Manigault v. State

534 So. 2d 856, 1988 WL 128258
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedDecember 5, 1988
Docket88-640
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 534 So. 2d 856 (Manigault 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
Manigault v. State, 534 So. 2d 856, 1988 WL 128258 (Fla. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

534 So.2d 856 (1988)

Lucy MANIGAULT, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 88-640.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

December 5, 1988.

Jefferson W. Morrow, of David, Morrow & Fernande, Jacksonville, for appellant.

*857 Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Richard E. Doran, Bureau Chief, Dept. of Legal Affairs, for appellee.

WENTWORTH, Judge.

Appellant seeks review of orders by which her probation was revoked and a sentence imposed for obtaining property in return for a worthless check. We find that the evidence established appellant's violation of her probation, and we conclude that the court was not required to postpone sentencing. We therefore affirm the orders appealed.

After being placed on probation for a worthless check offense appellant was arrested for a subsequent armed robbery. An affidavit was filed alleging that appellant had violated her probation by her participation in the armed robbery. A hearing was held and a robbery detective with the sheriff's office testified that appellant was arrested for the armed robbery pursuant to an arrest warrant. Indicating that he prepared the application for the warrant, the officer stated that the robbery victim had made a police report describing the offense and identifying appellant, who was known to the victim. Appellant did not cross-examine the officer and neither denied her involvement in the offense nor presented any other evidence in this regard.

The court found that appellant's participation in the armed robbery constituted a violation of her probation. Appellant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to establish this offense. Probation may not be revoked merely because a probationer has been arrested for another offense, nor may revocation be based solely upon hearsay. See Purvis v. State, 397 So.2d 746 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). However, the evidence in the present case is not limited merely to the fact of appellant's arrest. Rather, the testimony detailed the circumstances of appellant's involvement in the armed robbery. And while the evidence was largely hearsay, appellant did not dispute this occurrence through cross-examination, direct evidence, or otherwise.[1] Furthermore, appellant was arrested pursuant to a warrant which was presumably based upon probable cause. The evidence presented in this case was sufficient to permit a finding that appellant violated the terms of her probation by committing an armed robbery.

After the court indicated that it would revoke appellant's probation, counsel for appellant requested that sentencing be postponed. Counsel expressed a desire to further investigate appellant's background and possibly procure witnesses. The court declined to delay sentencing, but allowed appellant the opportunity to present any matter which she wished to offer in mitigation. Appellant made statements in her own behalf, but did not present any other witnesses.

Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.720(b) directs the court to entertain a party's "submissions and evidence" at sentencing. The court adhered to this directive in the present case by affording appellant the opportunity to present matters in mitigation. The decision as to whether sentencing should be further delayed is a matter within the court's discretion. See Miller v. State, 435 So.2d 258 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). Appellant has not shown an abuse of discretion, and the court was entitled to impose sentence without further delay.

The orders appealed are affirmed.

ERVIN, J., concurs.

ZEHMER, J., dissents w/written opinion.

ZEHMER, Judge (dissenting).

Lucy Manigault raises two points on this appeal from orders revoking her probation *858 and sentencing her to incarceration for 24 months. First, she contends that it was error to revoke her probation based solely upon hearsay testimony of her participation in a robbery. Second, she argues that the court erred in denying her counsel's request for a delayed sentencing hearing. Since I conclude that the trial court erred in both respects, I must respectfully dissent.

Lucy Manigault was placed on probation after pleading guilty to a charge of obtaining property with a worthless check. The matter now before us was initiated by an affidavit of violation of probation alleging that: (1) Manigault had violated condition 1 of her probation in that she was consistently late in submitting the required reports for the months of August, September, October, and November of 1987; (2) she violated condition 5 of her probation requiring her to remain at liberty without violating any law in that she had been arrested and charged with one count of armed robbery; (3) she violated special condition 9 of her probation in that she had failed to make the required payments on the restitution ordered; (4) she had violated special condition 10 of her probation in that she had violated instructions of her probation officer to make payments of $25 per month toward this obligation; and (5) she violated special condition 11 of her probation, which required payment of restitution and the court costs "at a minimum rate of $110 per month." The affidavit, signed by David Delifus, Manigault's probation officer, was not made upon personal knowledge as to all of the allegations of fact.

At the probation revocation hearing, David Delifus testified for the state that Manigault was late in submitting four written monthly reports for August, September, October, and November of 1987, and that she had failed to pay more than $50 toward the court-ordered restitution and court costs. He also said that recently she had been arrested. In response to the prosecutor's question regarding her ability to pay, he replied that "she did encounter some problems with employment and the fact that she did have four minor children at home, she managed to sporadically maintain employment driving a school bus." (Tr. 6-7.) Cross-examination of this officer revealed that he could not remember the details of the charges without his field book, which was apparently not available to him at the time, and that most of the information of which he had knowledge came from that book and other reports.

The state next called Ross T. Weeks, a robbery detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Mr. Weeks testified that he arrested Manigault pursuant to an arrest warrant on a charge of robbery. He obtained the warrant based upon a police report made by the victims. That report was not filed with him personally. Despite appellant's hearsay objections, the police officer was permitted to describe in detail the contents of that report, and the written report was not marked and received in evidence. The state rested on this showing.

Lucy Manigault was called by her counsel to testify, but before the court permitted her to answer any questions, he made the following inquiry and statement:

THE COURT: Ms. Manigault, before Mr. Morrow asks you any questions, I want to inform you on the record, I don't know if he already told you this, but you do have a right to remain silent. You do not have to testify unless you wish to. If you choose not to testify, that will not be used against you in any way. Do you understand?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: If you decide to stop answering questions at any time, you may do that.
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.

(Tr. 15).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
534 So. 2d 856, 1988 WL 128258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manigault-v-state-fladistctapp-1988.