JASON HAMILTON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jason Hamilton appealed his sentence, challenging whether the trial judge violated Apprendi v. New Jersey by imposing sentence enhancements for victim injury, death, and firearm use without jury findings. The Florida Supreme Court quashed the appellate court's prior affirmance and remanded for harmless error analysis. The court held that enhancements for death and firearm use were harmless error given the jury's guilty verdict for manslaughter with a firearm, but remanded on the victim injury enhancement.
The sentence enhancements for death and use of a firearm constitute harmless error because the jury convicted Hamilton of manslaughter with a firearm, which necessarily encompasses those elements. However, the appellate court could not determine from the record whether the enhancement for severe victim injuries was harmless error, so the case was remanded for the trial court to provide the appropriate portions of the record for further review.
[1] Apprendi sentencing errors can be subject to harmless error analysis.
[2] A prior appellate decision affirming a sentence based on non-retroactivity of Apprendi does not preclude a harmless error analysis on remand after a higher court quashes…
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“Considering that the jury found appellant guilty of manslaughter with a firearm, we conclude that the increase in the sentence for the death and the use of a firearm is harmless error.”
The court's holding that enhancements for death and firearm use do not violate Apprendi where the jury verdict encompasses those elements.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHamilton was convicted by jury of manslaughter with a firearm. The trial judge increased his sentence by adding sentencing points for severe victim in…
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KLEIN, J.
In an earlier appeal to this court appellant argued that his sentence, which was increased by the judge, not the jury, for severe victim injury, death and using a firearm, violated Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). Appellant, however, had been convicted and sentenced before Apprendi, and was resentenced following a reversal of his sentence on direct appeal, after Ap-prendi was decided. We concluded that applying Apprendi to the resentencing would be applying Apprendi retroactively, which was contrary to Hughes v. State, 901 So. 2d 837 (Fla.2005). We accordingly affirmed, Hamilton v. State, 914 So. 2d 993 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005), but certified direct conflict with Isaac v. State, 911 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005).
In Galindez v. State, 955 So. 2d 517 (Fla.2007), the Florida Supreme Court had the opportunity to resolve the conflict on whether Apprendi would apply to a resentencing, where the conviction and original sentence occurred before Apprendi, but the court declined to do so. Instead it concluded that if there was an Apprendi error in Galindez, the error was harmless. Washington v. Recuenco, 548 U.S. 212, 126 S.Ct. 2546, 165 L.Ed.2d 466 (2006) (sentencing errors under Apprendi and Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004) can be harmless). Following Galindez the Florida Supreme Court granted review in this case, quashed our decision, and remanded for us to do a harmless error analysis.
Appellant was found guilty by a jury of manslaughter with a firearm, and the court increased his sentence by adding points for severe victim injuries because three other people were injured during the incident. The court also added points for the death and for the use of a firearm. Considering that the jury found appellant guilty of manslaughter with a firearm, we conclude that the increase in the sentence for the death and the use of a firearm is harmless error. We are unable, on this record, to determine whether the error in increasing his sentence for severe victim injuries is harmless, and we accordingly remand to the trial court for attachment of the appropriate portions of the record which will enable us to determine whether the assessment of severe victim injury points for the manslaughter conviction is harmless. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
WARNER and GROSS, JJ., concur.
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Hankerson v. State, 987 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Hamilton v. State, 981 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008); Rouse v. State, 965 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007). SHAHOOD, C.J., KLEIN and STEVENSON, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (U.S. 2000)
- Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (U.S. 2004)
- Galindez v. State, 955 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 2007)
- Washington v. Recuenco, 548 U.S. 212 (U.S. 2006)
- Hughes v. State, 901 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 2005)
- Lemuel E. Isaac v. State, 911 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)
- Hamilton v. State, 914 So. 2d 993 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)