McKenzie v. State, 272 So. 3d 808

In 2009 McKenzie pled nolo contendere to engaging in sexual activity with a child while in a position of authority and was sentenced to 6 months incarceration, 3 years sex offender community control, and 2 years sex offender probation. The court found he qualified as a sex offender but did not designate him a sexual predator at sentencing.
McKenzie completed all supervision in April 2015 and the Department of Corrections notified him he was no longer under supervision.
Three years after completion of his sentence the State sought a belated judicial designation of McKenzie as a "sexual predator" under section 775.21, and the trial court granted the designation over McKenzie’s objection.
The trial court relied on Cuevas v. State, a Third DCA opinion permitting post‑sentence predator designations, because at the time it was the only directly on‑point appellate authority.
The State argued the trial court retained jurisdiction under section 775.21(5)(c), which authorizes certain agencies to notify the prosecutor when an offender meets sexual predator criteria — a provision that explicitly references subsections (5)(a)1 and (a)3 but not (a)2 (the sentencing context).
The First District reversed, holding the court lacked jurisdiction to enter a belated sexual predator designation after McKenzie completed his sentence because section 775.21(5)(c) does not apply to offenders within subsection (5)(a)2.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a trial court may designate an offender a sexual predator after the defendant has completed his sentence when the designation was not made at sentencing	State: section 775.21(5)(c) permits the State to bring belated designations and Cuevas supports post‑sentence designation	McKenzie: court lost jurisdiction when sentence and supervision ended; (5)(c) does not apply to subsection (5)(a)2 offenders	Trial court lacked jurisdiction; belated designation improper because (5)(c) does not cover offenders who should have been designated at sentencing under (5)(a)2

Cuevas v. State, 31 So.3d 290 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (held post‑sentence sexual predator designation permissible under broad statutory reading)
Almond v. State, 89 So.3d 1056 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (court may designate while it still has jurisdiction even if designation was missed at sentencing)
Carbajal v. State, 75 So.3d 258 (Fla. 2011) (explains how criminal court jurisdiction is invoked)
Pardo v. State, 596 So.2d 665 (Fla. 1992) (trial courts should follow appellate precedent from other districts when no local precedent exists)
Kelly v. State, 795 So.2d 135 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001) (sexual predator designation is mandatory when criteria met and is not a punishment)