Simpson v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledAugust 26, 2026
Docket1D2025-0961
StatusPublished
📰 News Coverage: Read the LAWS.com news report on this case
Full Opinion
FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
No. 1D2025-0961
_____________________________
OTIS JAMES SIMPSON,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
_____________________________
On appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County.
Stephen S. Everett, Judge.
August 26, 2026
PER CURIAM.
We affirm Appellant’s conviction and sentence and write only
to correct a scrivener’s error on the written judgment and sentence.
See Ashley v. State, 850 So. 2d 1265, 1268 n. 3 (Fla. 2003) (defining
a scrivener’s error as a written clerical error that is not “the result
of a judicial determination or error”). The written judgment and
sentence classify Appellant as a habitual felony offender, even
though the State did not seek that designation and the trial court
did not announce it when orally pronouncing his adjudication and
sentence. See Bryant v. State, 302 So. 3d 995, 1000 (Fla. 1st DCA
2020) (stating that the trial court’s oral pronouncement of the
sentence controls over the written sentence). On remand, the trial
court shall correct the scrivener’s error by striking the habitual
felony offender designation from the written judgment and
sentence. Appellant need not be present for this ministerial
correction. See Gray v. State, 370 So. 3d 711, 712 (Fla. 1st DCA
2023) (explaining that the defendant’s presence is not required on
remand for the correction of a scrivener’s error because it is a
ministerial act that requires no judicial discretion).
AFFIRMED and REMANDED with instructions.
LEWIS, M.K. THOMAS, and TREADWELL, JJ., concur.
_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
_____________________________
Jessica J. Yeary, Public Defender, and Megan Long, Assistant
Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and Amanda A. Uwaibi,
Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
2