THE FLORIDA BAR. IN RE AMENDMENT TO RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE (9.140) (APPEAL PROCEEDINGS IN CRIMINAL CASES)
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The Florida Supreme Court amended Rule 9.140 of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure to authorize the state to appeal sentences imposed outside sentencing guidelines ranges, addressing a gap created by new sentencing guideline legislation effective October 1, 1983.
Rule 9.140 is amended to add subsection (c)(1)(J), explicitly authorizing the state to appeal a sentence imposed outside the range recommended by the guidelines authorized by Section 921.001, Florida Statutes (1983), and Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.710.
[1] A defendant may appeal a sentence imposed outside the range recommended by the sentencing guidelines.
[2] The state may appeal a sentence imposed outside the range recommended by the sentencing guidelines.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“That statute and Criminal Rule 3.710 authorize an appeal, both by the state and by the defendant, from a sentence imposed outside the range recommended by the sentencing guidelines. While Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(1)(E) adequately allows a defendant to appeal from such a sentence, no rule clearly authorizes the state to do so.”
Establishes the problem the amendment addresses—asymmetry in appellate rights between state and defendant regarding guideline-range sentences
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Florida legislature enacted section 921.001, Florida Statutes (1983), and adopted Criminal Rules 3.710 and 3.988, all effective October 1, 1983, w…
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McDONALD, Justice.
Because of the enactment of section 921.-001, Florida Statutes (1983), effective October 1, 1983, and Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.710 and 3.988, also effective October 1, 1983, the Florida Appellate Rules Committee recommends an emergency amendment to Rule 9.140. That statute and Criminal Rule 3.710 authorize an appeal, both by the state and by the defendant, from a sentence imposed outside the range recommended by the sentencing guidelines. While Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(1)(E) adequately allows a defendant to appeal from such a sentence, no rule clearly authorizes the state to do so.
Accordingly, on an interim basis subject to further review and comments from interested parties, Rule 9.140, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, is hereby amended by adding a provision to the existing rule so that it shall now read:
Rule 9.140. Appeal Proceedings in Criminal Cases.
(a) Applicability. Appeal proceedings in criminal cases shall be as in civil cases except as modified by this rule.
(b) Appeals by Defendant.
(1) Appeals Permitted. A defendant may appeal:
(A) A final judgment adjudicating guilt;
(B) An order granting probation, whether or not guilt has been adjudicated;
(C) Orders entered after final judgment or finding of guilt, including orders revoking or modifying probation;
(D) An illegal sentence; and
(E) A sentence when required or permitted by general law.
A defendant may not appeal from a judgment entered upon a plea of guilty; nor may a defendant appeal from a judgment entered upon a plea of nolo contendere without an express reservation of the right of appeal from a prior order of the lower tribunal, identifying with particularity the point of law being reserved.
(2) Commencement. The defendant shall file the notice prescribed by Rule 9.110(d) with the clerk of the lower tribunal at any time between rendition of a final judgment and 30 days following the entry of a written order imposing sentence. Copies shall be served on the State Attorney and Attorney General.
* jjs * * * *
(c) Appeals by the State.
(1) Appeals Permitted. The State may appeal an order: (A) Dismissing an indictment or information or any count thereof;
(B) Suppressing before trial confessions, admissions or evidence obtained by search and seizure;
(C) Granting a new trial;
(D) Arresting judgment;
(E) Discharging a defendant pursuant to Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.191;
(F) Discharging a prisoner on habe-as corpus;
(G) Adjudicating a defendant incompetent or insane;
(H) Ruling on a question of law when a convicted defendant appeals his judgment of conviction; and may appeal
(I) An illegal sentence;
(J) A sentence imposed outside the range recommended by the guidelines authorized by Section 921.001, Florida Statutes (1983), and Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.710.
(2) Commencement. The State shall file the notice prescribed by Rule 9.110(d) with the clerk of the lower tribunal within 15 days of rendition of the order to be reviewed; provided that in an appeal by the State pursuant to Rule 9.140(c)(1)(H), the State’s notice shall be filed within 10 days of service of defendant’s notice. Copies shall be served on the defendant and the attorney of record. An appeal by the State shall stay further proceedings in the lower tribunal only by order of the lower tribunal.
(3) Briefs. The State’s initial brief shall be served within 80 days of filing the notice. Additional briefs shall be served as prescribed by Rule 9.210.
It is so ordered.
ALDERMAN, C.J., and ADKINS, BOYD, OVERTON, EHRLICH and SHAW, JJ., concur.
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Mitchell v. State, 458 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…as a matter of right from a sentence which is outside the range specified by the guidelines. Sections 924.06(l)(e) and 921.001(5), Florida Statutes (1983); Fla.App.R. 9.140(b)(1)(E); The Florida Bar: In Re Amendment to Rules of Appellate Procedure, 443 So. 2d 972 (Fla.1983). Moreover, in view of the Supreme - Court’s opinion in Rhoden v. State, 448 So. 2d 1013 (Fla.1984), the failure of the defendant to make a contemporaneous objection upon the imposition of sentence does not vitiate his right to appeal from…