CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2017 WL 4018419, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 13044
...3
guilt. In either case, the court shall stay and withhold the imposition of sentence upon
the defendant and shall place a felony defendant upon probation.” The trial court
also has the option provided in Section 948.012, Florida Statutes (2014), to impose
a split sentence of probation or community control and imprisonment. As authorized
by the legislature in section 948.012:
(2) The court may also impose a split sentence whereby the
defendant is sentenced to a term of probation which may be followed
by a period of incarceration ....
...granting the trial court broad
discretion in fashioning a term of probation when “the ends of justice and the welfare
of society do not require that the defendant presently suffer the penalty imposed by
law.” §
948.01(2), Fla. Stat. (2014). Section
948.012(2)(a) authorizes the trial court
to modify any term of incarceration “to eliminate” it altogether should “the offender
meet[] the terms and conditions of probation ....
....” Logically, if the serving of a
suspended sentence hinges on whether or not the defendant first successfully serves
his or her term of probation, it is merely inchoate. That is to say, under those
4
circumstances, no sentence has yet to be imposed. Of course, under section
948.012(2)(a), the trial court still retains the discretion to impose sentence....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal
...Thus, the defendant argues, he had
completed the 2010 case’s two-year probation term while serving the 2012
case’s eight-year prison term, and he was no longer on probation in 2018.
Our Review
Because we have been asked to review an alleged sentencing error
under section 948.012(1), Florida Statutes (2010), our review is de novo.
See State v....
...standard of review is de novo.”); State v. Dorsett,
158 So. 3d 557, 560 (Fla.
2015) (“The interpretation of a statute is a purely legal matter and therefore
subject to the de novo standard of review.”) (citation omitted).
1. Framing Our Analysis of Section
948.012(1), Fla. Stat. (2010)
The 2010 version of section
948.012(1), Florida Statutes, provided:
Whenever punishment by imprisonment for a misdemeanor or
a felony, except for a capital felony, is prescribed, the court,
in its discretion, may, at the time of sentencing, impose a s...
...posed by the
court. The period of probation or community control shall
3
commence immediately upon the release of the defendant from
incarceration, whether by parole or gain-time allowances.
§ 948.012(1), Fla. Stat. (2010) (emphasis added). 1
As emphasized above, section 948.012(1) uses three different phrases
to refer to when a defendant is to commence a probation term after
completing a prison term: (1) “upon completion of any specified period of
such sentence which may include a term of years or less”;...
...easy to reconcile and apply in
this case, where the defendant was sentenced to serve a two-year
probation term after the 2010 case’s three-year prison term, at a time
when he was still serving the 2012 case’s eight-year prison term.
Taking section 948.012(1)’s first and second emphasized phrases in
isolation – that a defendant is to be placed on probation “upon completion
of any specified period of such sentence which may include a term of years
or less” and “after serving such period as may be imposed by the court” –
seemingly would have required the 2010 case’s two-year probation term to
1 The current version of section 948.012(1) contains minor amendments from
the 2010 version, none of which are material to this case. See § 948.012, Fla.
Stat....
...whether by parole or gain-time allowances.”) (strikethrough and underling added
to show amendments).
4
have commenced immediately after the defendant completed the 2010
case’s three-year prison term.
On the other hand, taking 948.012(1)’s third phrase in isolation – that
a defendant is to be placed on probation “immediately upon the release of
the defendant from incarceration” – seemingly would have required the
2010 case’s two-year prison term to be tolled until after the defendant had
completed both the 2010 case’s three-year prison term and the 2012 case’s
eight-year prison term.
Our duty, however, is not to view any one or more of section
948.012(1)’s three clauses in isolation....
...intend to enact useless provisions, and courts should
avoid readings that would render part of a statute
meaningless.
Id. at 316 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
Applying those principles, our supreme court already has analyzed
section 948.012(1)’s predecessor statute, containing the exact same
language....
...tion term for the
5
first case. Id. These probationary periods were to be followed by four
consecutive longer probationary terms for the third case. Id.
The defendant appealed, arguing her sentence violated section
948.012(1)’s predecessor, section
948.01(8), Florida Statutes (1989)....
...llows
incarceration.
Id. at 312-13 (emphases added; internal citations and quotation marks
omitted).
3. Applying Our Supreme Court’s Reasoning to the Instant Case
Our supreme court’s reasoning in Horner applies here. Giving effect to
section 948.012(1)’s “every word, phrase, sentence, and part of the
statute,” Knighton, 235 So....
