The 2022 Florida Statutes (including 2022 Special Session A and 2023 Special Session B)
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The Defendant also alleges that he was improperly convicted of an offense that was neither charged nor properly tried, namely the violation of Section 876.12, Florida Statutes (1999). Initially, this Court notes that the Defendant is not seeking to challenge his sentence, but rather his conviction. Accordingly, this challenge cannot be addressed in the context of a Rule 3.800(a) motion. Sanders v. State, 621 So.2d 723 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); Shaw v. State, 780 So.2d 188 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). The Defendant's challenge is also procedurally barred from being brought pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, in that it was filed more than two years after the Defendant's conviction became final. (Exhibit "D.") Assuming the claim were timely, this Court notes that the inclusion of Section 876.12 on the face of the judgment filed on November 16, 1999, is a scrivener's error. Therefore, the Defendant's claim is without merit.
We note that by statute, wearing a mask has been made a misdemeanor of the second degree under certain circumstances. See generally §§ 876.12—.20, Fla. Stat. (2001). For example, section 876.12 criminalizes wearing a mask or hood on a public way; section 876.13 criminalizes the wearing of a hood or mask on public property; and section 876.14 makes it illegal to wear a hood or mask on the property of another. These statutes, which were first passed in the 1950's, were apparently aimed at the Ku Klux Klan. The Florida Supreme Court found one of these statutes (all of which are virtually identical) unconstitutional in Robinson v. State, 393 So.2D 1076 (Fla. 1980) (holding that statute criminalizing wearing hood of mask on public property was overbroad, and exceptions provided by section 876.16 were not sufficient to cure this fatal overbreadth, nor were the statutory words susceptible of any limiting construction). The legislature apparently attempted to cure these problems in 1981, by the passage of section 876.155m Florida Statutes, which limits the application of these statutes.
The felony or misdemeanor degree of any criminal offense, other than a violation of ss. 876.12— 876.15, shall be reclassified to the next higher degree as provided in this section if, while committing the offense, the offender was wearing a hood, mask, or other device that concealed his or her identity.
The felony or misdemeanor degree of any criminal offense, other than a violation of §§ 876.12 — 876.15, shall be reclassified to the next higher degree as provided in this section if, while committing the offense, the offender was wearing a hood, mask, or other device that concealed his or her identity.
Wearing masks while committing offense; enhanced penalties. — The penalty for any criminal offense, other than a violation of ss. 876.12- 876.15, shall be increased as provided in this section if, while committing the offense, the offender was wearing a hood, mask, or other device that concealed his identity.
. . . See generally §§ 876.12-20, Fla. Stat. (2001). . . . For example, section 876.12 criminalizes wearing a mask or hood on a public way; section 876.13 criminalizes . . .
. . . . § 876.12(k)(l)-(6). . . .
. . . 775.0845 provides: The felony or misdemeanor degree of any criminal offense, other than a violation of ss. 876.12 . . .
. . . as follows: The felony or misdemeanor degree of any criminal offense, other than a violation of §§ 876.12 . . .
. . . . §§ 876.12, 876.13 (1987); La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 14:313 (West 1986); Mich.Comp.Laws § 750.-396 (1979); . . .
. . . . — The penalty for any criminal offense, other than a violation of ss. 876.12-876.15, shall be increased . . .