Opinion ID: 1104955
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Our Revised Hlad/Beach Framework

Text: In the preceding section, we recognized that uncounseled misdemeanor convictions are unreliable for purposes of imposing imprisonment and that such uncounseled convictions lead directly to increased terms of imprisonment when they constitute elements of a later felony offense. Therefore, we must next address whether our current Hlad/Beach framework reflects these tenets. We previously based our holdings in Hlad and Beach, in part, upon Justice Blackmun's Baldasar concurrence. Compare, Hlad, 585 So.2d at 930, with Baldasar, 446 U.S. at 229, 100 S.Ct. 1585 (Blackmun, J., concurring); see also Beach, 592 So.2d at 239-40. However, there are two problems associated with the current articulation of our Hlad/Beach framework. First, the current framework injects a right-to-jury standard into right-to-counsel cases. Specifically, the framework requires that when the defendant was not imprisoned for a prior misdemeanor conviction in a direct proceeding, he or she may only mount a Hlad/Beach challenge to the later use of the misdemeanor as an enhancer if the misdemeanor was prospectively punishable by more than six months' imprisonment. This rule is derived from the United States Supreme Court's time-based right-to-jury standard. See Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 159, 88 S.Ct. 1444, 20 L.Ed.2d 491 (1968) (Crimes carrying possible penalties up to six months do not require a jury trial if they otherwise qualify as petty offenses[.] (emphasis supplied)) The Supreme Court, however, has explicitly held that this time-based right-to-jury standard has no place in right-to-counsel cases. See Argersinger, 407 U.S. at 30-31, 92 S.Ct. 2006 (We reject ... the premise that since prosecutions for crimes punishable by imprisonment for less than six months may be tried without a jury, they may also be tried without a lawyer.). We agree with this position. The right to counsel is distinct from the right to a jury trial because each right emerged from a different common-law genealogy. See Argersinger, 407 U.S. at 29, 92 S.Ct. 2006. The English common law historically limited the `deep commitment' to trial by jury to `serious criminal cases,' i.e., those cases punishable by more than six months' imprisonment. Id. at 30, 92 S.Ct. 2006. Contrastingly, the common law recognized a right to counsel in petty criminal cases, i.e., those cases where there is no possibility of imprisonment in excess of six months. Id. The Sixth Amendment later expanded the right to counsel to felony cases. See id. at 30-31, 92 S.Ct. 2006. Therefore, Duncan's right-to-jury standard should no longer play a role in our Hlad/Beach framework. The second problem with our existing framework is that, in some circumstances, it permits the imposition of increased terms of imprisonment as a direct result of prior uncounseled misdemeanor convictions. This is currently permitted if those convictions did not originally lead to incarceration and were not prospectively punishable by more than six months' imprisonment. See Hlad, 585 So.2d at 929-30; Beach, 592 So.2d at 239-40. However, the unreliability of an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction does not turn on the length of the prospective term of imprisonment. Rather, it turns on the fact that even an uncounseled innocent gains little by contesting a petty misdemeanor where the prosecuting attorney is offering a low fine and community service in exchange for a guilty or no-contest plea. Cf. Nichols, 511 U.S. at 752, 114 S.Ct. 1921 (Souter, J., concurring in the judgment) (noting that the federal Sentencing Guidelinesunlike many recidivism statutes allow the defendant to show ... that his prior conviction resulted from ... a frugal preference for a low fine with no counsel fee, or from a desire to put the matter behind him instead of investing the time to fight the charges). If one cannot afford an attorney, and the prosecutor is offering no jail time, what real incentive is there to reject the plea bargain? That is the crux of the problem, and that is why the State may not, consistent with our state Constitution, impose deprivation of liberty as a penalty upon a defendant based on prior misdemeanor convictions, unless the defendant was either provided with counsel or validly waived that right. If the State would like to use prior misdemeanor convictions as enhancers, it should ensure that these misdemeanors are reliable enough to impose imprisonment by recommending that the trial court either appoint counsel or assist a willing indigent defendant in knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waiving the right to counsel. We thus agree with courts from other jurisdictions which have held that the State may not use an uncounseled conviction to increase a defendant's loss of liberty in the absence of a valid waiver of counsel. [18] However, the loss of liberty is a penalty different in kind and severity from other penalties. We therefore hold that when the State prosecutes a repeat DUI offender, it may constitutionally seek applicable enhanced penalties and fines short of incarceration based upon prior uncounseled misdemeanor DUI offenses. Cf. Hrycak, 877 A.2d at 1216 (coming to a substantially similar conclusion). For example, on remand, if the State continues to prosecute this case, it may not use any of Mr. Kelly's prior misdemeanor DUI offenses to enhance his current offense unless it proves that Kelly was either represented by counsel or validly waived that right during those prior proceedings. In other words, any enhanced loss of liberty may only be based on the counseled offense(s) and the offense(s) for which Kelly validly waived his right to counsel. However, during any resulting DUI prosecution, the State may use each of Kelly's prior uncounseled misdemeanor DUI offenses to seek the enhanced penalties and fines short of incarceration that apply to a fourth DUI offense. [19] Here, these penalties and fines could include, inter alia, a fine between $1,000 and $5,000; probation, including the completion of a substance-abuse course and a psychosocial evaluation; the impoundment and immobilization of all vehicles that Mr. Kelly owns for 90 days; and the permanent revocation of Kelly's driver's license or driving privilege. See §§ 316.193(2)(b)(3), 775.083(1)(c), 316.193(5), 316.193(6)(c), 322.28(2)(e), Fla. Stat. (2003).