T.F.V., A CHILD
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 5th DCA | 2026-04-02
No. 2025-3306
2026 FL 3738 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2026)

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.


Holding

A trial court commits fundamental error by accepting a plea from a juvenile without first conducting an adequate inquiry to ensure that any waiver of the right to counsel is free and intelligent.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court commits fundamental error by accepting a plea from a juvenile without conducting an adequate inquiry to ensure that any waiver of the right to counsel is fr…

[2] Before accepting an uncounseled plea, a trial court must thoroughly advise the defendant or juvenile of their right to assistance of counsel and ensure by comprehensive i…

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

Key Quotes

“remand this case to the trial court so that it can properly advise [Appellant] of his right to assistance of counsel, ensure by a thorough inquiry that any waiver is free and intelligent, and allow [Appellant] to enter a new plea if appropriate”

Court's directive for proceedings on remand

Facts & Procedural History

A minor was adjudicated delinquent and committed to a moderate-risk residential program based on a plea entered without the assistance of counsel. The…

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.


Opinion of the Court

FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA

Case No. 5D2025-3306 LT Case Nos. 2024-CJ-000871-A 2025-CJ-000388-A

T.F.V., a Child, Appellant,

v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

On appeal from the Circuit Court for Marion County. Bradley E. King, Judge.

Matthew J. Metz, Public Defender, and Gregg R. Brennan, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Marissa V. Giles, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

April 2, 2026

PER CURIAM.

In this appeal from disposition orders adjudicating him delinquent and committing him to a moderate-risk residential program, Appellant claims that the trial court committed fundamental error by accepting his uncounseled plea without conducting an adequate inquiry regarding his waiver of counsel.

The State properly concedes error. See State v. T.G., 800 So. 2d 204, 212 (Fla. 2001); J.R. v. State, 992 So. 2d 876, 876 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008); K.E.N. v. State, 892 So. 2d 1176, 1179 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005); M.Q. v. State, 818 So. 2d 615, 618 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). Accordingly, we reverse and “remand this case to the trial court so that it can properly advise [Appellant] of his right to assistance of counsel, ensure by a thorough inquiry that any waiver is free and intelligent, and allow [Appellant] to enter a new plea if appropriate.” T.G., 800 So. 2d at 213.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

JAY, C.J., and WALLIS and BOATWRIGHT, JJ., concur. Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331.

2


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw