HARRISON PORTERFIELD, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT; WILLIE FRED POLLARD, PETITIONER, V. STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court quashed two First District Court of Appeal decisions that authorized separate convictions and sentences for sale and possession with intent to sell of controlled substances. The Court held that chapter 88-131 (effective July 1, 1988) authorizing such separate convictions cannot be applied retroactively to crimes committed before that date.
Chapter 88-131 cannot be applied retroactively. Because the convictions at issue were based on incidents occurring prior to July 1, 1988, separate convictions and sentences are not authorized, and Carawan v. State remains controlling for pre-July 1, 1988 conduct.
[1] The sale or delivery of a controlled substance and possession of that substance with intent to sell are separate offenses subject to separate convictions and punishments.
[2] Chapter 88-131, Laws of Florida, which amended section 775.021(4), Florida Statutes, is not to be applied retroactively.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the legislature intended the following to be separate offenses subject to separate convictions and separate punishments: the sale or delivery of a controlled substance; and possession of that substance with intent to sell”
Establishes the Court's interpretation of chapter 88-131's legislative intent regarding separate offenses
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePorterfield's criminal charges arose from acts occurring on March 14, 1986. Pollard's criminal charges arose from acts occurring on September 18, 1987…
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EHRLICH, Justice.
We have for review Porterfield v. State, 553 So. 2d 186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989), and Pollard v. State, 553 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). We have jurisdiction. Art. V, §§ 3(b)(3), (4), Fla. Const. We quash the decisions of the First District Court of Appeal for the reasons stated in State v. Burton, 555 So. 2d 1210 (Fla.1989):
We held, in State v. Smith, 547 So. 2d 613 (Fla.1989), which applied chapter 88-131, section 7, Laws of Florida,1 that the legislature intended the following to be separate offenses subject to separate convictions and separate punishments: the sale or delivery of a controlled substance; and possession of that substance with intent to sell. We also held that although chapter 88-131 overrode Carawan v. State, 515 So. 2d 161 (Fla.1987), nevertheless, it is not to be applied retroactively.
Burton, 555 So. 2d at 1211.
Because the convictions at issue here are based upon incidents which occurred prior to July 1, 1988,1 the effective date of chapter 88-131, separate convictions and sentences are not authorized. Carawan.
Accordingly, we remand for proceedings consistent with this decision.
It is so ordered.
overton, McDonald, barkett, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur. SHAW, C.J., dissents with an opinion.
This section amended subsection 775.021(4), Florida Statutes....
. Porterfield’s criminal charges were based upon criminal acts occurring on March 14, 1986. Pollard’s criminal charges were based Upon criminal acts occurring on September 18, 1987.
. The First District Court, in both decisions, relied upon its previous decision in Wheeler v. State, 549 So. 2d 687 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). As the district court stated in Porterfield v. State, 553 So. 2d 186, 187 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989),
This court's position, as carefully considered and discussed in Wheeler, distinguishes between cases where the sentence and conviction is for both sale and possession under one subsection of the statute and cases involving sale and possession under two separate subsections of the same statute. We believe this position is the better reasoned one.
The First District Court's position is at odds with the decision of this Court in State v. Smith, 547 So. 2d 613 (Fla.1989).
SHAW, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent for the same reason I did in State v. Hatten, 560 So. 2d 1172 (Fla.1990) (Shaw, J., dissenting).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Cave v. State, 578 So. 2d 766 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…se of “robbery” does not “subsume” the crime of aggravated battery. Thus, the same act may be punishable as two different offenses under section 775.021(4)(a). State v. Smith, supra; State v. Burton, 555 So. 2d 1210 (Fla.1989); Porterfield v. State, 567 So. 2d 429 (Fla.1990). Hall v. State, 549 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), is not authority for the result urged by the appellant because Hall was also governed by Carawan v. State, 515 So. 2d 161 (Fla.1987), which, as noted above, was overruled by section 775.…
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ST. Clair v. State, 575 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)…and Daophin, and several post-89-Smith supreme court cases. These most recent cases are State v. Parker, 551 So. 2d 1209 (Fla.1989), State v. Burton, 555 So. 2d 1210 (Fla.1989), State v. Hatten, 560 So. 2d 1172 (Fla.1990), and Porterfield v. State, 567 So. 2d 429 (Fla.1990). These cases provide at least a strong inference that the analysis of Gordon was approved by the supreme court in 89-Smith when it affirmed the result in Gordon and answered the certified question there in the affirmative. The majority q…
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Johnson v. State, 574 So. 2d 242 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)…ment to the rule of lenity became effective (see Section 775.-021, Florida Statutes (Supp.1988)), we AFFIRM as to this point. See Davis v. State, 560 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 5th DCA), jurisdiction accepted, 568 So. 2d 435 (Fla.1990); Porterfield v. State, 567 So. 2d 429, 430 n. 2 (Fla.1990); State v. Hatten, 560 So. 2d 1172 (Fla.1990); State v. Burton, 555 So. 2d 1210 (Fla.1990); St. Fabre v. State, 548 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989); State v. Smith, 547 So. 2d 613 (Fla.1989). However, we certify to the Florida Sup…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Dion Michael Carawan v. State, 515 So. 2d 161 (Fla. 1987)
- State v. Smith, 547 So. 2d 613 (Fla. 1989)
- Wheeler v. State, 549 So. 2d 687 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
- Serpa v. State, 555 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 1989)
- State v. Burton, 555 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 1989)
- State v. Hatten, 560 So. 2d 1172 (Fla. 1990)
- Harrison Porterfield v. State, 553 So. 2d 186 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
- Pollard v. State, 553 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)