Opinion
No. 87,941.
December 19, 1996.
Application for Review of the Decision of the District Court of Appeal — Certified Great Public Importance, First District — Case No. 94-1905, Leon County.
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender and Chet Kaufman, Assistant Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioner.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General; and James W. Rogers, Bureau Chief and Amelia L. Beisner, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for Respondent.
We have for review Allen v. State, 671 So.2d 233 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996), in which the First District Court of Appeal certified the following question to be of great public importance:
WHETHER APPELLANTS MAY BE SEPARATELY CONVICTED AND SENTENCED FOR ARMED BURGLARY, ARMED ROBBERY, AND ARMED KIDNAPPING WHERE EACH OFFENSE IS PART OF THE SAME CRIMINAL EPISODE?
Id. at 234. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution.
Our recent decisions in M.P. v. State, 21 Fla. L. Weekly S433 (Fla. Oct. 10, 1996), and State v. Maxwell, 21 Fla. L. Weekly S429 (Fla. Oct. 10, 1996), are controlling. Based upon M.P. andMaxwell, we answer the certified question in the affirmative.
The district court also questioned the proper interpretation of this Court's decision in State v. Stearns, 645 So.2d 417 (Fla. 1994), and its applicability to the instant case. Allen, 671 So.2d at 233-34. However, the court concluded that Stearns was inapplicable here. Id. at 234. We agree. As we explained inM.P., Stearns was limited to its specific facts and offenses and did not create a per se prohibition against multiple convictions and sentences arising from the same criminal episode. 21 Fla. L. Weekly at S434. We also agree with the district court that Allen's convictions and sentences did not constitute impermissible multiple punishments for the same offense in this case.
Accordingly, we approve the decision below.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON, SHAW, GRIMES, HARDING, WELLS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur.