RONALD LEWIS PARKER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1986-02-06
No. 85-550
COBB, C.J., and ORFINGER, J., concur.
482 So. 2d 576 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1986) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Parker was convicted of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony for shooting an unarmed victim. Parker appealed on double jeopardy grounds, arguing these crimes constituted a lesser-included offense. The court affirmed, holding that because each crime requires proof of a distinct element not required by the other, they are separate offenses permitting dual prosecution and sentencing.


Holding

The court held that the crimes are separate and distinct offenses under the Blockburger test because each requires proof of an element the other does not, permitting dual prosecution and sentencing despite identical underlying facts. The Florida Legislature, through section 775.021(4), explicitly permits separate sentencing for such offenses.


Headnotes

[1] Whether or not a crime is a lesser included offense of another depends on an analysis of the criminal statutes, not on the facts proven at trial.

[2] If two criminal statutes each require proof of an element that the other does not, the offenses are separate and distinct, even if the same evidence proves both.

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Key Quotes

“Whether or not a crime is a lesser included offense of another depends not on what actually happened or was proven at the trial, but simply on an analysis of the two criminal statutes.”

Establishes that double jeopardy analysis focuses on statutory elements, not actual facts proven at trial.

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Facts & Procedural History

Parker approached a victim who appeared to be under the influence of drugs. Parker pulled a gun from his pants pocket and shot the victim in the back.…

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Opinion of the Court
SHARP, Judge.

SHARP, Judge.

Parker appeals from his adjudication of guilt for the crimes of aggravated battery1 and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.2 He argues the trial court erred in adjudicating him guilty and in sentencing him for both crimes on double jeopardy grounds.3 We affirm.

The record shows that Parker approached a victim, who was acting as though he was under the influence of drugs. Parker pulled a gun from his pants pocket and shot the victim in the back. The victim was unarmed and his sole act of aggression was shouting profanities at Parker. Although the factual proofs for both crimes in this case are the same (shooting a victim with a firearm) that is apparently no longer a relevant consideration in the current jurisprudence of double jeopardy and lesser included offenses. See State v. Gibson, 452 So. 2d 553 (Fla.1984); compare Burke v. State, 415 So. 2d 753 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1982).

Whether or not a crime is a lesser included offense of another depends not on what actually happened or was proven at the trial, but simply on an analysis of the two criminal statutes. Borges v. State, 415 So. 2d 1265 (Fla.1982). If both crimes require proof of an element different than the other, they are separate and distinct crimes,4 even though in any particular case, the same proofs are in fact used to establish both. See also, State v. Baker, 456 So. 2d 419 (Fla.1984).

Aggravated battery is defined by section 784.045 as:

(1) A person commits aggravated battery who, in committing battery: (a) Intentionally or knowingly causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement; or (b) Uses a deadly weapon.

This crime requires proof of a battery, either a misdemeanor or a felony, and severe harm to the victim, or use of a deadly weapon. The possession crime is defined in section 790.07 as:

(2) Whoever, while committing or attempting to commit any felony or while under indictment, displays, uses, threatens, or attempts to use any firearm or carries a concealed firearm is guilty of a felony of the second degree, ...

This statute requires proof of the commission of a felony and the use, concealment or display of a firearm. These required proofs are different than aggravated battery, although in this case they are satisfied by proof of the same facts.

Under these circumstances, the Florida Legislature has decreed that prosecution for both crimes is permissible. Section 775.021(4) provides:

(4) Whoever, in the course of one criminal transaction or episode, commits separate criminal offenses, upon conviction and adjudication of guilt, shall be sentenced separately for each criminal offense; and the sentencing judge may order the sentences to be served concurrently or consecutively. For the purposes of this subsection, offenses are separate if each offense requires proof of an element that the other does not, without regard to the accusatory pleading or the proof adduced at trial.

The United States Supreme Court has held that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not bar prosecution for crimes which meet the Blockburger test5 in a single trial. Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359, 103 S.Ct. 673, 74 L.Ed.2d 535 (1983). Apparently, the Florida Constitution also permits this result. See Gibson.

AFFIRMED.

COBB, C.J., and ORFINGER, J., concur. . § 784.045(1), Fla.Stat. (1983).

. § 790.07(2), Fla.Stat. (1983).

. U.S. CONST, amend. V, amend. XIV; Art. I, § 9, Fla. Const. .In Borges, the Florida Supreme Court adopted the United States Supreme Court’s analysis in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932) (the “Blockburger test”).

. Id.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Sanders v. State, 621 So. 2d 723 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)
    …r, 452 So. 2d 927 (Fla.1984); State v. Gibson, 452 So. 2d 553 (Fla.1984); Collins v. State, 577 So. 2d 986 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Brown v. State, 569 So. 2d 1320 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Burton v. State, 522 So. 2d 88 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988); Parker v. State, 482 So. 2d 576 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). Only Royal, which was decided just before Sanders’ appeal became final, would have been available to argue the aggravated assault was necessarily included in the armed robbery offense. . See Cleveland v. State, 587 So. 2d 1145…
  • Roges Previlon v. State, 500 So. 2d 716 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)
    …o determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether each provision requires proof of an additional fact which the [*718] other does not.” 284 U.S. at 304, 52 S.Ct. at 182. Id. Following Gibson, the district court in Parker v. State, 482 So. 2d 576 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), concluded that separate convictions for aggravated battery and possession of a firearm in the commission of the aggravated battery (as here) were permissible because each crime required proof of an element which the other did no…

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