Case Name: Gabriel MORAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2004-03-10
Citations: 869 So. 2d 613
Docket Number: No. 4D01-3911
Parties: Gabriel MORAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: TAYLOR, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 869
Pages: 613–616

Head Matter:
Gabriel MORAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 4D01-3911.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
March 10, 2004.
Rehearing Denied April 30, 2004.
Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Marcy K. Allen, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Donna L. Eng, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
POLEN, J.
This appeal arises from a charge of Attempted First Degree Murder in a charging document that failed to allege premeditation. The defendant was ultimately convicted of attempted second degree murder. For the reasons explained fully below, we hold that any error has been rendered moot by the jury verdict. We affirm the conviction.
On May 15, 2000 at about 3:00 a.m., Betzaida Lopez was walking home from a bar with her family and friends after having just been in a verbal confrontation with the defendant Gabriel Moran and two other gentlemen. Lopez was about ten feet ahead of the rest of the group when a friend noticed an accelerating car approaching. The car, driven by Moran, hit Lopez, causing severe injury.
Moran was charged by information with attempted first degree murder with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of a crash involving injury. The information, as to count I, read as follows:
[Clharges that GABRIEL CELESTI-NO MORAN on or about May 15, 2000, in the county of Palm Beach and State of Florida, did unlawfully attempt to commit FIRST DEGREE MURDER, an offense prohibited by law, and in such attempt did an act toward the commission of such offense by driving a motor vehicle at or in the direction of Betzaida LOPEZ and did strike BETZAIDA LOPEZ causing severe injuries, but GABRIEL CELESTINO MORAN failed in the perpetration or was intercepted or prevented in the execution of said offense, contrary to 'Florida Statutes 777.04(1) and 775E and 775.087(1).(LIFE FEL)
The case went to a jury. After the State rested, defense moved for a judgment of acquittal arguing, inter alia, that the information failed to allege premeditation and failed to specifically reference the First Degree Murder statute. The motion was denied. The jury found Moran guilty, as to count I, of the lesser included offense of Attempted Second Degree Murder and guilty of count II, leaving the scene of a crash involving personal injury.
On appeal, Moran asserts the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal because the information was fundamentally deficient. We need not reach the merits of this argument due to the jury having found Moran guilty of Attempted Second Degree Murder, not First.
The case law relied upon by Moran teaches that a defendant cannot be convicted of a charge not properly charged in the charging document. See, e.g., State v. Gray, 435 So.2d 816 (Fla.1983). Here, Moran complains that the charging document did not adequately charge Attempted First Degree Murder. However, he was convicted of Attempted Second Degree Murder. As a result, he was not convicted of a crime that was improperly charged.
We are compelled to point out that the state ought to have avoided this issue by correctly charging the crime in the first instance. At the very least, after the motion for judgment of acquittal was made, the state should have sought to amend the charging document.
For these reasons we affirm the decision of the trial court.
TAYLOR, J., concurs.
GUNTHER, J., dissents with opinion.