Williams v. State

876 So. 2d 27, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 6801, 2004 WL 1091306

Opinion

BROWNING, J.

Appellant seeks review of his conviction and sentence for failure to appear under section 843.15(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (2003). The state properly concedes error and we reverse.

A conviction under section 843.15(l)(a), Fla. Stat., requires proof of willfulness beyond a reasonable doubt. Lewis v. State, 380 So.2d 1191 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980). The state failed to present any evidence that Appellant willfully failed to appear. The evidence, viewed in a light most favorable to the state, shows that Appellant was unaware that his hearing date had been moved up from December 5, 2002, to November 26, 2002. “[W]here the evidence is unrefuted that the defendant was not notified to appear in court, the defendant cannot be convicted under the bail jumping statute, [because] his or her failure to appear must not be deemed willful.” 14 Fla. Jur.2d Criminal Law § 285 (2004), citing Lewis.

Accordingly, we REVERSE and REMAND to the trial court to vacate Appellant’s conviction and sentence for failure to appear.

KAHN and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.