THOMAS LEE JEFFERSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Thomas Lee Jefferson appealed the denial of his post-conviction motion challenging the voluntariness of his plea agreement. The trial court sentenced him to seven years' incarceration plus eight years' probation, exceeding the negotiated plea bargain of three to seven years' incarceration. The court reversed and remanded because the appellant was not informed that probation could be added to his incarceration sentence, violating his right to make a knowing and voluntary plea.
The court held that Jefferson's plea was not knowing and voluntary because he was not properly apprised of the complete terms of his sentence, specifically the addition of probation beyond the incarceration term. The trial court violated Rule 3.172(c)(vii) by failing to advise Jefferson of all consequences of his plea, and violated Rule 3.172(g) by not offering him the opportunity to withdraw his plea when it became apparent the sentence would exceed the agreement.
[1] A plea agreement is involuntary if the defendant is not fully apprised of all obligations incurred as a result of the agreement, including the complete terms of any proba…
[2] A trial court must advise a defendant of the complete terms of any plea agreement, including all obligations the defendant will incur, to ensure the voluntariness of the…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The complete terms of any plea agreement, including specifically all obligations the defendant will incur as a result.”
Rule 3.172(c)(vii) requirement that trial judges advise defendants of all consequences of their plea
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJefferson pled no contest to leaving the scene of an accident and DWI manslaughter. At the plea hearing, the trial judge stated he would sentence with…
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[*408] ERVIN, Judge.
Appellant appeals the denial of his 3.850 motion, attacking the lack of voluntariness of a negotiated plea agreement, which led to an unanticipated sentence of seven years’ incarceration, followed by eight years’ probation. We concur that the sentence entered was in excess of the agreed upon plea bargain and reverse.1
The appellant pled no contest to leaving the scene of an accident and DWI manslaughter. At the plea hearing, the appellant was thoroughly questioned as to his understanding of the plea bargain and the voluntariness of his plea. The recommended guideline range was three to seven years’ incarceration, and the trial judge specifically stated that he was free to sentence the appellant anywhere between the three to seven-year range, and that if he decided to exceed the range recommended by the guidelines, he would give the appellant the opportunity to withdraw his plea. The appellant then signed a written plea agreement, stating, “I will plead no contest to DWI manslaughter and leaving the scene of the accident and will be sentenced within the sentencing guidelines which is (3-7) years.”
At the sentencing hearing, however, the trial court sentenced the appellant to seven years’ incarceration, followed by eight years’ probation. This was the first time that the probationary period was mentioned to the appellant and there is no indication that during the plea negotiations and signing of the written plea, he was aware such a term of probation could be added to his incarceration. Under Rule 3.172(c)(vii), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, the trial judge is obligated, in determining the voluntariness of the plea, to advise the appellant of “[t]he complete terms of any plea agreement, including specifically all obligations the defendant will incur as a result.” If the trial court does not concur in a tendered plea arising out of the negotiations, the plea may be withdrawn.
Rule 3.172(g), Fla.R.Crim.P. The appellant was never informed that an additional probationary period could be added to his negotiated term of incarceration, nor was he given the opportunity to withdraw his plea once it became apparent that the trial court intended to impose a total term of fifteen years’ supervision.
As the appellant was not properly apprised of the significance and consequences of his guilty plea, the case must be remanded. See State v. Green, 421 So. 2d 508 (Fla.1982) (failure to advise defendant of direct consequences of plea prohibits him from rendering a truly voluntary and knowledgable waiver of his constitutional rights); Harvey v. State, 399 So. 2d 1134 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. denied, 411 So. 2d 382 (Fla. 1981) (if appellant was unaware of greater penalty to which he was exposed at the time of the entry of the plea, his sentence must be either reduced, or he must be allowed to withdraw his plea).
On remand, the trial court shall either sentence the appellant to the agreed upon sentence of three to seven years’ incarceration, or allow the appellant the option of withdrawing his plea.
REVERSED AND REMANDED for further consistent proceedings.
MILLS and NIMMONS, JJ., concur. . The appellant raises three other issues in his motion for post-conviction relief, all of which we find without merit and decline to address.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Eggers v. State, 624 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)…eement will be followed by a period of probation, if such is the court’s intent. Failure to do so [*338] may require remand for resentencing within the terms of the plea agreement, or to afford the option of withdrawing the plea. Jefferson v. State, 515 So. 2d 407 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). See also Green v. Bugger, 575 So. 2d 750 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). Both Jefferson and Green involve appeals from summary denials of rule 3.850 motions. In each case, the respective appellant challenged the imposition of probation in…
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Echeverria v. State, 949 So. 2d 331 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)…ent. Moreover, appellant was not afforded the opportunity to withdraw his plea once the trial court determined that it would impose a period of probation in excess of the term of supervision established by the plea agreement. In Jefferson v. State, 515 So. 2d 407 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), this Court was faced with a situation where an appellant “was never informed that an additional probationary period could be added to his negotiated term of incarceration, [or] ... given the opportunity to withdraw his plea once…
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Brown v. State, 647 So. 2d 197 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…ed a split sentence which would fall within the guidelines. Such an allegation has been found legally sufficient. See, e.g., Eggers v. State, 624 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); Green v. Dugger, 575 So. 2d 750 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991); Jefferson v. State, 515 So. 2d 407 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). Accordingly, the trial court’s ruling was incorrect with regard to the second ground asserted. As his third ground, appellant asserts that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his attorney led him to believe th…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Green, 421 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 1982)
- Harvey v. State, 399 So. 2d 1134 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)