FLORIDA SUPREME COURT

No cases reported.

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

CLICK TO READ Meredith Moon Taulbee v. State of Florida, Docket # 1D18-2569

Appellant challenges two out-of-state convictions recorded in the “prior record” section of Appellant’s Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet adding thirty-eight points to the total. At sentencing, the trial court found Appellant’s South Carolina convictions of “Accessory After the Fact to Felony A, B” to be Accessory After the Fact to Murder under Florida law, based on the State having printouts from the South Carolina Clerk of Court website which showed that the original charges were for murder and stating that an article found online listed Appellant’s convictions as Accessory After the Fact to Murder. Appellant was sentenced based on the scoresheet and the State’s recommendation.

Sentence reversed, remanded for new sentencing.  Proper competent corroborating evidence to establish prior record includes certified copies of the convictions and “original court records.”  The record reflects that what the State presented the trial court was not proper corroborating evidence, and thus the scoresheet is in error.

SECOND DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

No reversals reported.

THIRD DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

No reversals reported.

FOURTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

CLICK TO READ Daniel Hudson v. State of Florida, Docket # 4D18-1715

Conviction for felony battery after jury trial reversed, new trial ordered. First, the trial court erroneously permitted the State to introduce evidence of the uncharged collateral crime. Second, the trial court erroneously instructed the jury on the forcible felony exception to Appellant’s self-defense argument.

CLICK TO READ Peter Brown v. State of Florida, Docket # 4D17-3492

Appeal of burglary of a dwelling with a firearm, false imprisonment while armed.  The State cross-appealed the trial court’s order granting Brown’s amended motion for judgment of acquittal, specifically asserting the trial court erred in not imposing the mandatory minimum sentence.  The court affirms the conviction, and remanded for resentencing, finding error in the trial court departing from the mandatory minimum sentence.  The trial court granted the amended motion for judgment of acquittal based on concerns of the firearm’s operability. However, the Florida Supreme Court has held that, “the legislature did not intend to require a finding that the handgun be operational in order to uphold a conviction of robbery with a firearm because of concerns about the perception of the victim.” Bentley v. State, 501 So. 2d 600, 602 (Fla. 1987). Further, there was eyewitness testimony that Brown held a gun and used it to maneuver the victim up the stairs and threaten her life.

Based on the above, the trial court was required to impose a minimum mandatory sentence of ten years.

FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

CLICK TO READ Jason A. Copeland v. State of Florida, Docket # 5D18-2869

Conviction after trial of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon reversed, on the face of the record, Copeland’s trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a jury instruction for the justifiable use of nondeadly force.

THIS IS A GREAT CASE AND A PRIMER ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEADLY FORCE AND NONDEADLY FORCE

CLICK TO READ State of Florida v. Shedrick Laron Washington, Docket # 5D18-1698

State appeal of downward departure sentence based upon trial court’s finding of sentence manipulation reversed, downward departure not supported by competent, substantial evidence.

Sentence manipulation, as a basis for downward departure, has been described as occurring when the government manipulates its conduct and/or investigation in order to increase a defendant’s potential sentence.  Here, there was no evidence that law enforcement intended to manipulate Washington’s potential sentence.  Nonetheless, the trial court focused on the frequency and number of transactions giving rise to the charges, characterizing it as “de facto” manipulation. The trial court stated that, at some point, multiple buys become de facto manipulation. This was error.