Montanez v. State
Montanez v. State
Opinion of the Court
Ricardo Montanez appeals an order denying his motion to correct illegal sentence
Defendant was convicted of escape and sentenced as a habitual violent felony offender (“HVFO”).
By his Rule 3.800(a) motion, defendant contends that his sentence was “illegal” because imposition of the HFO sentence violated the double jeopardy clause. He argues that once his HVFO sentence was vacated, he had in effect been impliedly acquitted of any disposition under the habitual offender statute, and that the 1993 HFO sentence violated the double jeopardy clause.
The Florida Supreme Court has held that “where it can be determined without an evidentiary hearing that a sentence has been unconstitutionally enhanced in violation of the double jeopardy clause, the sentence is illegal and can be reached at any time under Rule 3.800.” Hopping v. State, 708 So.2d 263, 265 (Fla. 1998). We assume for present purposes that the defendant’s claim would be cognizable under Hopping.
Turning to the merits, we reject defendant’s claim. The Johnson decision held unconstitutional the 1989 amendments to the HVFO statute.
Affirmed.
. The date of the crime was November 19, 1990.
. The Johnson decision applied to defendants whose crime date fell in "[t]he window period ... from October 1, 1989, ... to May 2, 1991....” Id. at 3.
.The HVFO sentence carried a mandatory minimum sentence while the HFO sentence did not.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ricardo MONTANEZ v. The STATE of Florida
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published