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611 So. 2d 1313

Allen v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida

Decided January 8, 1993

District Court of Appeal of Florida · decided 1993-01-08

Relies on 581 So. 2d 897 - Puffinberger v. State

Decided 1993-01-08

COBB, Judge.

¶1The trial court entered a sentence of ten years’ incarceration in this case, which was an upward departure from the guidelines of four cells. The basis for the departure was “unscored juvenile offenses.”

¶2In Puffinberger v. State, 581 So.2d 897 (Fla. 1991), the Florida Supreme Court held that,

[A] nonscoreable juvenile record may be considered as a reason for departure only to the extent it contains dispositions that are the equivalent of adult convictions and only if the record is significant and the resulting departure sentence is no greater than that which the defendant would have received if the record had been scored.

¶3The court defined a significant record as one which is “extensive or serious, or if the number and nature of the dispositions, when considered in combination, amount to a significant record under the circumstances.” Id. at 899.

¶4In the instant case, the only unscored juvenile disposition equivalent to an adult conviction is a trespassing charge, which would constitute a misdemeanor if committed by an adult. Clearly, then, the defendant’s record in this case is not significant for purposes of departure. Moreover, the four-cell departure sentence given far exceeds what the defendant would have received had the trespassing offense been scored.

¶5- REVERSED and REMANDED for sentencing within the guidelines.

W. SHARP and PETERSON, JJ., concur.
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