748 So. 2d 314 - Welling v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

10 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 10 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The common thread running through King, Geohagen [ v. State, 639 So.2d 611 (Fla.1994)], and Simon [ v. State, 684 So.2d 263 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)] is that the trial courts found the defendants in those cases qualified to be habitual offenders, but the courts never imposed habitual offender sentences. Instead, the courts sentenced the defendants for a number of years which were within the guidelines permitted range. According to King , when the trial court declares the defendant to be a habitual offender, but imposes a sentence for a period of years which is within the guidelines, only a guideline sentence can be imposed if the defendant violates probation. In [ State v. ] Kennedy [, 698 So.2d 349 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)] and the present case, the trial courts declared the defendants to be habitual offenders and imposed longer than guidelines sentences authorized only by the habitual offender statute. Although there was at one time confusion as to whether trial courts could suspend habitual offender sentences, that was resolved in McKnight v. State, 616 So.2d 31 (Fla. 1993), in which the court held that a "trial judge has the discretion to place a habitual felony offender on probation."”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 975 So. 2d 1254 - Welling v. State

2. “In 1993, appellant was convicted of burglary of a dwelling and pronounced a habitual felony offender by the trial court. He was then given a sentence of thirty years, a period authorized only by the habitual offender statute, but the court suspended the sentence with a condition of twelve to fourteen months in a drug farm. In 1994, the trial court revoked appellant's probation and sentenced him, as a habitual offender, to thirty years.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 975 So. 2d 1254 - Welling v. State

3. “trial judge has the discretion to place a habitual felony offender on probation.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. 975 So. 2d 1254 - Welling v. State