VITO SCAROLA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2004-11-19
No. 5D03-3087
SAWAYA, C.J., SHARP, W., GRIFFIN, THOMPSON, PLEUS, PALMER, ORFINGER, MONACO and TORPY, JJ., concur.
889 So. 2d 108 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2004) Positive Treatment
Cited by 14 cases

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.

Synopsis

Vito Scarola appealed his convictions for burglary and two grand theft charges, arguing that the two grand theft convictions violated double jeopardy protections because they arose from the same criminal episode. The court held that double jeopardy violations constitute fundamental error that can be raised for the first time on appeal, even after an open plea, and vacated one of the grand theft convictions.


Holding

A double jeopardy violation arising from multiple convictions in the same criminal episode is fundamental error that may be raised for the first time on appeal, even after an open plea of guilty or nolo contendere. Rule 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii)(e) permits such an appeal because double jeopardy arguments are 'otherwise provided by law.'


Headnotes

[1] A double jeopardy violation is a fundamental error that may be raised for the first time on appeal, even after an unconditional plea.

[2] Convictions for grand theft of a firearm and grand theft of property arising from the same criminal episode as a burglary violate the prohibition against double jeopardy.

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Key Quotes

“it is clear that the two grand theft convictions arising from this same criminal episode violate the prohibition against double jeopardy”

Establishes the core legal issue: that convictions for stealing items taken in a single burglary violate double jeopardy

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Facts & Procedural History

Scarola entered an open, unconditional plea of nolo contendere to burglary of a dwelling, grand theft of a firearm, and grand theft of property worth …

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Opinion of the Court
PETERSON, J.

PETERSON, J.

Vito Scarola entered an open, unconditional plea of nolo contendere to charges of burglary of a dwelling,1 grand theft of a firearm,2 and grand theft ($800 or more but less than $5,000)3 and was convicted and sentenced for all three crimes. Scaro-la contends on appeal that the convictions for the two grand theft charges were a violation of the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy and that neither his voluntary plea nor his failure to raise the issue before the trial court precludes him from raising this fundamental error for the first time in an appellate court.

The firearm and jewelry were taken by Scarola during the burglary of the dwelling and it is clear that the two grand theft convictions arising from this same criminal episode violate the prohibition against double jeopardy. See, e.g., Wilson v. State, 776 So. 2d 347 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001). The disposition of the error is not as clear when one considers both the rule that a double jeopardy violation is a fundamental error that may be raised for the first time on appeal, and the rule established in Bogan v. State, 852 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003).

In Johnson v. State, 460 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984), aff'd 483 So. 2d 420 (Fla.1986) this court found a double jeopardy violation to be fundamental error; a classification that eliminates the contemporaneous objection rule and allows a claimed error of double jeopardy to be raised for the first time on appeal.1 However, in Bogan this court affirmed a conviction violating the double jeopardy rule where the defendant entered an open plea of guilty to the crimes without reserving the right to appeal a prior dispositive order or raising such matters as would invalidate the appeal itself.2 This court refused to consider the double jeopardy argument on appeal because Bogan failed to move to withdraw his guilty plea and the appeal was not based upon any of the reasons enumerated in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii)(e) (2002).

In view of Johnson and the two decisions discussed below that followed Bogan, we recede from the Bogan decision. Additionally, rule 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii)(e) allows an appeal from a nolo contendere plea when it is otherwise provided by law.

The defendant in Barfield v. State, 871 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) entered an open, unconditional guilty plea to charges of grand theft and dealing in stolen property and was convicted and sentenced. He appealed raising a double jeopardy issue for the first time. Although the case was remanded for evidentiary findings to determine whether the two offenses were part of the same scheme or course of conduct, this court agreed with the appellant’s arguments that: (1) the dual convictions constituted fundamental error; (2) the conviction error could be raised for the first time on appeal; and (3) rule 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii)(e) permits the fundamental double jeopardy argument because it is one “otherwise provided by law.” Our decision in Barfield comports with the Fourth District’s decision in Toson v. State, 864 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004) which held that rule 9.140(b)(2) permits a double jeopardy argument to be raised for the first time on appeal when an open guilty plea has previously been entered.

We vacate Scarola’s conviction for grand theft of property having a value of $800 or more but less than $5,000 and the sentences imposed therefor, affirm the remaining convictions, and remand for resentencing.

AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; REMANDED.

SAWAYA, C.J., SHARP, W., GRIFFIN, THOMPSON, PLEUS, PALMER, ORFINGER, MONACO and TORPY, JJ., concur. . §§ 810.02(1),(3); 810.07, Fla. Stat. (2002).

. § 812.014(1),(2)(c), Fla. Stat. (2002).

. § 812.014(1),(2)(c), Fla. Stat. (2002).

. The defendant in Johnson was adjudicated guilty after entering a plea agreement, but the trial court vacated the judgment when the presentence investigation report revealed pri-or convictions unknown by the court prior to the adjudication. The Florida Supreme Court found that the subsequent trial placed the defendant in jeopardy twice and the defendant was not precluded from raising the defense for the first time on appeal.

. The Bogan opinion does not indicate that the defendant entered an open plea, but review of this court’s records reveals' that fact.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Bailey v. State, 21 So. 3d 147 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
    …ant failed to raise the double jeopardy issue below, such a claim raises a question of fundamental error that can be raised for the first time on direct appeal. See Crites v. State, 959 So. 2d 1265, 1267 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007), citing Scarola v. State, 889 So. 2d 108, 109— 10 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (en banc). Although a guilty plea and adjudication of guilt generally preclude a later double jeopardy attack, an exception applies when, as in this case, there is a general or open plea, the double jeopardy is apparent…
  • State v. A.M.W., 975 So. 2d 405 (Fla. 2007)
    …LEWIS, C.J. We have for review A.M.W. v. State, 934 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006), in which the Fifth District Court of Appeal followed its previous decisions in Scarola v. State, 889 So. 2d 108 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (en banc), and Wilson v. State, 776 So. 2d 347 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001), noting that the Fourth District Court of Appeal had certified conflict with Wilson in Kelso v. State, 898 So. 2d 1023 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), approved, 961 So. 2d 2…
  • Kelso v. State, 961 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 2007)
    …We have for review the decision in Kelso v. State, 898 So. 2d 1023 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), in which the Fourth District certified conflict with the Fifth District’s decisions in Wilson v. State, 776 So. 2d 347 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001), and Scarola v. State, 889 So. 2d 108 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), and the Second District’s decision in Thompson v. State, 888 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The instant matter presents a purely legal questi…

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