DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

FOURTH DISTRICT

RASHAD MILANES,

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee.

No. 4D19-2435

[June 3, 2020]

Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, 

Broward County; Thomas J. Coleman, Judge; L.T. Case No. 

09008984CF10A.

Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Benjamin Eisenberg, Assistant 

Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Jessenia J. 

Concepcion, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

WARNER, J.

Rashad Milanes appeals the revocation of his probation and imposition 

of concurrent fifteen-year prison sentences. He contends that the court 

committed fundamental error by relying on impermissible considerations 

in finding that he willfully violated probation and imposing sentence, 

without providing him an opportunity to be heard. We agree and reverse.

Appellant Milanes was placed on probation for one count of sexual 

battery by a person in familial authority and one count for lewd and 

lascivious molestation of a victim over the age of twelve. He was sentenced

to five years in prison followed by ten years of sexual offender probation.

Upon his release from prison in 2013, Milanes commenced his 

probationary period. More than a year later in 2014, a Violation of 

Probation was filed alleging that he possessed marijuana and failed to take 

an annual polygraph test. Milanes admitted the violations and entered 

into a plea wherein he served 270 days in the county jail and was 

reinstated on probation with modified terms. In March of 2015, a 
2

probation officer filed a Technical Violation Notification stating that 

Milanes failed to take a polygraph test within thirty days of his release 

from jail. However, neither a violation of probation affidavit nor an arrest 

warrant was issued.

An affidavit was filed in June 2015 alleging that Milanes violated his 

probation by having unapproved communications with a child under the 

age of eighteen. The trial court held a hearing, found him not guilty of the 

violation, and reinstated probation.

Three years later, in April 2018, his probation officer filed an affidavit 

accusing him of failure to register on the internet as a sexual offender and 

related charges. He admitted the violations and was reinstated on 

probation with a special condition that he serve 180 days in the county 

jail.

The current appeal arises out of an Affidavit of Violation of Probation 

filed in March 2019, alleging that he had failed to remain in his residence 

between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., in other words, alleging that he missed

his curfew. The affidavit described the violation:

Circumstances: On February 17, 2019, the offender during 

his curfew hours (10pm until 12:10 am) wasn’t at his 

approved residence located at the 2700 block of N. Federal 

Highway according to G.P.S tracking. The offender was at the 

Sawgrass Lanes (Bowling Alley) . . . G.P.S. on call Probation 

Officer [] called the offender at approximately 10:05 pm and 

instructed him to immediately return to his approved 

residence. The offender failed to return back to his approved 

residence for two (2) hours until 12:10 am.

The accompanying report from the probation officer lists the prior 

incidents, and added that a technical violation notification was submitted 

by his probation officer in 2013 for the failure to abide by the mandatory 

curfew, but the court at the time declined to issue a warrant for the 

offender’s arrest. There is no other reference in the record and attached 

progress docket to this technical violation notification.

Milanes denied that he committed a willful and substantial violation by 

missing his curfew. The trial court then conducted a final Violation of 

Probation hearing. The probation officer testified that he had instructed 

Milanes on his curfew and gave him a G.P.S. monitor. On the night in 

question, the monitor showed him at the Sawgrass Lane Bowling Alley at 

10:00 p.m. Milanes did not return to his house until 12:10 a.m. The 
3

officer did not receive any voicemails or messages that evening from 

Milanes explaining why he missed curfew, noting that he could have left a 

message even though the probation office was closed. An on-call probation 

officer testified that she receives the alerts when a G.P.S. monitor alarm 

occurs outside of normal business hours. On the date in question, she 

received an alert at 10 p.m. that Milanes was at the Sawgrass bowling 

alley. She spoke with Milanes who told her he was waiting for an Uber 

driver to pick him up. His speech was slurred. The G.P.S. monitor showed 

he arrived at his home at 12:10 a.m.

Milanes testified that he had gone to the bowling alley with a friend 

around 7:00 p.m. to celebrate his new job, which he would start the next 

day. He had no money and did not have his phone with him. His friend 

bought him three beers and two rounds of pool. Before 9:30 p.m. he used 

his friend’s phone and called, Jasmine, the mother of his son, for a ride 

home. She lived about five minutes from the bowling alley and would 

routinely provide a ride for him. However, Jasmine called back and told 

him she couldn’t find her keys. He was not able to call his probation 

officer, because the officer’s phone number was not in his G.P.S. device. 

He then asked his friend if she could drive him to his house, but she 

thought she was too intoxicated to drive. He didn’t have money or a cell 

phone to call a taxi or Uber.

Milanes said he waited forty minutes to an hour for the friend to sober 

up, but he became concerned about getting in an accident, so he declined 

the ride and walked to Jasmine’s house to help her look for her keys which 

they did not find. Then he tried calling family members to help. His 

mother, who lives in Georgia, finally called back a half an hour later and 

agreed to call him an Uber. He did not recall how long it took, but 

eventually the Uber arrived and took him home.

The next morning Milanes called his probation officer and told him why 

he missed his curfew. The officer explained to him that he would have to 

violate him because of the lengthy delay in getting home.

After the presentation of this evidence, both the State and the defense 

gave closing arguments to the court. The court immediately determined 

that Milanes had willfully and substantially violated his probation by the 

curfew violation. It explained that two factors influenced its decision. The 

first was Milanes’s probation history. It pointed to a May 2013 curfew 

violation, which the court described as “a pass” because the judge had not 

violated him. The court then noted a second violation in May of 2015,

which was “warning number two about curfew.” The court pointed to a 

third curfew violation in June 2015. Based upon this history, the trial 
4

court found that Milanes was “resistant to supervision” and did not 

understand that curfew was a “hard line.”

At this point, it should be noted that none of what the court treated as 

facts regarding Milanes’s probation violation history is confirmed by any 

testimony or documents in our record. There is only the reference to a 

May 2013 curfew technical violation, but there is nothing in this record,

other than the note in the 2019 report to confirm this, or in the progress 

docket which is also part of this record. Nothing in the record supports

the other two curfew violations found by the trial court. Their dates match 

two 2015 affidavits of violation, but they had nothing to do with curfew

violations. Thus, the court appears to be completely mistaken about the 

evidence, even if the court could have taken notice of it without allowing 

Milanes’s counsel a chance to inspect or question it.

The court also found that Milanes should not have gone out drinking 

and put himself in a position over which he had no control. Believing that 

Milanes could have called his mother earlier to get an Uber ride home, the 

court found that it was his lack of action which caused his probation 

violation. The court concluded that considering Milanes’s “prior history of 

not being able to conform to the conditions of probation . . . . he knowingly, 

willfully and substantially violated the terms and conditions of his 

probation.” Without giving Milanes any opportunity to address the court 

on his sentence, the court immediately sentenced him to concurrent fifteen

years terms in prison for each count of the original charges. Milanes 

appeals.

Milanes contends on appeal that the trial court violated his right to due 

process by considering his prior probation history in both the violation 

hearing and in imposing the sentence. The court ruled without affording 

Milanes the opportunity to respond and without providing him, as was his 

right, a hearing focused on the appropriate sentence. While no objection 

was lodged, because the court ruled before one could be made, we

conclude that the court committed fundamental error.

The doctrine of fundamental error must be exercised cautiously and 

rarely. In Ray v. State, 403 So. 2d 956, 960 (Fla. 1981), the court set the 

criteria for permitting errors to be raised on appeal when they had not 

been properly preserved in the proceedings in the trial court:

[F]or error to be so fundamental that it may be urged on 

appeal, though not properly presented below, the error must 

amount to a denial of due process. . . . 
5

Fundamental error has been defined as “error which goes to 

the foundation of the case or goes to the merits of the cause 

of action.” Sanford v. Rubin, 237 So. 2d 134, 137 (Fla.1970). 

The appellate courts, however, have been cautioned to 

exercise their discretion concerning fundamental error “very 

guardedly.” Id. We agree with Judge Hubbart’s observation 

that the doctrine of fundamental error should be applied only 

in the rare cases where a jurisdictional error appears or where 

the interests of justice present a compelling demand for its 

application. Porter v. State, 356 So. 2d 1268 (Fla. 3d DCA) 

(Hubbart, J., dissenting), remanded, 364 So. 2d 892 

(Fla.1978), rev’d. on remand, 367 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 3d DCA 

1979).

The supreme court has also described fundamental error as one which 

must “reach down into the validity of the trial itself to the extent that a 

verdict of guilty could not have been obtained without the assistance of 

the alleged error.” Harrell v. State, 894 So. 2d 935, 941 (Fla. 2005) (quoting 

Brown v. State, 124 So. 2d 481, 484 (Fla.1960)).

This appeal is one of those rare cases requiring the application of 

fundamental error. Milanes was denied due process when the trial court 

relied on unsubstantiated prior misconduct to conclude that Milanes’s

violation of probation was willful, and in determining to revoke probation 

and impose a sentence for the violation. It further erred by failing to allow 

a sentencing hearing to determine the appropriate punishment.

Whether to revoke probation involves a two-step process. See Savage 

v. State, 120 So. 3d 619, 621-23 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). First, the trial court 

must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the probationer willfully 

and substantially violated probation. Second, the court must then 

determine whether to revoke probation. Id. The appellate court reviews 

the first step for competent substantial evidence to support the revocation 

and for an abuse of discretion as to the second step. Id. See also 

Harrington v. State, 238 So. 3d 294, 298 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018).

After the presentation of evidence and argument of counsel, the trial 

court reviewed Milanes’s prior probation record and significantly relied on 

what the court apparently believed were prior violations of curfew offenses 

to determine that the present violation of curfew was willful and 

substantial. The defense had no opportunity to defend against these 

charges. In fact, the trial court’s factual recitations appear to be 

completely unsubstantiated or wrong.
6

The first violation mentioned by the court is not reflected in the record, 

except by a note made by the current probation officer that a prior 

probation officer had filed a technical violation of curfew. Milanes was 

never found to have violated curfew at that time, as no Affidavit of Violation 

was even filed, nor is there a notification letter of a technical violation in 

the record. See § 948.06(1)(h), Fla. Stat. (2019). It is a matter of sheer 

conjecture as to the extent of the violation or what the court at the time 

thought of it.

The trial court stated that a second curfew violation occurred in March 

2015, but there is no evidence of any curfew violation. While Milanes did 

admit to a technical violation of probation at that time, it was for failure to 

take a polygraph test within thirty days of release from jail, not a curfew 

violation. And the third curfew violation attributed to Milanes by the trial 

court is also a mistake. Milanes was in fact charged with a violation in 

June 2015, but it involved unapproved communications with the victim, 

not a curfew violation. Moreover, Milanes was found not guilty of the 

violation.

In sum, the trial court misconstrued the record and relied on false 

evidence to conclude that Milanes was a repeat curfew violator, which led 

the court to conclude that the current violation of curfew was willful and 

substantial, despite Milanes’s explanation of how it occurred:

So when you look at the situation he put himself in and you 

factor that in with the prior history of not being able to conform 

to the conditions of probation and being aware that curfew 

violations could and did -- at one point he got a pass and 

another point was in violation. This court finds that he 

knowingly, willfully and substantially violated the terms and 

conditions of his probation.

(Emphasis added.) We conclude that it violates due process for a trial 

court to rely on unsubstantiated charges in finding a violation of probation 

to be willful and substantial, just as the court may not rely on 

unsubstantiated charges in sentencing. See Reese v. State, 639 So. 2d 

1067, 1068 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) (“[U]nsubstantiated allegations of 

misconduct may not be considered by a trial judge at a criminal sentencing 

hearing and to do so violates fundamental due process.”). In this case, 

without those erroneous findings, we cannot conclude that the trial court 

would have found the evidence to support a finding of willfulness sufficient 

to violate his probation. Thus, the trial court’s denial of due process goes 

to the validity of the result itself and constitutes fundamental error. The 
7

appropriate remedy for this violation of due process is to require a new 

violation of probation hearing.

The trial court also erred by immediately proceeding to impose the 

sentence without affording Milanes a hearing focusing on the sentence to 

be imposed. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.720 requires a 

sentencing hearing to precede the imposition of the sentence. A 

sentencing hearing is mandatory. See State v. Scott, 439 So. 2d 219, 221

(Fla. 1983).

This case is similar to Harrington. There, the court held a violation of 

probation hearing and, without holding a sentencing hearing, sentenced 

the defendant to forty-two years in prison for the violation. We reversed 

for a sentencing hearing, as we held that “the consideration of and 

determination as to whether to revoke probation is a process separate from 

a violation hearing.” Harrington, 238 So. 3d at 299. Citing to Black v. 

Romano, 471 U.S. 606 (1985), we noted that a defendant in a probation 

violation case has the right to be heard both on the issue of whether the 

defendant violated probation and on the sentence to be imposed. “This 

hearing may be informal in nature, but there must be a reasonable 

opportunity to be heard.” Harrington, 238 So. 3d at 299.

Just as in Harrington, in this case the trial court held a violation of 

probation hearing but immediately sentenced Milanes without affording 

him any opportunity to be heard on the sentence. This was a denial of 

due process. In addition, as noted above, the court relied on 

unsubstantiated prior conduct as sentencing factors, which in and of itself 

constitutes fundamental error. See Hillary v. State, 232 So. 3d 3, 4 (Fla. 

4th DCA 2017); Fernandez v. State, 212 So. 3d 494, 496 (Fla. 2d DCA 

2017).

For these reasons, we reverse the order revoking probation and 

sentence and remand for a new hearing. We direct that this case be 

assigned to a different judge for the purposes of the revocation hearing 

and, if applicable, sentencing hearing.

KLINGENSMITH and KUNTZ, JJ., concur.

* * *

Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.