State v. Owens

The State of Florida appeals the downward departure sentence imposed on James R. Owens following his nolo conten-dere plea to several felonies and misdemeanors. We affirm, but elect to consider this case en banc to recede from a line of earlier cases that impose a requirement on a sentencing statute that goes beyond the statute’s plain language.

Florida law provides that a trial court must, at a minimum, impose the lowest permissible sentence on a criminal defendant calculated according to the Criminal Punishment Code, unless the court finds that the evidence supports a valid reason for a…