EDDIE G. DUTTON, II, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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A guilty plea induced by threats of harsher treatment upon insistence on the right to trial is not voluntary.
Appellant pleaded guilty to armed robbery after the trial court threatened a life sentence if he went to trial, despite an initial agreement for a twe…
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PER CURIAM.
Eddie Dutton appeals from the summary denial of a motion for postconviction relief filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Upon examination of the motion we find that one of the three grounds contained therein presents a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief. Dutton alleges that when he proposed to enter pleas of guilty to two counts of armed robbery, the trial court announced its intention to impose a sentence of twenty years that was “not what was agreed on”. When Dutton protested the trial court stated that it would impose a life sentence if Dutton were convicted at trial. Dutton then accepted the twenty-year sentence.
A plea of guilty is not voluntary if induced by threats of harsher treatment should the defendant insist upon his right to trial. Jones v. State, 165 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964). In denying Dutton’s motion the trial court failed to attach any documentation or other evidence from the record that contradicts Dutton’s claim that his plea was coerced. The remaining issues in Dutton’s motion are without merit and the trial court properly denied relief on those grounds.
We remand this case to the trial court with directions either to conduct further proceedings in accordance with Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 or to attach sufficient portions of the record to refute Dutton’s claim. If the trial court again denies the motion, Dutton must file a notice of appeal within thirty days to obtain further appellate review.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part.
SCHEB, A.C.J., and RYDER and FRANK, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Melton v. State, 720 So. 2d 577 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)…cient because appellant never stated who coerced her, what threats were made or that she would not have pled but for these threats. Appellant filed a motion for rehearing in which she supplied the missing information. She also cited Dutton v. State, 504 So. 2d 435 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987) (holding a guilty plea is not voluntary if induced by threats of harsher treatment should the defendant insist upon his right to a trial). However, the rehearing motion was not under oath, and therefore the trial court was not req…
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Yeager v. State, 514 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…fact indicates that Yeager agreed to the 15-year sentence imposed herein. However, he alleges that the underlying plea of guilty was not voluntary in that it was induced by threats of harsher treatment should he refuse to plead. See Dutton v. State, 504 So. 2d 435 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987) (a plea of guilty is not voluntary if induced by threats of harsher treatment should the defendant insist upon his right to trial). While denial of a motion which alleges that a plea was coerced is proper where the trial court a…
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Clements v. State, 537 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Dutton v. State, 504 So. 2d 435 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Diaz v. State, 439 So. 2d 1011 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Finley v. State, 394 So. 2d 215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).…
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- Jones v. State, 165 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)