Hewett v. State, 613 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. 1993)

Cases | Hewett v. State, 613 So. 2d 1305 (Fla. 1993) | 2018

The defendant violated terms of his probation by failing to pay restitution to the victim after having been convicted of grand theft. “The trial court found [the defendant] guilty of the violation but set this aside based on [his] undisputed inability to pay . . . then extended [his] probation for two years, waived supervision costs, but reimposed the restitution requirement.” On appeal, the defendant argued that the trial court exceeded its authority in extending his probation “in the absence of a finding of wilful [sic] violation. The district court rejected this argument on grounds that the 1984 amendments to the sentencing statutes authorized the procedure used here.” The court of appeals held that “[t]here is no ability to extend probation in the absence of wilful [sic] violation of the terms of probation,” but the court could have employed such alternative measures as a community service requirement. The opinion below was quashed and remanded for further proceedings.