Summary
reversing the defendant's upward departure sentence where the trial court failed to state its reasons for the upward departure and directing the trial court to impose a guidelines sentence on remand
Summary of this case from State v. DunnOpinion
No. 1D04-0890.
February 17, 2006.
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County. John H. Skinner, Judge.
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender; John R. Alfino, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Charlie Crist, Attorney General; Thomas H. Duffy, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
This is a direct appeal from a resentencing for an offense that occurred sometime between July 12, 1997 and July 12, 2002. The challenged sentence was pronounced under section 921.0016(1)(c), Florida Statutes (Supp. 1996), and Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.703(d)(29) (1996). Although the trial court departed upwardly from the sentencing guidelines, the trial court prepared no written findings for departure as is required by section 921.0016(1)(c), nor was a transcript of sentencing signed and entered into the file at any time before appeal was taken. See Maddox v. State, 760 So.2d 89, 106-08 (Fla. 2000). Although the appellant complained of the lack of written reasons (or signed, filed transcript) in a motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2), the trial court denied the motion without stating reasons for departure (or signing and filing the transcript). This failure distinguishes the case from Mandri v. State, 813 So.2d 65, 66 (Fla. 2002), and brings it under Butler v. State, 765 So.2d 274, 275 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). Accordingly, here, as in Butler, we reverse and remand for sentencing under the guidelines. See also Haynes v. State, 843 So.2d 993, 994 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003); Edwards v. State, 770 So.2d 179, 179-80 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000); Edmondson v. State, 777 So.2d 434, 434 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000).
REVERSED and REMANDED with directions that the trial court impose a guidelines sentence.
KAHN, C.J., and ERVIN and BENTON, JJ., concur.