdiction: ...

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771 So. 2d 39, 2000 WL 1396216, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grumet-v-state-fladistctapp-2000.