From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Alvarez v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Jun 22, 1988
525 So. 2d 946 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988)

Opinion

No. 4-86-3040.

May 11, 1988. Rehearing Denied June 22, 1988.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Broward County, Robert W. Tyson, Jr., J.

Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Louis G. Carres, Asst. Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, Mardi Levey Cohen and Marilyn Eisler, Asst. Attys. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.


ON MOTION FOR REHEARING


We grant appellant's motion for rehearing and withdraw our opinion filed October 14, 1987. We substitute the following opinion.

This court directed the parties to file supplemental briefs after appellant demonstrated in his motion for rehearing that his appellate counsel was not furnished with a copy of the trial court's written reasons for departure. We affirm appellant's conviction; however, we find merit in appellant's argument that the trial court erred when it departed from the recommended guidelines sentence. The trial court's sentencing order contains six findings which appear to furnish the basis for departure from the sentencing guidelines. We hold that none of the findings constitutes a valid reason for aggravation of appellant's sentence. We specifically note that the quantity of drugs involved in a crime is not a valid reason for departure. Atwaters v. State, 519 So.2d 611 (Fla. 1988).

Atwaters has effectively overruled this court's decision in Pastor v. State, 498 So.2d 962 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986), wherein we approved a guidelines departure based on the quantity of drugs involved.

Accordingly, we reverse and remand for entry of a fifteen year sentence, the minimum mandatory sentence required by section 893.135(1)(b)(3) Florida Statutes (1985).

REVERSED and REMANDED.

ANSTEAD, LETTS and DELL, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Alvarez v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Jun 22, 1988
525 So. 2d 946 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988)
Case details for

Alvarez v. State

Case Details

Full title:FERNANDO ALVAREZ, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District

Date published: Jun 22, 1988

Citations

525 So. 2d 946 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988)