Hallmon v. State

876 So. 2d 662, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 8737, 2004 WL 1392301
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJune 23, 2004
DocketNo. 4D02-2281
StatusPublished

This text of 876 So. 2d 662 (Hallmon 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
Hallmon v. State, 876 So. 2d 662, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 8737, 2004 WL 1392301 (Fla. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

STONE, J.

The sole issue on appeal is whether Hallmon’s sentence of life in prison is a vindictive sentence, where the same judge, pre-trial, offered him a sentence of nine years in prison. We affirm.

In a previous appeal, Hallmon v. State, 805 So.2d 60 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), we affirmed Hallmon’s conviction of robbery with a firearm but remanded for re-sentencing because the state failed to adequately prove that he qualified for a habitual offender sentence. In that appeal, although raised, we declined to address the vindictive sentence issue.

The record reflects that a co-defendant, Danielle Marchione, the assistant manager of a Burger King, allowed Hallmon to enter the store after hours. At the same time, a gunman appeared, who forced Mar-chione, Hallmon, and two other Burger King employees back inside the store, and directed Marchione to empty the safe and the cash register. Hallmon told the victims that he would go for help. Meanwhile, the gunman placed Marchione and the other employees in the freezer.

At Hallmon’s first trial, the only witness was Danielle Marchione. That trial, which was conducted before a different judge, ended in a hung jury in February 1998. Thereafter, the state arrested and charged Victor Small, the gunman in the robbery. Small testified, at Hallmon’s second, trial, that Hallmon planned the robbery, gave him the gun, and rode with him to Burger King from Hallmon’s residence.

The supreme court recently addressed the subject of sentencing following trial court involvement in plea negotiations in Wilson v. State, 845 So.2d 142 (Fla.2003). There, the court reaffirmed that appellate courts should look at the totality of the circumstances when determining whether a defendant’s constitutional right to due process was violated by the imposition of an increased sentence after unsuccessful plea negotiations that include the trial court’s participation. Id. at 156.

In Wilson, the supreme court reaffirmed its previous opinion in State v. Warner, 762 So.2d 507 (Fla.2000), declining to adopt a “rigid” rule in balancing competing issues in order to resolve whether an imposed sentence, where the court was previously actively involved in plea negotiations, is vindictive. 845 So.2d at 150-51.

The Wilson court refined Warner, holding that:

Judicial participation in plea negotiations followed by a harsher sentence is one of the circumstances that, along with other factors, should be considered in determining whether there is a “reasonable likelihood” that the harsher sentence was imposed in retaliation for the [664]*664defendant not pleading guilty and instead exercising his or her right to proceed to trial. See [Alabama v.] Smith, 490 U.S. [794, 109 S.Ct. 2201, 104 L.Ed.2d 865 (1989)]. The other factors that should be considered include but are not limited to: (1) whether the trial judge initiated the plea discussions with the defendant in violation of Warner; (2) whether the trial judge, through his or her comments on the record, appears to have departed from his or her role as an impartial arbiter by either urging the defendant to accept a plea, or by implying or stating that the sentence imposed would hinge on future procedural choices, such as exercising the right to trial; (3) the disparity between the plea offer and the ultimate sentence imposed; and (4) the lack of any facts on the record that explain the reason for the increased sentence other than that the defendant exercised his or her right to a trial or hearing.

Id. at 156 (footnote omitted).

Here, before Hallmon’s second trial commenced, and after the state amended the information to omit the kidnaping charges, the following colloquy occurred:

MR. COHN [DEFENSE COUNSEL]:
... there is a matter I’d like to bring to the Court’s attention.
THE COURT: Yes
MR. COHN: With the Information now being what it is, the guidelines have changed.
THE COURT: They’ve gone down.
MR. COHN: Pretty dramatically down.
THE COURT: What does he score?
MR. COHN: He scores 82.5, 137.5 months.
THE COURT: 82.5,137.5 months.
MR. COHN: And we’ve had numerous discussions with the State. I know the State’s not going to be making any offer within the guidelines.
THE COURT: They want a departure?
MR. COHN: Yeah. Well, actually, they’re trying to habitualize him as a violent offender.
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MR. COHN: And we, on behalf of our client, wanted to find out from the Court if the Court would consider a — And I don’t really know what the Court’s procedure is in terms of getting involved in the negotiation. But if the Court would consider a sentence within those guidelines.
THE COURT: Well, you know, even if the State does seek me to qualify Mr. Hallmon — And I’m going to be honest with you. The case law is real clear. The 775.084 governs habitualization, violent offenders.
[[Image here]]
So, having said that [concerning the violent habitual offender mandatory sentence], you know, I’m always agreeable to a fair and adequate sentence, especially before trial, because I may hear some things in trial that may aggravate me and cause me to depart above the guidelines. And I’ve done it. And you all know I love to write. So I put stuff in writing.
I don’t know enough about Mr. Hall-mon. I just know that this is a first-degree felony punishable by life. So let me tell you what the minimum is.
MR. GARCIA [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Judge, I don’t thing [sic] they’re looking to find him a violent career criminal. I think it’s a habitual violent offender.
MS. JOANNOU [PROSECUTOR]: I believe it’s a habitual violent offender, Judge.
[665]*665MR. GARCIA: And judge, that says the Court may impose an extended sentence.
THE COURT: Habitual violent-
MR. GARCIA: Yes. The Court may impose. The violent career criminal, the Court must impose a minimum mandatory.
THE COURT: Okay. Let’s get it right. And he’s not a recent prison releasee — ■
MR. GARCIA: So, if the Court does find that he qualifies as a habitual violent offender, the Court still can, within its discretion, sentence him within the guidelines and it would not be an illegal sentence.
* * *
THE COURT: All right. In the case of a life felony or a felony of the first degree I can sentence him to life and the offender shall not be eligible for release for 15 years.
So, at the discretion, it’s a 15-year minimum mandatory. I can sentence him to life in prison. So, I mean, the State wants life, I guess, with a minimum mandatory. However, even if he gets a guideline sentence from this Court — And I don’t know all the facts, just what I heard from the motion

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Related

Alabama v. Smith
490 U.S. 794 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Mounds v. State
849 So. 2d 1170 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2003)
State v. Warner
762 So. 2d 507 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2000)
Wilson v. State
845 So. 2d 142 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2003)
Hallmon v. State
805 So. 2d 60 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
876 So. 2d 662, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 8737, 2004 WL 1392301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hallmon-v-state-fladistctapp-2004.