JERRODE BARKER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jerrode Barker appealed the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence, arguing that his initial sentence of community control as a habitual offender was unauthorized and therefore the trial court lacked authority to impose a habitual offender sentence upon revocation. The court affirmed, holding that because Barker's sentence resulted from a negotiated plea agreement, the trial court was authorized to impose a habitual offender sentence despite the leniency of the initial term.
A defendant who negotiates a plea agreement for a term of probation or years below the minimum guidelines range as a habitual offender, though not authorized by the habitual offender statute itself, receives a valid sentence that is not illegal and may be imposed pursuant to the plea agreement. Therefore, the trial court was authorized to impose a habitual offender sentence upon revocation of Barker's community control because it was imposed pursuant to a negotiated plea.
[1] A defendant may enter into a negotiated plea for a term of probation or a term of years as a habitual offender that is below the minimum guidelines range, even if such a…
[2] A sentence imposed pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, even if below the minimum guidelines range, is not illegal and may be imposed.
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“a defendant may enter into a negotiated plea for a term of probation to be served as a habitual offender or a term of years as a habitual offender that is below the minimum guidelines range because, while such a sentence is not authorized by the habitual offender statute, it is not illegal and may be imposed pursuant to a plea agreement.”
Establishes the legal framework allowing negotiated sentences below statutory minimums in habitual offender cases.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn December 16, 1996, Barker entered a negotiated guilty plea to delivery of cocaine, a second-degree felony. He agreed to be sentenced as a habitual …
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FULMER, Judge.
Jerrode Barker appeals the denial of his motion to correct illegal sentence. While we do not approve the trial court’s reasoning, we agree that Barker is not entitled to relief and, therefore, affirm.
On December 16,1996, Barker entered a negotiated plea of guilty to delivery of cocaine, a second-degree felony. He agreed to be sentenced as a habitual offender to two years’ community control followed by two years’ probation. Barker violated his community control and was sentenced to ten years in prison as a habitual offender. In his motion to correct illegal sentence, Barker cited to King v. State, 681 So. 2d 1136 (Fla.1996), and Yashus v. State, 796 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999),1 to argue that, even though intended as such, his initial sentence of community control and probation was not a habitual offender sentence. He contended that the trial court was therefore without authority to impose a habitual offender sentence upon revocation of community control. The trial court denied Barker’s motion, concluding that Barker was legally sentenced as a habitual offender to a term of community control because a trial court has discretion to impose “a more lenient sentence for a term of years less than the maximum authorized by the habitual felony offender statute.”
This court recently certified conflict with Yashus in Lett v. State, 805 So. 2d 950 at 951-52 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (en banc), in which we stated:
We are of the view that Yashus misinterpreted King. As we recently stated in Pankhurst v. State, 796 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001):
The sentences provided for in the habitual offender statute have been interpreted by the supreme court to mean “any term of years” up to the maximum specified for the particular offense level, provided the term of years is not more lenient than that required by the habitual offender statute or recommended by the sentencing guidelines. Geohagen v. State, 639 So. 2d 611 (Fla.1994); State v. Rinkins, 646 So. 2d 727 (Fla.1994).
Thus, a non-negotiated habitual offender sentence must be for a term of years that equals or exceeds the minimum permitted guideline sentence. In other words, if the trial court wishes to impose a term of probation or a term of years that is below the permitted guidelines range, it must sentence pursuant to the guidelines and give reasons for the downward departure. However, a defendant may enter into a negotiated plea for a term of probation to be served as a habitual offender or a term of years as a habitual offender that is below the minimum guidelines range because, while such a sentence is not authorized by the habitual offender statute, it is not illegal and may be imposed pursuant to a plea agreement. King, 681 So. 2d 1136; Walker v. State, 682 So. 2d 555 (Fla.1996).
Barker would be entitled to relief if his initial sentence of community control had not been imposed pursuant to a negotiated plea. However, Barker alleged that he was placed on community control pursuant to a plea agreement with the State in which he agreed to be sentenced as a habitual offender. Therefore, the trial court was authorized to impose a habitual offender sentence upon revocation of his community control. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of the motion to correct sentence.
Affirmed.
BLUE, C.J., and DAVIS, J., Concur. . Yashus is erroneously designated as a Second District opinion in the Southern Reporter, Second Series. Yashus is a Fifth District case in which three members of this court were appointed to serve as a Fifth District panel.
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Citator
Cited By
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Hampton v. State, 803 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)…). Because Mr. Hampton agreed to plead guilty in exchange for sentences with a maximum term of six years’ imprisonment as a habitual offender, we conclude that this case is distinguishable from Pankhurst and is controlled instead by Barker v. State, 805 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Accordingly, we affirm. In 1991, Mr. Hampton entered a plea of nolo contendere to two charges of sale of cocaine in case numbers 90-480 and 90-476 and to a sale of counterfeit controlled substance in case number 90-481. He was e…
Authorities Cited
- King v. State, 681 So. 2d 1136 (Fla. 1996)
- State v. Australia Ozell Rinkins, Jr., 646 So. 2d 727 (Fla. 1994)
- Geohagen v. State, 639 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 1994)
- Walker v. State, 682 So. 2d 555 (Fla. 1996)
- Lett v. State, 805 So. 2d 950 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
- Collazo v. Moore, 796 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
- Pankhurst v. State, 796 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
- Yashus v. State, 796 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)