Marlena Christine Woods v. State of Florida, 15-4042

Marlena Woods pled guilty to third-degree felony petit theft (third offense) after shoplifting food; she waived trial and appellate rights related to the judgment.
Under §775.082(10), non-forcible third-degree felonies scoring 22 points or fewer are presumptively subject to non-prison sanctions (county jail ≤12 months, probation) unless the court finds in writing that a non-prison sanction would present a danger to the public.
At sentencing the judge found Woods posed a danger based on prior convictions and the quick recurrence of theft after release, and imposed an upward departure to 18 months in state prison.
Woods appealed, raising (1) a constitutional challenge under the Sixth Amendment (Apprendi/Blakely) to §775.082(10), and (2) that the court unlawfully deviated from the statute’s presumptive non-prison sanction; the opinion addresses only the constitutional challenge.
The court held §775.082(10) must be construed to require a jury finding that the defendant poses a danger to the public before a judge may impose a more punitive sentence than the statute’s presumptive non-prison sanction, but applied harmless-error review and affirmed Woods’s sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether §775.082(10) violates the Sixth Amendment by permitting upward departures based on judge-made findings	Woods: statute allows judge to increase punishment beyond statutory maximum without jury finding (Apprendi/Blakely violation)	State: provision mitigates sentence (not enhancement) and therefore does not trigger Apprendi; Porter supports no-jury finding	Court: statute must be read to require a jury finding that defendant is dangerous before upward departure, to preserve constitutionality; defendant’s sentence upheld as harmless error

Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000) (facts increasing penalty beyond statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury)
Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004) (statutory maximum for Apprendi purposes is the maximum based on jury verdict or defendant admissions)
State v. Overfelt, 457 So. 2d 1385 (Fla. 1984) (Florida court required jury finding for statutory enhancement tied to firearm possession)
Washington v. Recuenco, 548 U.S. 212 (2006) (Apprendi error is subject to harmless-error review)
Galindez v. State, 955 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 2007) (Apprendi/Blakely errors subject to harmless-error analysis in Florida)