Ronald Stephen Denman v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledOctober 15, 2021
Docket2D19-1687
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
RONALD STEPHEN DENMAN,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
Nos. 2D19-1687, 2D19-3381
CONSOLIDATED
October 15, 2021
Appeals from the Circuit Court for Charlotte County; Donald H.
Mason, Judge.
Howard L. Dimmig, II, Public Defender, and Maureen E. Surber,
Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Katherine
Coombs Cline, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
SLEET, Judge.
Ronald Denman challenges his judgment and sentences for
burglary of a conveyance and petit theft, third or subsequent
offense.1 We affirm Denman's convictions and consecutive five-year
sentences but reverse the imposition of a $400 public defender fee
and the habitual felony offender (HFO) designation that was not
orally pronounced at sentencing.
Denman argues, and the State concedes, that the trial court
erred in imposing a $400 public defender fee without giving him
notice and an opportunity to challenge it. See ยง 938.29(5), Fla.
Stat. (2019) ("The court having jurisdiction of the defendant . . .
shall . . . determine the value of the services of the public defender
. . . at which time the defendant . . . , after adequate notice thereof,
shall have opportunity to be heard and offer objection to the
determination . . . ."); State v. J.A.R., 318 So. 3d 1256, 1258-59 (Fla.
2021) ("[I]f the court exercises its discretion under the statute to
impose a fee amount higher than the [$100] statutory minimum [for
felonies], there must be 'sufficient proof of higher fees or costs
incurred' . . . [and] it must notify the defendant of the fee as well as
the right to contest it." (quoting ยง 938.29(1)(a))). We agree, reverse
the imposition of this fee, and remand for "the trial court to either
1 This court has sua sponte consolidated these appeals for all
purposes.
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reduce the amount to the statutorily required $100 or hold a hearing
with proper notice to obtain evidence in support of a lien in an
amount greater than the statutory minimum." See Pierre v. State,
264 So. 3d 206, 207 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019).
Denman also argues on appeal that his written sentence does
not comport with the trial court's oral pronouncement at sentencing.
He maintains that while the court determined that he did qualify as a
an HFO, it affirmatively stated that it would not impose the
designation. Our review of the sentencing transcript indicates that
Denman is correct. As such, on remand, the trial court shall also
strike the HFO designation from the sentence so that the written
sentence comports with the court's oral pronouncement. See
Cuevas v. State, 135 So. 3d 449, 449 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) ("[A] trial
court's oral pronouncement of sentence controls over the written
document." (citing Ashley v. State, 850 So. 2d 1265, 1268 (Fla.
2003))).
Finally, after Denman filed his notice of appeal in case number
2D19-1687, the trial court sua sponte amended Denman's
sentence, correcting a scrivener's error that indicated his sentences
were to be served concurrently rather than consecutively as orally
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pronounced by the court. However, because Denman had already
filed his notice of appeal, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to
amend his sentence. See Caruso v. State, 264 So. 3d 361, 362 (Fla.
2d DCA 2019) ("The trial court . . . lacked jurisdiction to amend the
judgment and sentence while it was on appeal to this court.").
Accordingly, on remand, the amended sentence entered without
jurisdiction must be vacated, see id., but with its jurisdiction
restored, the trial court must then correct Denman's sentence to
reflect its oral sentencing pronouncement that the terms be served
consecutively, see Cuevas, 135 So. 3d at 449.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with
instructions.
NORTHCUTT and KHOUZAM, JJ., Concur.
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.
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