ROBERTO VALDES
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 3d DCA | 2025-12-03
No. 2025-1342
Miranda, J., Emas, J., Miller, J., Bokor, J.
2025 FL 11433 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2025)

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Holding

A sentence of life imprisonment is sufficiently definite under the Constitution and does not violate principles against indefinite punishment.


Headnotes

[1] A sentence of life imprisonment prescribed by the Legislature is sufficiently definite under constitutional law and does not violate prohibitions against indefinite punis…

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Key Quotes

“The Legislature, by prescribing a sentence of life imprisonment, intends that the defendant remain in prison for the rest of his life. The term 'life' is sufficiently definite so that it can be understood and applied. There is nothing indefinite about such a sentence.”

Court's reasoning citing Ratliff v. State, 914 So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 2005)

Facts & Procedural History

Roberto Valdes appealed a judgment from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County imposing a life sentence. The appeal challenged the constitutionality …

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Opinion of the Court
Bokor

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed December 3, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D25-1342 Lower Tribunal No. F82-27694 ________________

Roberto Valdes, Appellant,

vs.

State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Cristina Miranda, Judge.

Roberto Valdes, in proper person.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and Daniel Colmenares and Haccord Curry, Assistant Attorneys General, for appellee.

Before EMAS, and MILLER, and BOKOR, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

2

Affirmed. See Ratliff v. State, 914 So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 2005) (“[T]he Legislature, by prescribing a sentence of life imprisonment, intends that the defendant remain in prison for the rest of his life. The term “life” is sufficiently definite so that it can be understood and applied. There is nothing indefinite about such a sentence.”).


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