TIMOTHY JOSEPH FERGUSON
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 4th DCA | 2026-04-22
No. 2025-1723
Heisey, J., Klingensmith, J., Shaw, J., Lott, J.
2026 FL 4681 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2026)

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Holding

Due process does not require a trial court to provide an express explanation when denying a motion for downward departure from a mandatory minimum sentence.


Headnotes

[1] Due process does not guarantee a defendant the right to receive an express explanation from the trial court when a motion for downward departure from a mandatory minimum…

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Key Quotes

“We know of no principle or case, nor has one been cited to us, which holds that due process includes the right of an express explanation on why a motion to downward depart was denied. We decline to recognize such a right.”

Court's rationale for affirming the trial court's judgment

Facts & Procedural History

Timothy Joseph Ferguson appealed from the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in St. Lucie County, challenging the trial court's denial …

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Opinion of the Court

DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

FOURTH DISTRICT

TIMOTHY JOSEPH FERGUSON, Appellant,

V.

STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

No. 4D2025-1723

[April 22, 2026]

Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, St. Lucie County; Michael Carlton Heisey, Judge; L.T. Case Nos. 562014CF001172A; 562014CF001814A; 562024CF002199A.

Jonathan Jay Kirschner of Jonathan Jay Kirschner, Esq., & Associates, LLC, Fort Pierce, for appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Zi Jin Peter Chan, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Affirmed. See, inter alia, Venter v. State, 901 So. 2d 898, 898 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (“We know of no principle or case, nor has one been cited to us, which holds that due process includes the right of an express explanation on why a motion to downward depart was denied. We decline to recognize such a right.").

KLINGENSMITH, SHAW and LOTT, JJ., concur.

* * *

Not final until disposition of timely-filed motion for rehearing.


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