Jose LOPEZ, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
WALLACE, Judge.
Jose Lopez appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm without discussion as to two of Lopez' claims. As to the remaining two claims, we reverse the trial court's order denying Lopez' motion and remand for further proceedings.
On March 6, 2001, a jury convicted Lopez of solicitation to commit first-degree murder. The trial court sentenced Lopez as a prison releasee reoffender (PRR) to thirty years in prison. In his rule 3.850 motion, Lopez alleged that his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the PRR sentence. Lopez claimed that he did not *1152 qualify as a PRR because solicitation to commit murder is not an enumerated offense under section 775.082(8), Florida Statutes (1997), the PRR statute. Although Lopez framed his motion as an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, he more properly alleges a claim of an illegal sentence. Such a claim is also cognizable pursuant to rule 3.850. See Brinson v. State,
Section 775.082(8)(a)(1) defines the term "prison releasee reoffender" as:
"Prison releasee reoffender" means any defendant who commits, or attempts to commit:
a. Treason;
b. Murder;
c. Manslaughter;
d. Sexual battery;
e. Carjacking;
f. Home-invasion robbery;
g. Robbery;
h. Arson;
i. Kidnapping;
j. Aggravated assault;
k. Aggravated battery;
l. Aggravated stalking;
m. Aircraft piracy;
n. Unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb;
o. Any felony that involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against an individual;
p. Armed burglary;
q. Burglary of an occupied structure or dwelling; or
r. Any felony violation of s. 790.07, s. 800.04, s. 827.03, or s. 827.071;
within 3 years of being released from a state correctional facility operated by the Department of Corrections or a private vendor.
Solicitation to commit murder is not an offense that is specifically enumerated under the statute. Nevertheless, the trial court ruled that Lopez qualified for sentencing under the PRR statute because solicitation to commit murder was encompassed within the catch-all provision of section 775.082(8)(a)(1)(o) as a "felony that involved the use or threat of physical force or violence against an individual."
Our research has not disclosed any reported cases which address the question of whether solicitation to commit murder is a qualifying offense under the PRR statute. Two cases, however, provide some guidance. In Elam v. State,
In Duque v. State,
"The gist of criminal solicitation is enticement" of another to commit a crime. Hutchinson v. State,
The provisions of the PRR statute shed additional light on this issue. Although attempts to commit the enumerated crimes are qualifying offenses, solicitations are not mentioned in the PRR statute. Therefore, one may infer from this omission that the legislature did not intend to make solicitations qualifying offenses under the PRR statute.
Finally, we note that where, as in this case, "the language of the statute is susceptible of differing constructions, section 775.021(1) requires that we adopt the construction most favorable to the defendant." Thomas v. State,
Lopez also argued that his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to an incorrect scoresheet. The trial court denied this claim because Lopez' scoresheet was irrelevant to his PRR sentence. However, the PRR sentence is illegal, and Lopez is entitled to have a correct scoresheet used upon resentencing. See, e.g., Fortner v. State,
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
NORTHCUTT and CANADY, JJ., Concur.
NOTES
Notes
[1] We note that in Elam,
