DAVIDE FORREST DELAFÉ, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
On the second appeal, the court affirmed the postconviction court's harmless error analysis regarding an Apprendi/Blakely sentencing error. The trial court had imposed an upward departure sentence for attempted sexual battery on a child without submitting the departure factors to a jury, but the court concluded that a rational jury would necessarily have found at least two valid aggravating factors.
The court affirmed the denial of DeLaFé's Apprendi/Blakely claim, holding that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because a rational jury would necessarily have found two valid aggravating factors: the victim's particular vulnerability due to her age and DeLaFé's breach of a position of trust and familial authority.
[1] A harmless error analysis following an Apprendi/Blakely violation requires determining beyond a reasonable doubt whether a rational jury would have found the facts suppor…
[2] A victim's particular vulnerability due to age is a valid ground for an upward departure sentence in cases of attempted sexual battery on a child under 12.
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“Where an Apprendi/Blakely error has occurred, the harmless error analysis asks, 'whether the record demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found [the facts at issue].'”
Establishes the standard for harmless error review in sentencing departure cases.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDeLaFé was convicted of two counts of attempted sexual battery upon a child under 12 years of age. The victim was 5 years old and was DeLaFé's stepdau…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Position Of Trust cases and more on FLexlaw
This is the second appeal arising from the denial of Appellant’s August 2010 post-conviction motion filed pursuant to Florida Criminal Procedure Rule 3.850. In the first appeal, we affirmed the denial of all but one of Appellant’s claims — that the trial court imposed an illegal upward departure sentence under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), and Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004). We remanded the Apprendi/Blakely claim, and directed the postconviction court to conclusively show Appellant is not entitled to relief, conduct a harmless error analysis, or resentence Appellant. See DeLaFé v. State, 106 So.3d 483, 484 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). On remand, the postconviction court determined that the sentencing court’s failure to submit the upward departure issue to the jury was harmless error, and accordingly, denied Appellant’s claim.
Where an Apprendi/Blakely error has occurred, the harmless error analysis asks, “whether the record demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found [the facts at issue].” Galindez v. State, 955 So.2d 517, 523 (Fla.2007). In sentencing Appellant for two counts of attempted sexual battery upon a child under 12 years of age, the trial court found the following aggravating factors justified an upward departure from the guidelines sentence:1 (1) The victim was especially vulnerable due to her age at the time of the offense — 5 years old; (2) The acts committed by Appellant were not an isolated incident; (3) Appellant had perpetrated similar acts on another child; (4) Appellant, as the child’s stepfather, stood in a position of trust and had authority over her. Upon review of the record portions the postconviction court attached to its order, we conclude that, had the jury considered the sentencing departure issue, it would have found two of the factors above — the victim was particularly vulner*295able because of her age, and Appellant occupied and breached a position of trust and familial authority. Both factors are valid grounds for an upward departure sentence in this case. See Capers v. State, 678 So.2d 830, 883 (Fla.1996) (holding that victim’s vulnerability due to age is a valid basis for departure sentence for attempted capital sexual battery on person less than 12 years of age); Hawkins v. State, 522 So.2d 488, 490 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988) (stating that defendant’s breach of special trust from familial authority and victim’s particular vulnerability are acceptable grounds for departure in sexual battery cases). Because “the existence of any permissible departure reason requires that the departure sentence be upheld,” see Fleming v. State, 88 So.3d 288, 290 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012), we affirm the denial of Appellant’s Apprendi/Blakely claim.
AFFIRMED.
LEWIS, C.J., MARSTILLER, and OSTERHAUS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Scott v. State, 258 So. 3d 548 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)
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)
- Lucian Herman Hawkins v. State, 522 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- Campos-Carriera v. State, 106 So. 3d 483 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013)
- Fleming v. State, 88 So. 3d 288 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)