Dante R. Morris v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledOctober 27, 2021
Docket2D20-2796
StatusPublished
📰 News Coverage: Read the LAWS.com news report on this case
Full Opinion
DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
DANTE R. MORRIS,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
No. 2D20-2796
October 27, 2021
Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit
Court for Polk County; William Sites, Judge.
Howard L. Dimmig II, Public Defender and Pamela H. Izakowitz,
Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee and Linsey Sims-
Bohnenstiehl, Tampa, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM.
Dante R. Morris appeals the trial court's order rescinding its
"order on remand," which granted Mr. Morris a new sentencing
hearing, and reinstating its order denying Mr. Morris' motion filed
under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b). The State has
conceded error. We reverse the trial court's order and remand for
resentencing.
Mr. Morris asserted in his motion that he was entitled to
resentencing under chapter 2014-220, Laws of Florida. The trial
court denied his motion, and we affirmed. Morris v. State, 206 So.
3d 154, 154 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016). Mr. Morris sought review in the
Florida Supreme Court, which reversed our mandate and remanded
for resentencing. Morris v. State, 246 So. 3d 244, 245 (Fla. 2018).
In August 2018, we issued our mandate adopting the supreme
court's mandate and reversing Mr. Morris's sentence and
remanding for further proceedings. As a result, the trial court
ordered that Mr. Morris be resentenced.
Before the resentencing hearing occurred, the trial court
stayed the proceedings pending the outcome of Pedroza v. State,
291 So. 3d 541 (Fla. 2020). After Pedroza was decided, the trial
court concluded that Mr. Morris was no longer entitled to
resentencing, and it granted the State's motion to rescind its order
granting resentencing. Relying on our decision in Marshall v. State,
2
313 So. 3d 671 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019), the postconviction court did not
follow our mandate and declined to resentence Mr. Morris. In
Marshall, we denied the petitioner's motion to enforce our mandate
directing resentencing because an intervening supreme court
decision established that our prior opinion was no longer correct.
Id. at 672. We receded from Marshall in Howard v. State, 322 So.
3d 134 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021), explaining that once a mandate
ordering resentencing issues, the "original sentence is now a
nullity" and cannot be recalled after 120 days have lapsed. Id. at
137. Regardless of whether there has been intervening case law,
the judgment ordering resentencing "is final and no longer subject
to reconsideration." State v. Okafor, 306 So. 3d 930, 935 (Fla.
2020).
Mr. Morris is entitled to resentencing. As explained in
Howard, however, Mr. Morris "may have won a pyrrhic victory
because 'the decisional law effective at the time of the resentencing
applies.' Hence, upon resentencing, Mr. [Morris] may yet receive
the same sentence." 322 So. 3d at 138 (quoting Croft v. State, 295
So. 3d 307, 309 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020).
Reversed and remanded.
3
CASANUEVA, ROTHSTEIN-YOUAKIM, and STARGEL, JJ., Concur.
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.
4