KISON EVANS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Evans, sentenced as an adult while a minor, appealed the denial of his Rule 3.850 post-conviction motion claiming the trial court failed to enter written findings as required by statute before imposing adult sanctions. The court held that the allegation was legally sufficient and reversed the summary denial because an absent written findings requirement rendered the sentence illegal.
The court held that Evans's allegation of missing written findings was legally sufficient and precluded summary denial of the Rule 3.850 motion. The statutory amendment eliminating the written findings requirement did not apply retroactively to Evans because it took effect October 1, 1994, after his 1992 sentencing. An illegal sentence may be raised at any time.
[1] A juvenile sentenced to adult sanctions must have specific statutory findings mandated by statute reduced to writing at the time of sentencing.
[2] The absence of written findings mandating adult sanctions for a juvenile renders the resulting sentence illegal.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“If there is a complete absence of written findings, there is no authority for sentencing a juvenile as an adult and the resulting sentence is illegal.”
Establishes that the missing written findings rendered Evans's sentence illegal, not merely voidable
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceEvans was a minor when he committed his offense and was sentenced as an adult. Under the statutory scheme in effect at his sentencing, a juvenile coul…
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HARRIS, Judge.
Evans appeals the summary denial of his motion for post conviction relief filed pursuant to Rule 3.850, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. We find that one of the grounds for post-conviction relief is legally sufficient.
Evans, who was a minor at the time he committed his criminal offense, was sentenced as an adult. At the time he was sentenced, a juvenile could only receive adult sanctions if specific findings mandated by statute were reduced to writing. See section 39.059(7)(d), Fla.Stat. (1993). Evans alleged that the court failed to enter written findings as to the suitability of adult sanctions before imposing sentence. Our court previously held that this allegation is legally sufficient and precludes summary denial of a Rule 3.850 motion. See Ramos v. State, 660 So. 2d 817 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Wood v. State, 655 So. 2d 1155 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). See also Davis v. State, 661 So. 2d 1261 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). If there is a complete absence of written findings, there is no authority for sentencing a juvenile as an adult and the resulting sentence is illegal.
The state correctly notes that the legislature recently amended section 39.059(7), Florida Statutes (1994), and a court is no longer required to set forth specific findings or enumerate statutory criteria as a basis for its decision to impose adult sanctions on a juvenile. See Ch. 94-209, section 51, Laws of Fla. However, this amendment did not take effect until October 1,1994, long after Evans committed his offense as a juvenile and was sentenced as an adult.1 This amendment, then, would not apply to Evans. Cf. Hangen v. State, 651 So. 2d 706 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Shaw v. State, 645 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994).
An illegal sentence may be raised at any time. As the trial judge did not conclusively refute this claim of illegal sentence, the order denying post conviction relief is reversed, and the case remanded for the court to conduct a hearing or attach documents showing that written findings were entered or that Evans knowingly waived his statutory right to -written findings. If the proper sentencing procedure was not followed, the court on resentencing could reimpose adult sanctions after making the necessary written findings. See Troutman v. State, 630 So. 2d 528 (Fla.1993); Hannah v. State, 644 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994).
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
W. SHARP and ANTOON, JJ., concur. . Evans was placed on probation in 1991 and was sentenced to incarceration following a revocation of probation in 1992.
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Citator
Cited By
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State v. Kison Evans, 693 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 1997)…OVERTON, Justice. We have for review Evans v. State, 672 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996), in which the district court reversed the trial court’s denial of Kison Evan’s motion for postconviction relief. The district court determined that Evan’s sentence was “illegal” because the trial court failed to enter written fin…
Authorities Cited
- Troutman v. State, 630 So. 2d 528 (Fla. 1993)
- Edler v. State, 630 So. 2d 528 (Fla. 1993)
- Shanarvaty Wood v. State, 655 So. 2d 1155 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Shaw v. State, 645 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
- Hangen v. State, 651 So. 2d 706 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Hannah v. State, 644 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)
- Ramos v. State, 660 So. 2d 817 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Davis v. State, 661 So. 2d 1261 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)