Sherman v. State

Appellant pled nolo contendere to the charge of grand theft and was sentenced to seven years in prison. The reason given for the departure from the sentencing guidelines was the determination that appellant was a habitual offender. The supreme court recently held that the habitual offender statute cannot be used as a basis for guidelines departure. Whitehead v. State, 498 So.2d 863 (Fla.1986). Therefore, the appellant’s sentence cannot stand.

Since appellant had been determined to be indigent, appellant’s sentence also included a requirement to perform community service in lieu of $200 costs…