James Louis Padgett v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: April 23, 2025
• Docket: 3D2025-0349
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed April 23, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D25-0349 Lower Tribunal No. F87-21570 ________________

James Louis Padgett, Appellant,

vs.

State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Richard Hersch, Judge.

James Louis Padgett, in proper person.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and Camilo Montoya, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before EMAS, LOBREE and GOODEN, JJ.

PER CURIAM. A life sentence is not impermissible “indefinite imprisonment” under the

Florida Constitution. Art. I, § 17, Fla. Const. See also Ratliff v. State, 914

So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 2005) (‘[A]ny sentence, even one of a short duration,

can potentially exceed a defendant’s life span. The fact that the judicial

system has no way of knowing how long the defendant will live and therefore

cannot know how long the defendant will be incarcerated does not render a

life sentence unconstitutionally indefinite. It is abundantly clear that the

Legislature, by prescribing a sentence of life imprisonment, intends that the

defendant remain in prison for the rest of his life. The term ‘life’ is sufficiently

definite so that it can be understood and applied.”) (internal citations

omitted); Alvarez v. State, 358 So. 2d 10, 12 (Fla. 1978) (“We reject the

notion that an individual’s life expectancy should be used, or was intended

by the Legislature to be used, to mark the longest term which a particular

defendant should serve. Any sentence, no matter how short, may eventually

extend beyond the life of a prisoner.”); Johnson v. Crosby, 897 So. 2d 546,

547 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005); Lopez v. State, 895 So. 2d 1282, 1282 (Fla. 3d DCA

2005); Enriquez v. State, 885 So. 2d 892, 892 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004).

Affirmed.