DAVID LABAISSIERE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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When a trial judge cannot honor a plea bargain, the defendant must be given the opportunity to withdraw their guilty plea, unless specific conditions were imposed and breached.
[1] When a trial judge determines that he cannot honor the terms of an earlier plea bargain, the defendant must be given the opportunity to withdraw his plea.
[2] A trial judge may refuse to honor a plea bargain and deny the defendant the right to withdraw his plea when the judge expressly conditions acceptance of a sentence limita…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant pleaded guilty to burglary and grand theft under a plea bargain for a maximum of three years. He failed to appear for sentencing, was extrad…
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BOARDMAN, Acting Chief Judge.
David LaBaissiere appeals the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. We reverse.
Appellant was charged by information with burglary and grand theft. On March 26, 1982, he pled guilty to both charges pursuant to a plea bargain that he would receive no more than three years in prison. Sentencing was set for April 28.
Appellant failed to appear for sentencing on April 28, instead he went to Connecticut, whence he was extradited in May. He was finally brought before the trial court for sentencing on August 11, at which time the court refused to honor the plea agreement due to the fact that appellant had left his drug program. Appellant then moved to withdraw his guilty plea. The trial court denied the motion and sentenced appellant to concurrent terms of five years in prison.
It is the rule in Florida that when a trial judge determines that he cannot honor the terms of an earlier plea bargain, the defendant must be given the opportunity to withdraw his plea. E.g., Brown v. State, 245 So. 2d 41 (Fla.1971). When the trial judge expressly conditions his acceptance of a sentence limitation in the plea agreement upon the defendant’s fulfillment of certain conditions which are expressly agreed to by the defendant at the time he enters his plea and when the defendant then fails to abide by those conditions, the trial judge may refuse to honor the plea bargain and yet deny the defendant the right to withdraw his plea. Nesmith v. State, 374 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). However, no such conditions were imposed on appellant here. Consequently, the trial court was required to allow appellant to withdraw his plea when the court concluded that it could not in good conscience honor the terms of appellant’s plea bargain due to appellant’s misconduct following the entry of his guilty plea. Nesmith.
Accordingly, appellant’s judgment and sentences are REVERSED and the cause REMANDED with directions to permit appellant to withdraw his guilty plea and enter a plea of not guilty.
SCHEB and SCHOONOVER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
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Fambro v. State, 581 So. 2d 199 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)…nditions to a plea agreement, added subsequent to formal acceptance of the plea, are not part of the plea agreement. See Pumphrey v. State, 502 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Moore v. State, 489 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); LaBaissiere v. State, 429 So. 2d 96 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Nesmith v. State, 374 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). The above cited cases all involved additional conditions added after formal acceptance, but imposed unilaterally by the trial court without the acceptance by or the acquiescen…1 / 2
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Pumphrey v. State, 502 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…esult. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.172(c)(vii). The cases are clear that no additional conditions may be imposed after the trial judge accepts the plea bargain and the defendant’s plea. Moore v. State, 489 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); LaBaissiere v. State, 429 So. 2d 96 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Nesmith v. State, 374 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). This case is very similar, factually, to Moore, supra. In Moore, the court made clear the terms of the plea bargain. Appellant would plead nolo contendere in exchange for si…
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Dunkel v. State, 432 So. 2d 201 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)…ier plea bargain are not honored, defendant should be given the opportunity to withdraw his plea, and the trial judge has an affirmative duty to so advise the defendant. See Gumbiner v. State, 429 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); LaBaissiere v. State, 429 So. 2d 96 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Freeman v. State, 376 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979); Reynolds v. State, 339 So. 2d 714, 715 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); Odom v. State, 310 So. 2d 770 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975). At sentencing appellant was not given the opportunity to withdraw h…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Brown v. State, 245 So. 2d 41 (Fla. 1971)
- Nesmith v. State, 374 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)