ROBERT D. GARNER
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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The Florida Second District Court of Appeal reversed a postconviction court's order denying Robert Garner's motion for resentencing relief based on Miller v. Alabama and Atwell v. State, holding that the court lacked jurisdiction to withdraw its 2016 resentencing order when the State filed an untimely motion for reconsideration in 2018.
The postconviction court lacked jurisdiction to withdraw its 2016 resentencing order based on the State's untimely rehearing motion. The court reversed the 2018 order denying relief, reinstated the 2016 resentencing order, and remanded for resentencing, noting that the decisional law effective at the time of resentencing applies.
[1] A postconviction court lacks jurisdiction to withdraw its prior order granting relief based on an untimely motion for reconsideration by the State.
[2] A court that has granted postconviction relief and ordered resentencing retains jurisdiction to conduct that resentencing.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“The postconviction court, however, lacked jurisdiction to withdraw its 2016 order.”
Establishes the core holding that a postconviction court cannot rescind a final order based on an untimely motion for reconsideration.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn 2016, the postconviction court granted Garner's Rule 3.850 motion and ordered resentencing based on Miller v. Alabama and Atwell v. State constitut…
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PER CURIAM. We reverse the order denying Robert D. Garner's motion for postconviction relief. We remand for resentencing pursuant to Croft v. State, 295 So. 3d 307 (Fla. 2d DCA 2020).
- 2 - Mr. Garner filed his motion pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. He argued that his sentence was unconstitutional under Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), and Atwell v. State, 197 So. 3d 1040 (Fla. 2016).
Relying on these cases, the postconviction court granted his motion in 2016 and ordered a resentencing hearing. The State did not appeal the order. Two years later, while Mr. Garner was awaiting resentencing, the State moved for reconsideration of the postconviction court's order, relying on State v. Michel, 257 So. 3d 3 (Fla. 2018).
In late 2018, the court granted the motion, withdrew its order granting resentencing, and denied Mr. Garner's motion for postconviction relief. The postconviction court, however, lacked jurisdiction to withdraw its 2016 order. See Croft, 295 So. 3d at 309; see also Wittemen v. State, 45 Fla.
L. Weekly D2008, D2009 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 21, 2020) ("The postconviction court therefore lacked jurisdiction to rescind its original order on the basis of an untimely rehearing motion by the State." (citing Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(j))).
Accordingly, we reverse the postconviction court's 2018 order, reinstate the 2016 order, and remand for the postconviction court to conduct a resentencing hearing.
We note, as we did in Croft, that "the decisional law effective at the time of the resentencing applies." 295 So. 3d at 309 (quoting State v. Fleming, 61 So. 3d 399, 400 (Fla. 2011)).
Thus, it is possible that Mr. Garner may still receive the same sentence upon resentencing.
Reversed and remanded with instructions. LaROSE, BLACK, and ROTHSTEIN-YOUAKIM, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Atwell v. State, 197 So. 3d 1040 (Fla. 2016)
- State v. Budry Michel, 257 So. 3d 3 (Fla. 2018)
- State v. Fleming, 61 So. 3d 399 (Fla. 2011)