Summary
In Nelson v. State, 398 So.2d 920 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) and Young v. State, 439 So.2d 306 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), this court held that an information which alleged in the alternative a felony or a misdemeanor was insufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of the circuit court.
Summary of this case from Fike v. StateOpinion
No. 80-482.
May 6, 1981. Rehearing Denied May 27, 1981.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County, Lon S. Cornelius, Jr., J.
Edwin R. Ivy, Winter Garden, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Edward M. Chew, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.
Nelson was charged by information with willfully or carelessly burning a field in violation of section 590.08, Florida Statutes (1979). A willful violation of section 590.08 constitutes a felony, while a careless violation constitutes a misdemeanor. § 590.14(1) (2), Fla. Stat. (1979). Because the information was insufficient to charge a felony it did not confer jurisdiction on the circuit court. Rogers v. State, 336 So.2d 1233 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Pope v. State, 268 So.2d 173 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972). We reverse the judgment and sentence because they are void.
REVERSED.
COBB, SHARP and COWART, JJ., concur.