State v. BenitezState v. Benitez
This case comes to us on direct appeal from a trial court order determining that
After Carlos and Esperanza Benitez attempted to sell one kilo of cocaine to undercover narcotics agents for $44,000, they were charged by information with “trafficking in cocaine” in violation of
Nonetheless, in their zeal to combat the flow and distribution of illegal drugs through this novel legislation, legislators knowingly glossed over alleged constitutional defects in the approach that was being developed. We in the judiciary do not have that luxury. Indeed, the trial judge‘s extensive and detailed order exhibits the multiple, serious difficulties which this statute poses under well-established constitutional principles. We discern six major challenges to the constitutionality of
1. Standing
The basic rule governing the standing of parties challenging statutory enactments was recently stated in Sandstrom v. Leader, 370 So.2d 3, 4 (Fla. 1979):
Fundamental constitutional principles dictate that one may not challenge those portions of an enactment which do not adversely affect his personal or property rights... Such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy is necessary “to assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the court so largely depends for illumination of difficult constitutional questions[.]” (citations omitted).
The state argues that, because appellees have not yet been convicted, they have no personal stake in this penalty-oriented statute.
To state the assertion is to demonstrate its absurdity. A party subject to criminal prosecution clearly has a sufficient personal stake in the penalty which the offense carries. This is wholly unlike cases in which criminal defendants have challenged portions of a statute which have nothing to do with their prosecution. See State v. Millington, 377 So.2d 685 (Fla. 1979); State v. Champe, 373 So.2d 874 (Fla. 1978).
2. Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Appellees argue that the mandatory minimum sentences of
Appellees also argue that the mandatory sentences in
The recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263, 100 S.Ct. 1133, 63 L.Ed.2d 382 (1980), indicates that similar considerations prevail under the federal constitution. In that case, the Court held that a mandatory life sentence imposed on the petitioner pursuant to a Texas recidivist statute did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. The majority‘s analysis of this area noted that:
[t]his Court has on occasion stated that the Eighth Amendment prohibits imposition of a sentence which is grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime... . In recent years this proposition has appeared most frequently in opinions dealing with the death penalty... . Because a sentence of death differs in kind from any sentence of imprisonment, no matter how long, our decisions applying the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment to capital cases are of limited assistance in deciding the constitutionality of the punishment meted out to Rummel.
Outside the context of capital punishment, successful challenges to the proportionality of particular sentences have been exceedingly rare.
Id., 445 U.S. at 271, 100 S.Ct. at 1138 (citations omitted). After analyzing one of these rare successful challenges, Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349, 30 S.Ct. 544, 54 L.Ed. 793 (1910), the majority concluded:
Given the unique nature of the punishments considered in Weems and in the death-penalty cases, one could argue without fear of contradiction by any decision of this Court that for crimes concededly classified and classifiable as felonies, that is, as punishable by significant terms of imprisonment in a state penitentiary, the length of the sentence actually imposed is purely a matter of legislative prerogative.
Id., 445 U.S. at 273, 100 S.Ct. at 1139 (footnote omitted).
The penalties imposed by
3. Due Process-Vagueness
Little discussion is needed concerning appellees’ suggestion that subsection (3) is impermissibly vague in defining a convicted defendant who is eligible for lenient treatment as “any person ... who provides substantial assistance in the identification, arrest, or conviction of any of his accomplices, accessories, co-conspirators, or principals.” Being a description of a post-conviction form of plea bargaining rather than a definition of the crime itself, the phrase “substantial assistance” can tolerate subjectivity to an extent which normally would be impermissible for penal statutes. Cf. Linville v. State, 359 So.2d 450 (Fla. 1978) (statutory definition of proscribed activity
4. Equal Protection
Appellees’ suggestion that subsection (3) denies equal protection of the law to convicted defendants who cannot provide “substantial assistance” to law enforcement officials is patently without merit. This legislation manifestly passes the rational basis test. See Hamilton v. State, 366 So.2d 8 (Fla. 1978).
5. Separation of Powers
Two basic arguments by appellees are directed at Florida‘s constitutional separation of governmental powers.
Appellees’ second argument premised on the constitutional separation of powers is that subsection (3) usurps the sentencing function from the judiciary and assigns it to the executive branch, since the benefits of subsection (3) are triggered by the initiative of the state attorney. Under the statute, the ultimate decision on sentencing resides with the judge who must rule on the motion for reduction or suspension of sentence. “So long as a statute does not wrest from courts the final discretion to impose sentence, it does not infringe upon the constitutional division of responsibilities.” People v. Eason, 40 N.Y.2d 297, 301, 386 N.Y.S.2d 673, 676, 353 N.E.2d 587, 589 (1976) (emphasis in original) (rejecting a separation of powers attack on a similar provision in New York‘s drug laws).
6. Self-incrimination
Finally, the appellees argue that
With respect to those cases which say that the trial courts may not enhance a sentence based on a defendant‘s failure to cooperate with the authorities, see United States v. Garcia, 544 F.2d 681 (3rd Cir.1976); United States v. Acosta, 501 F.2d 1330 (5th Cir.1974) (Gee, J., dissenting), adopted en banc, 509 F.2d 539 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 891, 96 S.Ct. 188, 46 L.Ed.2d 122 (1975); United States v. Rogers, 504 F.2d 1079 (5th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 422 U.S. 1042, 95 S.Ct. 2655, 45 L.Ed.2d 693 (1975), we believe that Roberts v. United States, 445 U.S. 552, 100 S.Ct. 1358, 63 L.Ed.2d 622 (1980), went a long way toward resolving this issue against appellees. The Court in Roberts concluded that the district court properly considered the defendant‘s refusal to cooperate as one factor in imposing consecutive sentences. Admittedly, a fifth amendment claim was not properly raised in Roberts and “would have merited serious consideration” if it had been. Id. at 559, 100 S.Ct. at 1364. We conclude, however, that for fifth amendment purposes the situation in Roberts is distinguishable from that here. A sentence reduction obtained by a sentenced convict due to his cooperation is not tantamount to the enhancement of a sentence imposed on an unsentenced, but convicted defendant as a result of his lack of cooperation. The former is no different from a gratuitous sentence reduction offered to one already incarcerated who, even without statutory sanction, risks reincrimination in exchange for early release benefits.
Our disposition of appellees’ challenges obviates the need to consider the severability of subsection (3) from the statute. We hold that
SUNDBERG, C.J., and ADKINS, BOYD, OVERTON, ALDERMAN and McDONALD, JJ., concur.