State of Florida, Petitioner v. Timothy W. Tuttle, Jr., Respondent

Summary

The court held that when two convictions violate double jeopardy because one offense's statutory elements are subsumed by the other, the statutorily lesser offense must be vacated even if it carries a more severe punishment. It rejected the State's arguments that prosecutorial discretion or the absence of formal adjudication on both counts permitted the trial court to vacate the greater offense instead. The court approved the decision below and disapproved conflicting decisions to the contrary.