Harris v. State
The Fourth DCA affirmed the defendant's kidnapping and interference-with-child-custody convictions but vacated her sentences, finding three sentencing errors: the trial court improperly relied on acquitted aggravated-battery conduct, erroneously deemed kidnapping a capital felony ineligible for downward departure, and imposed excess prosecution costs without evidence or findings. The case was remanded for de novo resentencing.
Key facts
- Defendant Harris was convicted in the trial court of kidnapping and interference with child custody.
- The trial court imposed sentences that relied on conduct underlying charges of which Harris was acquitted, deemed kidnapping a capital felony ineligible for downward departure, and imposed prosecution costs exceeding the statutory minimum without supporting evidence or findings.
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Why it matters
This opinion gives practitioners a clean, citable reaffirmation of the Doty rule barring sentencing courts from considering acquitted conduct, plus a clear statutory clarification that kidnapping is not a capital felony… — full analysis with a trial
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