DELIO SANCHEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Delio Sanchez appealed his conviction and sentence for trafficking in and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. The court affirmed his conviction but reversed his sentence due to the trial court's failure to use a sentencing guidelines scoresheet as required by Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
The court held that: (1) the confession was freely and voluntarily given and properly admitted; (2) any error in admitting the police officer's testimony was harmless error given the overwhelming evidence of guilt; and (3) the sentence must be reversed because it was imposed without a sentencing guidelines scoresheet as required by Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.701.
[1] A confession is freely and voluntarily given when the state establishes this fact by a preponderance of the evidence.
[2] Improperly admitted evidence does not constitute reversible error if the remaining evidence overwhelmingly establishes the defendant's guilt.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the trial court properly denied the defendant's motion to suppress his confession in that the state established below by a preponderance of the evidence that the said confession was freely and voluntarily given”
Establishes the standard for and court's finding regarding the voluntariness of the confession
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSanchez was convicted of trafficking in and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. At trial, Sanchez gave a confession that was admitted into evidence. A p…
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PER CURIAM.
The judgment of conviction for trafficking in and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine is affirmed upon a holding that: (1) the trial court properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress his confession in that the state established below by a preponderance of the evidence that the said confession was freely and voluntarily given; see Stone v. State, 378 So. 2d 765, 769-70 (Fla.1979), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 986, 101 S.Ct. 407, 66 L.Ed.2d 250 (1980), and (2) the trial court committed no reversible error in improperly admitting in evidence the testimony below of a police officer that the defendant knew 300 drug dealers, because the evidence adduced in the cause, aside from this inadmissible testimony, overwhelmingly established the guilt of the defendant on the crimes charged. No real defense was ever mounted in the case; no serious deficiencies were ever developed in the state’s otherwise highly probative evidence; and no substantial evidence or argument was ever presented below which indicated that the defendant’s confession, admitted in evidence, was not freely and voluntarily given. This being so, the above error was entirely harmless because it did not materially contribute to the convictions herein. See § 924.33, Fla.Stat. (1983).
The sentence imposed in this case is, however, reversed upon a holding that the trial court improperly sentenced the defendant without benefit of a sentencing guidelines scoresheet in violation of Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.701 which mandates that a sentence must be imposed based on a sentencing guidelines scoresheet. Indeed, the state in its brief concedes the error and agrees that the case must be remanded for resentencing. We accordingly reverse the sentence imposed in this case and remand the cause for resentencing based on a properly submitted sentencing guidelines score-sheet. Newsome v. State, 473 So. 2d 709 (Fla.2d DCA 1985).
Affirmed in part; reversed in part and remanded.
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Citator
Cited By
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Holton v. State, 573 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 1990)…scoresheets. Thus, rule 3.701(d)(1) mandates that a sentence be imposed based on a sentencing [*291] guidelines scoresheet that has been reviewed by the trial judge. See, e.g., Brooks v. State, 505 So. 2d 639 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Sanchez v. State, 480 So. 2d 704 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Barr v. State, 474 So. 2d 417 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). Therefore, we vacate Holton’s sentences for sexual battery and arson and remand for resen-tencing after a guidelines scoresheet has been prepared and considered by the trial judge…
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Uptagrafft v. State, 499 So. 2d 33 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…heets. Several Florida appellate courts have reversed and remanded a cause where the trial court, in violation of Rule 3.701(d)(1), improperly sentenced a defendant without benefit of a sentencing guideline score-sheet. See, e.g., Sanchez v. State, 480 So. 2d 704 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (trial court committed reversible error in imposing sentence without benefit of a sentencing guidelines scoresheet); Barr v. State, 474 So. 2d 417 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985) (sentence vacated and remanded for resentencing where trial cour…
Authorities Cited
- Stone v. State, 378 So. 2d 765 (Fla. 1979)
- Dankert v. Georgia, 449 U.S. 986 (U.S. 1980)
- Jewell v. United States, 449 U.S. 986 (U.S. 1980)
- Newsome v. State, 473 So. 2d 709 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)