Florida District Courts of Appeal, 1988

Sardella v. State

Sardella v. State
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided March 30, 1988 · Downey, Gunther, Walden
526 So. 2d 918; 13 Fla. L. Weekly 828; 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 1186; 1988 WL 25458 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Sardella v. State

Opinion of the Court

GUNTHER, Judge.

We reverse Appellant’s sentence because the trial court’s reasons for departure are invalid. The trial court improperly departed from the recommended guidelines sentence based upon hearsay allegations, Cannada v. State, 472 So.2d 1296, 1299 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); and upon Appellant’s breach of the public trust while Appellant was a public servant. Breach of public trust is an inherent component of the crime of Bribery by a Public Servant, Florida Statutes, § 838.015(1). Thus, the trial court’s reliance on that reason for departure is invalid. See State v. Cote, 487 So.2d 1039 (Fla. 1986).

REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING.

DOWNEY and WALDEN, JJ., concur.

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