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Jackson v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District
Jun 25, 2010
39 So. 3d 427 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010)

Summary

finding fundamental error where the trial court's statement “can reasonably be read only as conditioning the sentence, at least in part, upon appellant's claim of innocence”

Summary of this case from Torres v. State

Opinion

No. 1D09-3735.

June 25, 2010.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Duval County, David M. Gooding, J.

Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender; and M.J. Lord, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.

Bill McCollum, Attorney General; and Jennifer J. Moore, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.


Ronald Jackson appeals a conviction and sentence for armed robbery while actually possessing a firearm. We affirm without comment the trial court's rulings made during the guilt phase of the trial. We vacate the 25-year prison sentence, however, because the trial court's remarks immediately before pronouncing the sentence are reasonably construed as affirmatively punishing Jackson for failing to show any remorse or regret for any of his actions, thereby denying due process and fundamentally erring.

At sentencing, the trial court made several remarks, including the following:

Mr. Jackson, you've been convicted by a jury of your peers, since you show no remorse or regret for any of your actions I'm going to sentence you to 25 years Florida State Prison. . . .

The evidence in this case, although sufficient to support a conviction, was not overwhelming, relying largely upon a photo lineup identification. Appellant made no admission of complicity in the crime charged. The statement made by the trial court can reasonably be read only as conditioning the sentence, at least in part, upon appellant's claim of innocence, in violation of established law. See Nawaz v. State, 28 So.3d 122, 124-25 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (finding fundamental error where trial court based sentence partly on an impermissible ground); Whitmore v. State, 27 So.3d 168, 169-72 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (concluding that trial court's reliance upon defendant's continued protestation of innocence at sentencing, which the judge viewed as a lack of remorse and denial of responsibility, was an impermissible basis for imposing the maximum sentence, denied due process, and constituted fundamental error); Jiles v. State, 18 So.3d 1216 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (reversing sentence and remanding for resentencing before a different judge because original judge improperly based sentence upon defendant's denying his involvement and failing to accept responsibility); Hannum v. State, 13 So.3d 132, 134-36 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (concluding that trial court's improper consideration of defendant's maintaining his innocence at trial and at sentencing denied due process and constituted fundamental error, compelling reversal of sentence and remand for resentencing, even though the original prison sentence fell within the scoresheet range); Bracero v. State, 10 So.3d 664, 665-66 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (concluding the trial court's consideration of defendant's continuing protestations of innocence as a factor in determining the length of his sentences violated due process, constituted fundamental error, and compelled reversal of sentences and remand for resentencing); Ritter v. State, 885 So.2d 413, 414-15 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004) (concluding that appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to raise dueprocess challenge to trial court's considering defendant's denial of guilt and assertion of innocence as grounds for imposing a prison sentence in excess of State's recommendation but within the guidelines scoresheet range); A.S. v. State, 667 So.2d 994, 995-96 n. 4 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (reversing and remanding final order committing subject to a juvenile facility, where the trial court impermissibly based its disposition of the case partly on the juvenile's continuing to maintain his innocence and showing no remorse throughout the proceeding). Jackson is entitled to resentencing before a different judge. See Whitmore, 27 So.3d at 172.

We AFFIRM the conviction, VACATE the sentence, and REMAND with instructions to resentence Jackson before a different judge.

KAHN, ROWE, and MARSTILLER, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Jackson v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District
Jun 25, 2010
39 So. 3d 427 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010)

finding fundamental error where the trial court's statement “can reasonably be read only as conditioning the sentence, at least in part, upon appellant's claim of innocence”

Summary of this case from Torres v. State

finding fundamental error where court appeared to be punishing the defendant for failure to show remorse for a crime in which he denied involvement

Summary of this case from Yisrael v. State

reversing sentence after sentencing judge said "since you show no remorse or regret for any of your actions I'm going to sentence you to 25 years"

Summary of this case from Davis v. State

reversing because trial court's statement during sentencing regarding the defendant's “show[ing] no remorse or regret for [his] actions” can “reasonably be read only as conditioning the sentence, at least in part, upon [the defendant's] claim of innocence, in violation of established law.”

Summary of this case from Cherilus v. State

reversing a sentence because the trial court improperly based the defendant's sentence on his lack of remorse

Summary of this case from Dumas v. State

ordering different judge to re-sentence defendant on remand

Summary of this case from Burns v. State
Case details for

Jackson v. State

Case Details

Full title:Ronald JACKSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District

Date published: Jun 25, 2010

Citations

39 So. 3d 427 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010)

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