Jefferson v. State

In Jefferson v. State, 677 So. 2d 29 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), the defendant was convicted of possession of cocaine and carrying a concealed firearm and was originally sentenced to a true split sentence of eighteen months, with the entire term suspended and probation imposed in lieu thereof. Id. at 30. Upon revocation of Jefferson's probation, he was resentenced to thirty months in prison. Id. On appeal from the denial of his rule 3.800(a) motion, the First District held that it was unnecessary to consider whether Jefferson had a viable claim pursuant to Poore v. State, 531 So. 2d 161 (Fla. 1988), because the thirty-month sentence did not exceed the statutory maximum for Jefferson's offenses. Id. Relying upon this Court's decision in Davis v. State, 661 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 1995), the district court held that because the sentence did not exceed the statutory maximum, it was not an illegal sentence, notwithstanding the fact that it exceeded his original eighteen- month sentence. Id.