Upshur v. State
The Second District granted a petition alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, finding that counsel was deficient for failing to seek supplemental briefing after the Fourth District's Powers decision—holding during the pendency of the direct appeal—that section 316.193(5) requires a mandatory probationary component as part of any DUI manslaughter sentence, capped at the fifteen-year statutory maximum. The court applied its own recent precedent in Archer v. State to find prejudice and vacated the sentence, remanding for de novo resentencing with directions to impose a term between the lowest permissible sentence and fifteen years that includes sufficient probation to complete the required substance abuse course.
Key facts
- Petitioner was convicted of DUI manslaughter and sentenced without a mandatory probationary component required by section 316.193(5).
- During petitioner's direct appeal, the Fourth District decided Powers v. State, establishing that DUI manslaughter sentences must include a probationary period sufficient to complete a substance abuse course, with total sentence capped at fifteen years.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion is a useful vehicle for practitioners litigating DUI manslaughter sentences imposed without the mandatory probationary component under section 316.193(5), reinforcing the Second District's adoption of the… — full analysis with a trial
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