WALTER JACKSON, 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.
Jackson appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to withdraw a nolo contendere plea to vehicular homicide and driving with a suspended license. The court reverses because the State breached the plea agreement by failing to remain silent at sentencing, thereby entitling Jackson to withdraw his plea.
The court holds that Jackson was entitled to withdraw his plea because the State violated the terms of the plea agreement by failing to remain silent at sentencing. When a party breaches a plea agreement, the defendant must be permitted to withdraw the plea and the parties should be returned to their pre-plea position.
[1] A defendant may be permitted to abandon a motion to withdraw a plea, particularly when the state's interest in prosecution would not be served by proceeding.
[2] A court may grant a petition for writ of certiorari to review a trial court's refusal to allow a defendant to abandon a motion to withdraw a plea.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“Since the State violated the terms of the plea agreement by failing to "remain silent," appellant should have been permitted to withdraw his plea.”
Establishes the core holding that breach of plea agreement by the State entitles defendant to withdraw the plea.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn August 11, 1986, Jackson entered pleas of nolo contendere to vehicular homicide and driving with a suspended or revoked license pursuant to a writt…
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 Terms cases and more on FLexlaw
SHIVERS, Judge.
This is an appeal from the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to withdraw a plea of nolo contendere. We reverse and remand for the court to allow withdrawal of the plea.
The record indicates that, on August 11, 1986, appellant entered pleas of nolo con-tendere to charges of vehicular homicide and driving with a suspended or revoked license. Under the terms of a written “plea, waiver and consent” (which was signed on August 11 by appellant, his attorney, the assistant state attorney, and the trial court), appellant was to receive a guideline sentence, was to not be sentenced as a habitual offender, and was to receive concurrent sentences on the two charges to which he entered the pleas of nolo contendere. In addition, the State agreed to drop one remaining charge of DWI manslaughter, and to remain silent at sentencing.
On September 29, the date set for hearing, appellant’s counsel moved to withdraw the pleas of nolo contendere, on the basis that it was appellant’s understanding that the sentencing guidelines would recommend community control to 30 months, rather than three to seven years. In response, the assistant state attorney not only argued against the motion to withdraw the plea, but specifically asked the court to impose a five-year sentence on the appellant. The trial court denied the motion to withdraw, and appellant’s counsel presented an argument in mitigation of the maximum sentence. Once again, the assistant state attorney responded, this time arguing that it disagreed with appellant’s recitation of the facts and stating that the facts were “highly suggestive.” At that point, appellant renewed his motion to withdraw the nolo contendere plea, on the basis of the assistant state attorney’s comments.
Since the State violated the terms of the plea agreement by failing to “remain silent,” appellant should have been permitted to withdraw his plea. Lollar v. State, 443 So. 2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Fortini v. State, 472 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985). We therefore vacate the sentence imposed by the trial court and remand for the parties to be placed in the position in which they stood prior to the plea agreement. Macker v. State, 500 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986).
THOMPSON and ZEHMER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Jackson v. State, 521 So. 2d 293 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…ant to serve concurrent five-year and one-year terms of imprisonment. Appellant began serving his sentences immediately after imposition and appealed the denial of his motion to withdraw plea. In an opinion filed November 11, 1987, Jackson v. State, 515 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), we reversed the trial court's denial of the motion to withdraw plea and remanded for the parties to be placed in the position in which they stood prior to the plea agreement. Mandate was issued by this court on December 1, 1987.…
-
Jackson v. State, 527 So. 2d 845 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)…er to serve concurrent five-year and one-year terms of imprisonment. Petitioner began serving his sentences immediately after imposition and appealed the denial of his motion to withdraw plea. In an opinion filed November 11, 1987, Jackson v. State, 515 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), we reversed the trial court’s denial of the motion to withdraw plea and remanded the parties to be placed in the position in which they stood prior to the plea agreement. Mandate was issued by this court December 1, 1987. Meanw…
-
Short v. State, 567 So. 2d 61 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)…591 (Fla.1987); Curry v. State, 513 So. 2d 204 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), and where the prosecutor violated the terms of the plea agreement by recommending a three and a half year in-carcerative sentence prior to appellant’s sentencing, Jackson v. State, 515 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). We reverse and remand with instructions to allow the appellant to withdraw his guilty plea. LETTS, WALDEN and WARNER, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Fortini v. State, 472 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985)
- Lamb v. Hoyt L. Lamb, 500 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- Lollar v. State, 443 So. 2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)