Suggs v. State

72 So. 3d 145, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 16072, 2011 WL 2031302
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 12, 2011
Docket4D08-2913
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 72 So. 3d 145 (Suggs 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
Suggs v. State, 72 So. 3d 145, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 16072, 2011 WL 2031302 (Fla. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

GERBER, J.

A jury convicted the defendant of four counts of “written threat to kill or do bodily injury” for sending two letters, each of which threatened the same two persons. [147]*147The defendant argues that his convictions violate the double jeopardy clause.1 More specifically, he argues that the “allowable unit of prosecution” for the charge should be the number of letters or communications sent, and not the number of people to whom each letter or communication is sent.2 We disagree. We hold that the allowable unit of prosecution is the number of persons to whom each letter or communication is sent, and not the number of letters or communications sent. Therefore, we affirm.

The defendant sent the two letters to Karen Robertson and Hope Suggs. Karen has legal custody of all five of the defendant’s sons. Hope is the defendant’s ex-wife and the mother of four of the defendant’s sons. Hope lives part-time with Karen. Both letters contained statements which could be interpreted as threats to kill or do bodily injury to Karen and Hope.

Based on the letters, the state charged the defendant with violating section 836.10, Florida Statutes (2004), entitled “Written threats to kill or do bodily injury; punishment.” That statute provides, in pertinent part:

If any person writes or composes and also sends or procures the sending of any letter or inscribed communication, so written or composed, whether such letter or communication be signed or anonymous, to any person, containing a threat to kill or to do bodily injury to the person to whom such letter or communication is sent, or a threat to kill or do bodily injury to any member of the family of the person to whom such letter or communication is sent, the person so writing or composing and so sending or procuring the sending of such letter or communication, shall be guilty of a felony of the second degree....

§ 836.10, Fla. Stat. (2004).3 As noted in State v. Wise, 664 So.2d 1028, 1030 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995), “[a] violation of this statute occurs when: (1) a person writes or composes a threat to kill or do bodily injury; (2) the person sends or procures the sending of that communication to another person; and (3) the threat is to the recipient of the communication or a member of his family.” (citation omitted).

Although the defendant sent only two letters, the state charged the defendant’s alleged violation of section 836.10 in four counts: sending the first letter to Karen; sending the first letter to Hope; sending the second letter to Karen; and sending the second letter to Hope.

The jury found the defendant guilty of all four counts. This appeal followed, raising the double jeopardy argu[148]*148ment for the first time. We have jurisdiction to consider the argument. See Lotos v. State, 39 So.3d 511, 513 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (“A double jeopardy violation ‘is a fundamental error which can be raised for the first time on appeal.’ ”) (citation omitted). Our review is de novo. See id. (“ ‘Determining whether double jeopardy is violated based on undisputed facts is a purely legal determination, so the standard of review is de novo.’ ”) (citation omitted).

The defendant argues that his convictions violate the double jeopardy clause because, in his view, the allowable unit of prosecution for a violation of section 836.10 should be the number of letters or communications sent, and not the number of people to whom each letter or communication is sent. To support this argument, the defendant relies on the “a/any” test which our supreme court approved in Grappin v. State, 450 So.2d 480 (Fla.1984). There, the court considered whether the unlawful taking of two or more firearms during the same criminal episode was subject to separate prosecution as to each firearm under section 812.014(2)(b)3., Florida Statutes (1981). Id. at 481. Under that statute, “[i]t is grand theft ... if the property stolen is ... [a] firearm.”4 The court found that the use of the article “a” in reference to “a firearm” in section 812.014(2)(b)3. “clearly shows that the legislature intended to make each firearm a separate unit of prosecution.” Id. at 482. The court further found that its construction was consistent with federal court decisions holding that the term “any firearm” is “ambiguous with respect to the unit of prosecution and ... must be treated as a single offense.” Id. (emphasis added).

The defendant, applying Grappin to this case, argues that the legislature’s use of the terms “any letter” and “any person” in section 836.10 indicates the legislature’s intent that the allowable unit of prosecution for a violation of section 836.10 should be the number of letters or communications sent, and not the number of people to whom each letter or communication is sent. The defendant further argues that the legislature’s use of the word “any” creates at least an ambiguity which, based on the rule of lenity, must be resolved in his favor. See id. (“If the Congress does not fix the punishment for federal offenses clearly and without ambiguity ... then the rule of lenity applies and the ambiguity is to be resolved against turning a single transaction into multiple offenses.”) (citing Bell v. United States, 349 U.S. 81, 82, 75 S.Ct. 620, 99 L.Ed. 905 (1955)).

In response, the state argues that the defendant’s reliance on Grappin’s “a/any” test is misplaced in light of the supreme court’s more recent opinion in Bautista v. State, 863 So.2d 1180 (Fla.2003). In Bau-tista, the court considered whether the occurrence of multiple deaths in a single DUI-related crash allowed for multiple convictions for DUI manslaughter under section 316.193(3)(c)3., Florida Statutes (2002). Id. at 1181. Under that statute, a person commits DUI manslaughter if the person, by reason of driving under the influence, “causes or contributes to causing ... the death of any human being.” § 316.193(3)(c)3., Fla. Stat. (2002) (emphasis added). The court held that Grappin’s “a/any” test did not preclude multiple convictions under section 316.193(3)(c)3. Bautista, 863 So.2d at 1188. The court reasoned:

[The defendant’s] argument based on the a/any test succeeds only if we were [149]*149to apply the test as a simple syntactical rule in isolation from the context in which the test arose. However, it would be improper to so isolate this distinction .... [T]he a/any distinction was used in Grappin as one part of a common sense application of well-established rules of statutory interpretation, including reference to the overall statutory scheme and purpose as well as to related cases. Within this context, the a/any test is a valid linguistic tool that is helpful in establishing the Legislature’s intended unit of prosecution. However, the a/any test is not an infallible or exclusive indicator of legislative intent. Rather, absent clear legislative intent to the contrary, the a/any test serves as a valuable but nonexclusive means to assist courts in determining the intended unit of prosecution.
... Grappin and its progeny should not be interpreted to suggest that the intended unit of prosecution is automatically rendered ambiguous whenever a statute uses the word “any.” ...

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Suggs v. State
72 So. 3d 145 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
72 So. 3d 145, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 16072, 2011 WL 2031302, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/suggs-v-state-fladistctapp-2011.