Anthony Ward v. State

Anthony Ward testified at a jury trial where he was convicted of several crimes. At his sentencing, the trial judge justified the sentence by stating, in part, “I did not find your testimony credible.”

It is fundamental error for a sentencing judge to take into consideration a defendant’s truthfulness while testifying: See Josephs v. State, 86 So.3d 1270, 1272 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012); Walden v. State, 123 So.3d 1164, 1167 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013); Bratcher v. State, 743 So.2d 112, 114 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). The Supreme Court explained the rationale for this rule in City of Daytona Beach v. Del Percio:

Conf…