DANIEL R. LONERGAN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Lonergan appeals the summary denial of his post-conviction relief motion, challenging the voluntariness of his guilty plea. The court reverses the summary denial of his ineffective assistance of counsel claim regarding alleged promises of charge reduction and remands for an evidentiary hearing.
A guilty plea induced by a promise of defense counsel that is not kept is involuntary. The motion constitutes a facially sufficient challenge to the plea's voluntariness that was not conclusively refuted by the record and requires an evidentiary hearing. The claim regarding counsel's failure to investigate was properly denied as without merit.
[1] A guilty plea induced by a promise of defense counsel that is not kept is involuntary.
[2] A facially sufficient challenge to the voluntariness of a guilty plea, which is not conclusively refuted by the record, requires an evidentiary hearing.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A guilty plea induced by a promise of defense counsel that is not kept is involuntary.”
Establishes the legal standard governing when guilty pleas become involuntary based on counsel's unfulfilled promises.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLonergan was charged with multiple felonies including first-degree murder, attempted burglary, burglary (five counts), attempted escape, battery on a …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Voluntariness Of Guilty Plea cases and more on FLexlaw
CAMPBELL, Judge.
Daniel R. Lonergan appeals the summary denial of his motion for post-conviction relief.
Appellant was charged with murder in the first degree, attempted burglary, attempted escape, battery on a law enforcement officer, five counts of burglary, and grand theft. He entered pleas of guilty to all charges and received a life sentence for first degree murder and five years concurrent imprisonment on the remaining charges.
In his motion for post-conviction relief, appellant set forth two allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. The first allegation is that his plea of guilty to all of the charges was induced by his defense counsel telling him that if he pled guilty and subsequently cooperated with the state attorney in apprehending other persons involved in the murder, that he would receive a significant charge and sentence reduction within two years.
Upon review of appellant’s motion, the trial judge entered an order directing the state attorney to show cause why an evidentiary hearing should not be held. The response from the state attorney requested that an evidentiary hearing be held on appellant’s allegation regarding the alleged improper inducements made by defense counsel as such charges could not be refuted by the record. The trial court declined to hold an evidentiary hearing and summarily denied the motion.
A guilty plea induced by a prom-, ise of defense counsel that is not kept is involuntary. See Costello v. State, 260 So. 2d 198 (Fla.1972); Ream v. State, 449 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). The motion is a facially sufficient challenge to the voluntariness of appellant’s plea and was not conclusively refuted by the record.
Appellant’s second allegation concerning the failure of his defense counsel to investigate the charges and adequately render legal advice is without merit and was properly denied by the trial court.
Accordingly, we reverse in part the summary denial of appellant’s motion. We remand this case to the trial court with directions to conduct an evidentiary hearing on appellant’s claim of improper inducements made by defense counsel. If the trial court rules in appellant’s favor, appellant should be permitted to withdraw his plea if he so desires. In the event the trial court again denies the motion, appellant must file a notice of appeal within thirty days to obtain further appellate review.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with directions.
RYDER, A.C.J., and HALL, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Edmond Boris Shell v. State, 501 So. 2d 1334 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)…ce for aggrava [*1336] ted assault. Thus the record refutes his claim about being influenced by drugs. A defendant’s guilty or nolo con-tendere plea is involuntary if it is induced by a defense counsel’s promise that is not kept, Lonergan v. State, 495 So. 2d 196 (Fla.1986); or which cannot be kept because it is contrary to law. Forbert v. State, 437 So. 2d 1079, 1081 (Fla.1983). A defendant cannot withdraw his plea merely because his sentence was not what he expected; but where he is misled and induced to p…
-
Sawyers v. State, 566 So. 2d 942 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)…pts from two hearings. These portions of the record, however, do not conclusively refute Sawyers’ allegation that his plea was induced by counsel’s promise of concurrent sentences. See Costello v. State, 260 So. 2d 198 (Fla.1972); Lonergan v. State, 495 So. 2d 196 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 501 So. 2d 1282 (Fla.1986); Ray v. State, 480 So. 2d 228 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). Accordingly, we reverse the denial of this allegation in Sawyers’ motion and remand the case to the trial court. On remand, unless the case…
-
Ingraham v. State, 502 So. 2d 987 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)…63, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970); Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969). A guilty plea induced by a promise of defense counsel that is not kept is involuntary, Costello v. State, 260 So. 2d 198 (Fla.1972); Lonergan v. State, 495 So. 2d 196 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Houghton v. State, 454 So. 2d 725 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Ream v. State, 449 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), provided only that the defendant had a reasonable basis for relying upon his attorney’s advice. Costello v. State, 260 Sc.2…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Costello v. State, 260 So. 2d 198 (Fla. 1972)
- Ream v. State, 449 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)