Laurie G. JUSTICE, Petitioner,
v.
STATE of Florida, Respondent.
Supreme Court of Florida.
*124 Terrence E. Kehoe of the Law Offices of Terrence E. Kehoe, Orlando, for Petitioner.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Kellie A. Nielan, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM.
We have for review Justice v. State,
WHERE A SENTENCE IS REVERSED BECAUSE THE TRIAL COURT FAILED TO ORALLY PRONOUNCE CERTAIN SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF PROBATION WHICH LATER APPEARED IN THE WRITTEN SENTENCE, MUST THE COURT SIMPLY STRIKE THE UNANNOUNCED CONDITIONS, OR MAY THE COURT ELECT TO "REIMPOSE" THOSE CONDITIONS AT RESENTENCING?
Id. at 1034.
The decision under review also expressly and directly conflicts with numerous opinions out of the First, Second, and Fourth District Courts of Appeal.[1] We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), (4), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed below, we hold that special conditions of probation must be imposed at sentencing and may not be imposed at resentencing.
TRIAL AND APPELLATE PROCEEDINGS
The petitioner, Laurie Justice, was found guilty of two counts of forgery. At sentencing, the trial court placed Justice on probation and imposed three probation conditionsthat Justice pay certain costs, that she not have a checking account, and that she be fingerprinted in open court. However, a subsequent written judgment was entered which contained numerous probation conditions not orally pronounced at sentencing.
Upon appeal, the district court held that a remand was required to resolve the discrepancy between the probation conditions imposed at sentencing and those contained in the written sentencing order. The court also held that the trial court could reimpose the unannounced conditions at resentencing. Justice,
ANALYSIS
Initially, we note the distinction that has been made in the case law between general and special conditions of probation. In State v. Hart,
Justice's probation order contains numerous special probation conditions that were not orally pronounced, and that are not found within the Florida Statutes or contained within the general conditions of the rule 3.986(e) form. Consequently, under Hart, the trial court erred in adding special conditions of probation in the subsequent probation order that were not orally pronounced at the original sentencing hearing.
The requirement that special conditions of probation be pronounced in open court at the time of sentencing arises in part from Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.700(b), which mandates that the sentence or other final disposition "shall be pronounced in open court." The requirement also addresses due process concerns that a defendant have notice and an opportunity to object. See generally Olvey v. State,
Most of the decisions which strike special conditions of probation not imposed at the sentencing hearing appear to be grounded on a judicial policy that the actual oral imposition of sanctions should prevail over any subsequent written order to the contrary. Vasquez v. State,
Some cases have held that the subsequent imposition of new conditions or terms to a sentence or order of probation violates a defendant's constitutional right against double jeopardy. In Lippman v. State,
Disallowing the reimposition of special conditions of probation not previously announced is also consistent with the sentencing policy announced in Pope v. State,
An order of probation, like any other aspect of sentencing, ought not be a work in progress that the trial court can add to or subtract from at will so long as he or she brings the defendant back in and informs the defendant of the changes. To permit this would mean a lack of finality for no good reason and multiple appeals. It is not too much to ask of a sentencing judge to decide on and recite the special conditions of probation at the sentencing hearing, just as is done with the balance of the sentence. If the court has omitted a condition it wishes it had imposed, its chance has passed unless the defendant violates probation.
Justice,
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we hold that where a sentence is reversed because the trial court failed to orally pronounce certain special conditions of probation which later appeared in the written sentence, the court must strike the unannounced conditions and cannot reimpose them upon resentencing. Accordingly, we quash the decision below and approve the decisions from the First, Second, and Fourth Districts referred to herein that are consistent with our opinion today.
It is so ordered.
GRIMES, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, KOGAN, HARDING and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.
WELLS, J., concurs in result only.
NOTES
Notes
[1] First District: see, e.g., Jamail v. State,
[2] The court modified the defendant's probation by: (1) extending the term from two to seven years; (2) ordering the defendant to pay for and successfully complete the Mentally Disordered Sex Offender program; (3) prohibiting the defendant's participation in any job or activity where he would wear a police-type uniform or use police-type equipment; and (4) restricting the defendant's contact with his immediate family until the entire family entered a program for family members of mentally-disordered sex offenders and all therapists approved contact with the family. Id. at 1063.
[3] Just as the rule in this caseoral pronouncement of sentence is requiredis derived from the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, so is the rule in Pope. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.701(d)(11) provides: "Any sentence outside the permitted range must be accompanied by a written statement delineating the reasons for the departure."
[4] As in Pope, a trial court does not get a second bite at the apple when it fails to file written findings in a death case. Section 921.141(3), Florida Statutes (1995), requires a trial court, in the event it imposes a sentence of death, to set forth in writing its findings upon which the sentence of death is based. The failure of a trial court to do this causes a defendant's sentence to be reduced to life imprisonment. § 775.082(1), Fla Stat. (1995). Upon remand, a trial court cannot refurbish its sentencing order and then still sentence the defendant to death. One policy underlying this requirement is that it forces the trial court to consider, with calm and deliberate reflection, the evidence adduced, and to carefully consider and apply the legal standards for determining an appropriate sentence.
