Grant v. State
Grant entered an open plea to the court on multiple pending felonies, with the State agreeing to nolle pros several charges in exchange. At sentencing, the trial judge explicitly analogized to the Williams rule and considered facts of a nolle prossed robbery charge and other uncharged/dismissed conduct in deciding to deny youthful offender status and impose a 15-year sentence. The Fifth District held this violated due process because consideration of dismissed or uncharged conduct in sentencing is constitutionally impermissible, and the State failed to show the sentence would have been the same absent this consideration, so it reversed and remanded for resentencing before a different judge.
Key facts
- Grant entered an open plea to multiple pending felonies, with the State agreeing to nolle pros several charges in exchange.
- At sentencing, the trial judge considered facts of a nolle prossed robbery charge and other uncharged/dismissed conduct when denying youthful offender status and imposing a 15-year sentence.
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Why it matters
This decision reinforces and applies the well-established but frequently litigated rule that sentencing courts cannot rely on dismissed, nolle prossed, or uncharged conduct—even when framed as background or character… — full analysis with a trial
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