ANGEL COLON v. STATE OF FLORIDA (2017)

In this Anders ¹ appeal, Appellant, who was convicted in 1997 of the crime of first-degree murder committed when he was a juvenile, challenges his present sentence of fifty years in prison with a review hearing under the new juvenile sentencing statutes ² to take place after twenty-five years.³

We affirm on all issues raised by Appellant. However, consistent with our recent opinion in Williams v. State, 42 Fla. L. Weekly D363 (Fla. 5th DCA Feb. 10, 2017), we certify the following question to the Florida Supreme Court as one of great public importance:

DOES ALLEYNE v. UNITED STATES, 133 S. CT. 2151 (2013), REQUIRE THE JURY AND NOT THE TRIAL COURT TO MAKE FACTUAL FINDINGS UNDER SECTION 775.082(1)(b), FLORIDA STATUTES (2016), AS TO WHETHER A JUVENILE OFFENDER ACTUALLY KILLED, INTENDED TO KILL, OR ATTEMPTED TO KILL THE VICTIM?

AFFIRMED; QUESTION CERTIFIED.

FOOTNOTES

1.   Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

2.   §§ 775.082, 921.1401, 921.1402, Fla. Stat. (2016).

3.   Appellant was previously sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; however, based upon his motion and the recent decisions in Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012), and Falcon v. State, 162 So. 3d 954 (Fla. 2015), the lower court granted his request for postconviction relief, vacated his life sentence, and ordered a resentencing.

PER CURIAM.

EVANDER and LAMBERT, JJ., and JACOBUS, B.W., Senior Judge, Concur.