State v. RodriguezState v. Rodriguez
Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and L. Michael Roffino, Sp. Asst. Public Defender, Coral Gables, for respondent.
BARKETT, Judge.
We accepted jurisdiction to resolve an express and direct conflict between Rodriguez v. State, 553 So. 2d 1331 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), and Pritchard v. State, 528 So. 2d 1272 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).1 The issue is whether a charging document must specifically allege three or more prior convictions for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) when charging a defendant with felony DUI to confer jurisdiction on the circuit court and to comply with due process of law.
The state filed an information in the circuit court charging Narcisco Rodriguez with three traffic-related offenses on October 11, 1988. One of the charges was for DUI in violation of
At arraignment, Rodriguez moved to dismiss or to transfer the matter to the county court, asserting that because the information did not inform him of what specific prior offenses he allegedly committed, the information did not adequately charge the felony, and therefore the circuit court had no jurisdiction. The circuit court denied the motion. Subsequently, a jury found Rodriguez guilty of DUI. After denying Rodriguez‘s renewed motion to dismiss, the court immediately adjudicated Rodriguez guilty of third-degree felony DUI and sentenced him to four and one-half years’ imprisonment.3
The district court reversed on the ground that the felony prosecution in circuit court was improper because the information merely charged Rodriguez, “in effect, with three misdemeanors.” Rodriguez, 553 So. 2d at 1331. The district court expressed conflict with Pritchard, which held that the state need not allege the prior DUI convictions in the charging document “because of possible prejudice to the accused in the event the prior convictions were brought to the jury‘s attention.” Pritchard, 528 So. 2d at 1273.
The arguments presented by the parties require us to make two related inquiries concerning the sufficiency of the information. First, we must determine whether the information unambiguously alleged the commission of a felony, thereby properly invoking the subject matter jurisdiction of the circuit court. If the circuit court had jurisdiction, we must then determine whether the information satisfied Rodriguez‘s right to the protection of due process of law.
On the question of jurisdiction, the closely analogous case of State v. Phillips, 463 So. 2d 1136 (Fla. 1985), controls. In Phillips, we said an information charging a felony and misdemeanors arising out of the same circumstances is within the exclusive
The narrow issue in Phillips was whether the information “sufficiently alleged commission of a felony and thus properly invoked the jurisdiction of the circuit court.” Phillips, 463 So. 2d at 1137. In that case, an information charged Phillips with the theft of less than one hundred dollars, citing
The jurisdictional issue in this case is even more clear than in Phillips. The information charged Rodriguez with DUI in violation of
316.193 Driving under the influence; penalties. —
(1) A person is guilty of the offense of driving under the influence and is subject to punishment as provided in subsection (2) if such person is driving or in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state and:
(a) The person is under the influence of alcoholic beverages, any chemical substance set forth in s. 877.111, or any substance controlled under chapter 893, when affected to the extent that his normal faculties are impaired; or
(b) The person has a blood alcohol level of 0.10 percent or higher.
(2)... .
... .
(b) Any person who is convicted of a fourth or subsequent violation of subsection (1) is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
By referring specifically to subsection (2)(b), the state made clear that it was charging Rodriguez with the third-degree felony as specifically set forth in that subsection. Thus, the information properly invoked the jurisdiction of the circuit court.
However, this does not end our inquiry. Rodriguez argues that even if the circuit court had jurisdiction, the information failed to meet the standards required by due process of law. His due process argument really involves two distinct aspects of the due process guarantee: the notice requirement and the entitlement to a presumption of innocence.
A charging document must provide adequate notice of the alleged essential facts the defendant must defend against.
As the state conceded at oral argument, the combined existence of three or more prior DUI convictions is an element of the substantive offense of felony DUI as defined by
Moreover, the logic supporting our jurisdictional holding above also supports the conclusion that three prior DUI convictions combine as an essential element of felony DUI. The circuit court has jurisdiction only because the offense is a felony. It is a felony only by virtue of the fact that the defendant has been convicted of three or more prior DUI violations. It follows that because this fact is essential to the definition of the crime of felony DUI, it is an essential element that must be noticed and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Having established that the existence of prior DUI convictions is an essential element of felony DUI, it necessarily follows that the requisite notice of prior DUI convictions must be given in the charging document. However, due process also requires that a defendant‘s presumption of innocence be preserved. To address the overlap of these two due process concerns, we must look at both the charging document itself and the manner in which the allegations are conveyed to the jury.
In Harris, the Court observed that the presumption of innocence may be compromised if jurors deliberating on a single petit larceny charge were to become aware of allegations or proof of prior similar convictions. Accord Shargaa v. State, 102 So. 2d 809 (Fla.) (the presumption of innocence is destroyed when jurors learn of previous convictions for unrelated felonies), cert. denied, 358 U.S. 873, 79 S. Ct. 114, 3 L. Ed. 2d 104 (1958). Informing jurors of the allegation or proof of prior convictions
“would substantially destroy the historical presumption of innocence which clothes every defendant in a criminal case[,] and in the mind of the average juror [it] would in a measure place upon the accused the burden of showing himself innocent rather than upon the State the responsibility of proving him guilty.”
... . If the presumption of innocence is destroyed by proof of an unrelated offense, it is more easily destroyed by proof of a similar, related offense.
Harris, 356 So. 2d at 317 (quoting Shargaa, 102 So. 2d at 816). Faced with the need to satisfy due process, the Court in Harris
The same due process concerns apply with equal force in felony DUI jury trials. See Pritchard v. State, 528 So. 2d 1272 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). The jury must be allowed to objectively determine whether each essential fact comprising the felony DUI charge has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Harris shows that courts must give the felony DUI defendant ample notice of the essential facts of prior DUI convictions to satisfy the due process notice requirement. At the same time, courts must be extremely careful as to how the allegations and facts concerning prior DUI convictions are conveyed to the jury so as not to compromise the presumption of innocence. To protect the right to fair notice guaranteed by
The Court in Harris also addressed the procedural question of how the state may present evidence to prove the existence of prior convictions without compromising the defendant‘s presumption of innocence. The Court said that once the elements of the single offense at issue are proved and a guilty verdict obtained, the trial court shall hold a separate proceeding without a jury to “determine the historical fact of prior convictions and questions regarding identity in accord with general principles of law, and by following the procedure now employed under
Our reasoning in Harris controls. We conclude that if a defendant charged with felony DUI elects to be tried by jury,6 the court shall conduct a jury trial on the elements of the single incident of DUI at issue without allowing the jury to learn of the alleged prior DUI offenses. If the jury returns a guilty verdict as to that single incident of DUI, the trial court shall conduct a separate proceeding without a jury to determine, in accord with general principles of law, whether the defendant had been convicted of DUI on three or more prior occasions. All evidence of the prior DUI convictions must be presented in open court and with full rights of confrontation, cross-examination, and representation by counsel. The trial court must be satisfied that the existence of three or more prior DUI convictions has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt before entering a conviction for felony DUI.
Applying these rules of law to the facts before us, we are persuaded that the district court found error for the wrong reason. The information in this case did satisfy the law‘s jurisdictional requirements and properly invoked the jurisdiction of the circuit court. Thus, the district court erred in reversing all the convictions on jurisdictional grounds. However, the
Accordingly, we approve the result in Rodriguez as to the felony DUI conviction, but we quash the decision in all other respects. This cause is remanded with instructions to reinstate the convictions for driving with a suspended license and attaching an unassigned registration license, to enter a conviction of first-offense DUI, and to resentence Rodriguez. We disapprove Pritchard to the extent that it is inconsistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
SHAW, C.J., and OVERTON, McDONALD, EHRLICH, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur.