The Appeal Provision of Florida's Criminal Punishment Code: Unwise and Unconstitutional

Authors

• Robert Batey, Stetson University College of Law
• Stephen M. Everhart, Stetson University College of Law

Abstract

This article addresses whether this startling new appeal provision in Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code is constitutional: Can the state give itself the right to appeal downward departure sentences but deny the reciprocal right of the defendant to appeal upward departure sentences? Part II of this article sets the background for answering this question by briefly sketching the history of sentencing guidelines in Florida, and how the new appeal provision undermines the wise policy behind those guidelines. Part III then outlines the infirmities of the new appeal provision under the double jeopardy, right-to-appeal, due process, and proportionality provisions of both the United States and Florida Constitution. This article concludes by pleading for an emphatic rejection of the new appeal provision.

Recommended Citation

Robert Batey and Stephen M. Everhart, The Appeal Provision of Florida's Criminal Punishment Code: Unwise and Unconstitutional, 11 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y (1999).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jlpp/vol11/iss1/2