10/2/18 Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments: Laverne Brown v. State of Florida SC18-323

Ms. Brown was found guilty of petit theft and sentenced to three years in prison. After the trial, Ms. Brown filed a motion to correct sentencing error arguing the judge improperly found her to be a danger to the public, which resulted in a harsher sentence. She claimed a jury must make this finding and the judge was not authorized to make an upward departure in sentencing. The trial court denied the motion. On appeal, the Fifth District Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court, upheld the prison sentence, and ruled that the statute requiring the trial court instead of the jury to make the upward departure finding is constitutional. Ms. Brown asks this Court for review and argues her sentence violates the Sixth Amendment.