Woods v. State

740 So. 2d 20, 1999 WL 162971
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 26, 1999
Docket98-1955
StatusPublished
Cited by146 cases

This text of 740 So. 2d 20 (Woods 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
Woods v. State, 740 So. 2d 20, 1999 WL 162971 (Fla. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

740 So.2d 20 (1999)

Nathaniel WOODS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 98-1955.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

March 26, 1999.

*21 Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender; Paula S. Saunders, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General; Charmaine M. Millsaps, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

WEBSTER, J.

Convicted of unarmed robbery, appellant seeks review of his sentence pursuant to section 775.082, Florida Statutes (1997), as a "prison releasee reoffender." He asserts that the statute is facially unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers clause of the Florida Constitution and the due process and equal protection clauses of both the United States and the Florida Constitutions. We affirm.

I.

Factual Background

Prior to trial, the state filed a notice of its intent to seek to have appellant sentenced pursuant to section 775.082, Florida Statutes (1997), as a prison releasee reoffender, should he be convicted. Following the jury's verdict, appellant filed a motion to dismiss the state's notice of intent, arguing that the statute was facially unconstitutional. The trial court subsequently denied the motion. The state presented evidence establishing that appellant had been released from prison approximately one month before he had committed the robbery of which the jury had found him guilty. In response to the state's request that it do so, the trial court sentenced appellant, as a prison releasee reoffender, to 15 years in prison. This appeal follows.

II.

Separation of Powers

The "Prison Releasee Reoffender Punishment Act," which amended section 775.082, Florida Statutes, took effect on May 30, 1997. Ch. 97-239, §§ 1, 7, at 4398, 4404, Laws of Fla. To the extent relevant, it reads:

(8)(a)1. "Prison releasee reoffender" means any defendant who commits, or attempts to commit:
. . . .
g. Robbery;
. . . .
within 3 years of being released from a state correctional facility operated by the Department of Corrections or a private vendor.
2. 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:
*22 . . . .
c. For a felony of the second degree, [to] a term of imprisonment of 15 years....
. . . .
(b) A person sentenced under paragraph (a) shall be released only by expiration of sentence and shall not be eligible for parole, control release, or any form of early release. Any person sentenced under paragraph (a) must serve 100 percent of the court-imposed sentence.
(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, unless any of the following circumstances exist:
a. The prosecuting attorney does not have sufficient evidence to prove the highest charge available;
b. The testimony of a material witness cannot be obtained;
c. The victim does not want the offender to receive the mandatory prison sentence and provides a written statement to that effect; or
d. Other extenuating circumstances exist which preclude the just prosecution of the offender.
2. For every case in which the offender meets the criteria in paragraph (a) and does not receive the mandatory minimum prison sentence, the state attorney must explain the sentencing deviation in writing and place such explanation in the case file maintained by the state attorney. On a quarterly basis, each state attorney shall submit copies of deviation memoranda regarding offenses committed on or after the effective date of this subsection, to the President of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, Inc. The association must maintain such information, and make such information available to the public upon request, for at least a 10-year period.

Id. § 2. Appellant contends that the Act is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers clause found in article II, section 3, of the Florida Constitution because it deprives the judiciary of all sentencing discretion, placing that discretion in the hands of the state attorney, who is a member of the executive branch. The first question that we must answer is whether the Act does, in fact, remove all (or substantially all) sentencing discretion from the judicial branch, placing it, instead, in the executive branch. Assuming an affirmative answer to that question, we must next decide whether, by doing so, the Act violates the separation of powers clause.

The district courts of appeal which have addressed the question of whether the Act removes all sentencing discretion from the trial judge have reached differing conclusions. Compare State v. Cotton, 24 Fla. L. Weekly D18, 728 So.2d 251 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (concluding "that the trial court, not the prosecutor, has the responsibility to determine the facts and to exercise the discretion permitted by the statute"), with McKnight v. State, 24 Fla. L. Weekly D439, 727 So.2d 314 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (concluding that, when the prosecutor decides to seek sentencing pursuant to the Act and proves the defendant's eligibility, "the trial judge must impose the sentence" mandated by the Act). Our own analysis of the Act leads us to conclude that the legislature's rather clearly expressed intent was to remove substantially all sentencing discretion from trial judges in cases where the prosecutor elects to seek sentencing pursuant to the Act. In such a case, upon proof that the defendant qualifies as a prison releasee reoffender, the trial judge must impose the sentence mandated by the Act unless some other *23 provision of law authorizes "a greater sentence," and the judge elects to impose the "greater sentence." Subparagraph (8)(d)1. does leave room for some discretion not to treat as a prison releasee reoffender a defendant who otherwise qualifies for such treatment. However, it is clear from the plain language of the Act, read as a whole, that such discretion was intended to extend only to the prosecutor, and not to the trial court. Accordingly, we note apparent conflict with State v. Cotton.

Because we conclude that the language of the Act is clear and unambiguous, we find it unnecessary to rely on legislative history. However, the legislative history of the Act does appear to be consistent with our construction.

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Bluebook (online)
740 So. 2d 20, 1999 WL 162971, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/woods-v-state-fladistctapp-1999.