Opinion
Case No. 4D99-3825
Opinion filed July 18, 2001
Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, St. Lucie County; Marc A. Cianca, Judge; L.T. Case No. 98-4937 CFA.
Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Gary Caldwell, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Joseph A. Tringali, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.
In State v. Harbaugh, 754 So.2d 691 (Fla. 2000), the Florida Supreme Court held that, if prior convictions are elements of a crime, the prior convictions must be established by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Appellant was convicted of felony driving under the influence and felony driving while license suspended following a trial which was conducted prior to Harbaugh, and in which the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the prior DWLS and DUI convictions which are elements, respectively, of felony DWLS and felony DUI. We accordingly reverse his felony convictions and remand for the trial court to reduce the convictions to misdemeanor DWLS and misdemeanor DUI. We find the remaining issues raised by appellant to be without merit.
GUNTHER, KLEIN and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.