DENSON EMORY GRATE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
The Florida District Court of Appeal reviewed conditions of probation and public defender fees. The court affirmed the public defender fees and court costs but reversed certain probation conditions, finding them unrelated to the defendant's cocaine offenses.
The court held that the probation conditions prohibiting alcohol consumption and bar entry were invalid as they were not reasonably related to the cocaine offenses. The court also found the firearm possession condition invalid as an improper delegation of authority. However, the court affirmed the assessment of public defender fees and court costs.
[1] Probation conditions must be reasonably tailored to the crimes involved and cannot relate to conduct that is not itself criminal or reasonably related to future criminali…
[2] A probation condition is invalid if it has no relationship to the crime of conviction, relates to conduct that is not itself criminal, and requires or forbids conduct not…
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“In determining whether a condition of probation is reasonably related to rehabilitation, we believe that a condition is invalid if it (1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires or forbids conduct which is not reasonably related to future criminality.”
This quote establishes the test used by the court to determine the validity of probation conditions.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDenson Emory Grate pleaded guilty to cocaine sale and possession charges and was sentenced to community control followed by probation. The trial court…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Public Defender Fees cases and more on FLexlaw
HARRIS, Chief Judge.
Denson Emory Grate challenges certain conditions of his probation and the amount of the public defender fee assessed against him.
Grate was charged with two counts each of unlawful sale and possession of cocaine in two separate cases. Pursuant to a plea agreement, he pled guilty to all counts in exchange for a total sentence of one year of community control followed by two years of probation. The judge accepted the pleas, adjudicated the defendant guilty, and sentenced him on each case as agreed, the two sentences to run concurrent. The judge also imposed numerous conditions on the defendant’s probation, among them the following: the defendant cannot enter any bar or liquor lounge without permission from his probation officer; he cannot consume any alcohol whatsoever; and he cannot possess, carry, or own any weapon or firearm without first securing the consent of his probation officer. Appellant was also assessed a lien for a public defender’s fee of three hundred dollars and court costs of two hundred and fifty-five dollars.
Defense counsel objected to the probation conditions prohibiting the defendant from entering any bar or from consuming alcohol, arguing that these conditions have nothing to do with the crimes of possession and sale of cocaine. Therefore, defense counsel argued before the trial court and now argues before us that because probation conditions must be reasonably tailored to the crimes involved, these particular conditions were invalid. We agree.
The leading case on this issue is Biller v. State, 618 So. 2d 734 (Fla.1993), in which the supreme court adopted the following test for determining whether special conditions of probation were valid:
In determining whether a condition of probation is reasonably related to rehabilitation, we believe that a condition is invalid if it (1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires or forbids conduct which is not reasonably related to future criminality. Rodriguez v. State, 378 So. 2d at 9.
Id. at 734-35 (quoting Rodriguez v. State, 378 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)).
In Biller, the defendant was convicted of carrying a concealed firearm, and the trial court imposed alcohol related conditions similar to those in the instant case. The Fourth District Court affirmed these conditions, but the supreme court invalidated them. Applying the Rodriguez test, the court noted that there was nothing connecting the use of alcohol with any of the crimes of which the defendant was convicted, nor was the use of alcohol illegal, nor was there anything in the record indicating the defendant even had a propensity toward alcohol. Therefore, the conditions could not be legally imposed.
The Second District Court recently applied the Rodriguez test to facts similar to ours in Richardson v. State, 620 So. 2d 257 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). The defendant in Richardson was convicted of possession of cannabis with the intent to sell. Just as in the instant case, the trial court required that the defendant refrain from using alcohol or frequenting places where alcohol is the main source of business as a condition of his probation. On appeal, the Second District concluded that the condition was invalid because it had no relationship to the crime of which the defendant was convicted, related to conduct which was not itself criminal, and prohibited conduct which was not reasonably related to future criminality.
We agree with Richardson that the alcohol related conditions imposed in this case do not bear any relation to these crimes, they prohibit otherwise noncriminal activity, and they forbid behavior which is not reasonably related to future criminality. As such, based on Biller and Richardson, these conditions are stricken.
The defendant also challenges the condition prohibiting him from owning, possessing or carrying a firearm without the consent of his probation officer as an invalid delegation of authority to a probation officer. The State agrees that the consent requirement should be stricken but argues that the remainder of the condition is valid. We agree.
As a convicted felon, the defendant has forfeited his right to own or possess a firearm. See section 790.23(1), Florida Statutes (1991). Therefore, the probation officer cannot override this legislative mandate and grant his consent. See Crawford v. State, 616 So. 2d 1158 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Mercer v. State, 604 So. 2d 843 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992); Smith v. State, 396 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981).
Grate also challenges the court costs imposed by the trial court in the amount of $255.00 pursuant to section 27.-3455(1) and attorney’s fees of $300.00 pursuant to section 27.56(l)(a). He claims the attorney’s fees should have been reduced by the amount of costs he was also assessed as required by section 27.56(l)(a). This section provides in pertinent part:
Any cost assessed pursuant to this paragraph shall be reduced by any amount assessed against a defendant pursuant to § 27.3455. [Emphasis added.]
Grate argues that, because he was assessed attorney’s fees pursuant to the above quoted section, the costs he was assessed pursuant to section 27.3455 should be deducted therefrom. We find this argument to be without merit. It completely ignores the long-recognized distinction between attorney’s fees and costs and misconstrues the plain meaning and purpose of these sections.
Sections 27.56 and 27.3455 both provide for the imposition of court costs against a defendant. The provision quoted above merely seeks to ensure that a defendant is not billed twice for costs. Note that it refers only to costs assessed, not attorney’s fees. In the instant ease, the trial court did not assess any costs pursuant to section 27.56(l)(a), only attorney’s fees. Therefore, no reduction of these fees by the amount of costs imposed pursuant to section 27.3455 is required. The trial court’s imposition of attorney’s fees under one statute and costs under another was perfectly proper and no reduction for duplicate costs is necessary.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part and REMANDED for further action consistent with this opinion.
COBB and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Luby v. State, 648 So. 2d 308 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…s permission and must be stricken because, as a convicted felon, the defendant may not lawfully possess a firearm. See Pagan v. State, 637 So. 2d 959 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994); Crawford v. State, 616 So. 2d 1158 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). See also Grate v. State, 623 So. 2d 591 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (upholding the condition that the defendant not possess firearms but striking that portion which delegates the authority to approve possession by the probation officer). Condition 9 orders Luby to pay one dollar per month to Fir…
-
Cassamassima v. State, 657 So. 2d 906 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)…nces because the term was vague and not related to the crime for which the appellant was placed on probation, i.e. aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Again, we held that there was no nexus. Peterson, 623 So. 2d at 638; see also Grate v. State, 623 So. 2d 591 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (striking condition that appellant not enter any bar or consume alcohol). It is incongruous to allow one probationer to consume alcohol (a drug) while on probation when the probationer was convicted of selling cocaine or PCP (dru…
-
Brock v. State, 667 So. 2d 1014 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)…find distinguishable a number of decisions cited by the appellant that involve a “special condition,” rather than the “standard or general condition” set forth in Condition (12). See, e.g., Biller v. State, 618 So. 2d 734 (Fla.1993); Grate v. State, 623 So. 2d 591 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). As additional support for our ruling, we note that the legislature in section 948.03(1)(k)(1) expressly authorizes random testing “to determine the presence or use of alcohol or controlled substances.” (Emphasis added). We const…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Biller v. State, 618 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 1993)
- Rodriguez v. State, 378 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)
- Richardson v. State, 620 So. 2d 257 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Mercer v. State, 604 So. 2d 843 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)
- Bruce v. Crawford, 616 So. 2d 1158 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Argento v. State, 396 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)