Lincoln v. State
Lincoln was sentenced to life for first-degree felony lewd molestation of a victim under 12, but the jury was actually instructed only on and convicted him of the lesser-included second-degree felony (victim 12-16), based on undisputed trial evidence that the victim was twelve. A clerical error in court records caused the judgment and PSI to erroneously reflect a first-degree felony conviction and life sentence despite the jury's actual verdict. The Sixth DCA held this was fundamental error, found section 924.34 inapplicable since the evidence supported the actual offense of conviction, and remanded for entry of judgment on the second-degree felony with a corrected scoresheet and PSI.
Key facts
- Lincoln was charged with first-degree felony lewd molestation of a victim under 12, but undisputed trial evidence established the victim was twelve years old.
- The trial court instructed the jury only on the lesser-included second-degree felony offense (victim 12-16), and the jury convicted Lincoln of that second-degree felony.
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Why it matters
This opinion is a useful precedent for practitioners confronting clerical or judicial errors that cause a judgment or sentence to diverge from the jury's actual verdict, particularly in degree-based offenses like… — full analysis with a trial
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