Nettles v. State

850 So. 2d 487, 2003 WL 21467521
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 26, 2003
DocketSC02-1523
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 850 So. 2d 487 (Nettles v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nettles v. State, 850 So. 2d 487, 2003 WL 21467521 (Fla. 2003).

Opinion

850 So.2d 487 (2003)

Marvin NETTLES, Petitioner,
v.
STATE of Florida, Respondent.

No. SC02-1523.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 26, 2003.

*488 Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and P. Douglas Brinkmeyer and Archie F. Gardner, Jr., Assistant Public Defenders, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, FL, for Petitioner.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, James W. Rogers, Tallahassee Bureau Chief, Criminal Appeals, and Karen M. Holland, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, for Respondent.

LEWIS, J.

We have for review the decision in Nettles v. State, 819 So.2d 243 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002), which certified conflict with the decisions in State v. Wilson, 793 So.2d 1003 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001), and Irons v. State, 791 So.2d 1221 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. Initially, we note that although the First District has certified the existence of conflict, as more fully developed herein, our analysis leads us to conclude that the conflict is more apparent, as opposed to an actual conflict between the district courts of appeal. In our view, Wilson and Irons addressed the correlation between the Prison Releasee Reoffender Punishment Act (PRRPA)[1] and the sentencing guidelines, see Wilson, 793 So.2d at 1004; Irons, 791 So.2d at 1224, while Nettles addressed the interaction of the PRRPA with the *489 Criminal Punishment Code (CPC),[2] and, therefore, we are presented with an apparent conflict. We acknowledge that this factual scenario is very likely to arise again, and, therefore, we elect to exercise our discretion to resolve this issue now, rather than leave the trial courts with conflicting guidance as to how such offenders should be sentenced.

The issue presented in Nettles is whether it is permissible for a defendant to be sentenced under both the PRRPA and the CPC. This issue arises due to that which is argued to be somewhat conflicting language in provisions of both statutory schemes. In relevant part, the PRRPA provides:

If the state attorney determines that a defendant is a prison releasee reoffender as defined in subparagraph 1., the state attorney may seek to have the court sentence the defendant as a prison releasee reoffender. Upon proof from the state attorney that establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that a defendant is a prison releasee reoffender as defined in this section, such defendant is not eligible for sentencing under the sentencing guidelines and must be sentenced as follows:

....

d. For a felony of the third degree, by a term of imprisonment of 5 years.

§ 775.082(9)(a)3., Fla. Stat. (2000) (emphasis added). The PRRPA further states:

(c) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a court from imposing a greater sentence of incarceration as authorized by law, pursuant to s. 775.084 or any other provision of law.
(d) 1. It is the intent of the Legislature that offenders previously released from prison who meet the criteria in paragraph (a) be punished to the fullest extent of the law and as provided in this subsection....

§ 775.082(9)(c)-(d)1., Fla. Stat. (2000).[3] Further complicating the issue is a provision from the CPC which states, "If the lowest permissible sentence under the code exceeds the statutory maximum sentence as provided in s. 775.082, the sentence required by the code must be imposed." § 921.0024(2), Fla. Stat. (2000).

The First District's decision in Nettles provides the relevant facts:

On July 30, 2001, [Marvin Nettles] entered a plea to two counts of attempted lewd and lascivious conduct, a third-degree felony, in exchange for concurrent PRRPA and CPC sentences of 66.4 months. [Nettles] does not dispute that he qualifies as a prison releasee reoffender. During the plea colloquy, the judge adequately advised [Nettles] that the PRRPA designation would cause him to serve the entire sentence day-for-day. See § 775.082(9)(b), Fla. Stat. (2000). Nevertheless, [Nettles] subsequently filed a Rule 3.800(b)(2) motion to correct sentencing error, alleging that his sentence was illegal pursuant to State v. Wilson, 793 So.2d 1003 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001), and Irons v. State, 791 So.2d 1221 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). The trial court denied the motions:
The Defendant makes one claim of sentencing error. He alleges that the trial court erred in sentencing the Defendant under both the Prison Releasee Reoffender Punishment Act (PRRPA) and the Criminal Punishment Code (CPC) sentencing guidelines. The Defendant cites two very recent decisions from the Second and *490 Fifth District Courts of Appeal in support of his instant motion. This Court finds that the Defendant's argument is without merit.

Nettles, 819 So.2d at 243-44.

Under these facts, where a defendant's minimum CPC sentence is greater than the sentence provided for by the PRRPA, the sections of the PRRPA excerpted above pose an interpretation concern. While section 775.082(9)(c) authorizes a greater sentence under the habitual offender statute, or any other provision of law, section 775.082(9)(a)3. specifically excludes sentencing under the guidelines and mandates a five-year sentence. However, here, if the defendant is sentenced to only five years pursuant to the PRRPA, his sentence would not be to the fullest extent of the law as authorized by the CPC, and intended by the Legislature under section 775.082(9)(d)1. of the PRRPA.[4]

The facts presented in Wilson are very similar to the facts presented in Nettles. In Wilson, the defendant was eligible for sentencing under the PRRPA, but his minimum sentence under the sentencing guidelines at that time was greater than the sentence provided in the PRRPA.[5]See 793 So.2d at 1004. Noting the somewhat conflicting provisions of the PRRPA,[6] the Second District concluded that "the clear and unambiguous meaning of the [PRRPA]" could be ascertained through the language of the PRRPA providing, "such defendant is not eligible for sentencing under the guidelines." Id. at 1005. Following this reasoning, the district court concluded that "a defendant sentenced under section 775.082(8) cannot be sentenced under the sentencing guidelines and must be sentenced according to the provisions of the PRRPA." Id.

The next step in the district court's analysis was to determine whether the provision of the PRRPA authorizing the imposition of a greater sentence under either the habitual offender statute or "any other provision of law" prevailed over the PRRPA's exclusion of a sentence pursuant to the guidelines. See id.[7] The court examined the issue under two principles of statutory construction. First, the court held that a general provision cannot override a specific exclusion. See id. at 1006. Therefore, the general language of "any other provision of law" could not supersede the specific provision excluding sentencing under the guidelines. See id. Second, the court applied the principle of ejusdem generis, which provides that "where an enumeration of specific things is followed by *491 some more general word, the general word will usually be construed to refer to things of the same kind or species as those specifically enumerated." Id. (quoting Green v. State, 604 So.2d 471, 472 (Fla.1992) ).

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Bluebook (online)
850 So. 2d 487, 2003 WL 21467521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nettles-v-state-fla-2003.