ELDEN RIGGSBY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Elden Riggsby was convicted of capital sexual battery and four counts of handling and fondling a child under sixteen. The appellate court affirmed his conviction and sentence for capital sexual battery but reversed and remanded the sentences for the noncapital offenses because the trial court failed to use a required guidelines scoresheet.
The trial court committed reversible error by sentencing the appellant for noncapital offenses without a properly prepared guidelines scoresheet. Although guidelines scoresheets are not required for capital offenses, they are mandatory for noncapital offenses.
[1] A guidelines scoresheet is not required for sentencing a defendant for a capital offense.
[2] A guidelines scoresheet must be prepared and utilized when sentencing a defendant for a noncapital offense.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“A guidelines scoresheet need not be prepared for the sentencing of a defendant for a capital offense. However, a proper scoresheet must be prepared and used when sentencing a defendant for a noncapital offense.”
Establishes the controlling legal rule that distinguishes capital from noncapital sentencing requirements
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRiggsby was charged with one count of capital sexual battery under section 794.011(2)(a) and four counts of handling and fondling a child under sixtee…
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PER CURIAM.
The appellant, Elden Riggsby, challenges the judgment and sentence imposed upon him after he was adjudicated guilty of one count of capital sexual battery and four counts of handling and fondling a child under sixteen. While he raises several issues on appeal, we find merit only in his contention that the trial court erred by failing to utilize a guidelines scoresheet when sentencing appellant for the noncapital offenses of handling and fondling a child under sixteen.
Appellant was charged with one count of capital sexual battery, pursuant to section 794.011(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1993), and four counts of handling and fondling a child under sixteen, pursuant to section 800.04(1), Florida Statutes (1993). The jury found appellant guilty of all counts and the trial court adjudicated him guilty. Appellant was sentenced to life in prison for the capital sexual battery, with a twenty-five year minimum mandatory, and fifteen years imprisonment for each of the four counts of handling and fondling a child under sixteen. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal.
A guidelines scoresheet need not be prepared for the sentencing of a defendant for a capital offense. However, a proper scoresheet must be prepared and used when sentencing a defendant for a noncapital of fense. Salazar v. State, 662 So. 2d 1294 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). Although appellant’s capital offense of sexual battery did not require the use of a scoresheet, his convictions as to four counts of handling and fondling a child under sixteen, noncapital offenses, required the preparation of a scoresheet. It was in error to sentence the appellant for the noncapital offenses without a properly prepared score-sheet.
Appellant must be resentenced based upon a properly calculated scoresheet. See Lamb v. State, 532 So. 2d 1051 (Fla.1988). Additionally, the appellant’s judgment and sentence should be corrected to reflect that a minimum mandatory was imposed for the capital sexual battery conviction pursuant to section 775.082(1), Florida Statutes (1993).
We, therefore, affirm the appellant’s convictions and the sentence for the capital crime. However, we reverse the sentences for the four counts of handling and fondling a child under sixteen and remand for resentencing with a properly prepared scoresheet.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
SCHOONOVER, A.C.J., and PATTERSON and LAZZARA, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Lamb v. State, 532 So. 2d 1051 (Fla. 1988)
- Salazar v. State, 662 So. 2d 1294 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)