CONRAD BLACKWOOD, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Conrad Blackwood appealed his sentence and the denial of his motion to withdraw a nolo contendere plea to armed burglary and aggravated battery with a firearm. The court affirmed, finding sufficient factual basis in the record to support the plea and no manifest injustice warranting withdrawal.
The trial court properly accepted the plea and correctly denied the motion to withdraw it. The record contained sufficient factual basis to sustain the convictions, supported by the factual basis stipulation, arrest affidavit, information, and victim's deposition. No manifest injustice was shown.
[1] A trial court has considerable discretion in determining whether a sufficient factual basis exists for a plea.
[2] A stipulation by the parties that the facts alleged in charging documents, if proven, would establish a prima facie case can constitute a sufficient factual basis for a p…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Before accepting a guilty plea, a court must satisfy itself that there is a factual basis for the plea. The purpose of the factual basis is to avoid a defendant mistakenly pleading to the wrong offense.”
Establishes the standard for evaluating whether a plea has sufficient factual basis and the trial court's duty in accepting pleas.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBlackwood was charged with armed burglary and aggravated battery with a firearm. He entered a nolo contendere plea to both counts after a plea colloqu…
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PER CURIAM.
The defendant, Conrad Blackwood, appeals his sentence and the denial of his motion to withdraw his plea of nolo contendere. We affirm.
The defendant was charged by information with armed burglary and aggravated battery with a firearm. He pled nolo contendere to both counts. At the plea colloquy, both sides stipulated that “the facts contained in the information, and the other charging document in the court file, together with any testimonial evidence contained in either of the files, that all of those facts if proven, would have established a prima facie case.”. After the trial court concluded its plea inquiry and determined that the defendant had entered his plea knowingly and intelligently, the court accepted the plea.
Subsequently, the defendant filed a motion to withdraw his plea. He alleged that the record did not establish a sufficient factual basis to justify the acceptance of his plea. The trial court rejected his argument and denied his motion. He was then sentenced to a minimum mandatory term of three years imprisonment. This appeal follows.
On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred by accepting his plea of nolo contendere where there was insufficient support in the record to establish a factual basis for the plea pursuant to Rule 3.172(a), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Koenig v. State, 597 So. 2d 256 (Fla.1992). We disagree. This Court previously stated in Suarez v. State:
Before accepting a guilty plea, a court must satisfy itself that there is a factual basis for the plea. The purpose of the factual basis is to avoid a defendant mistakenly pleading to the wrong offense. To preclude this possibility, the trial judge has considerable discretion to determine whether there is a factual basis for a plea. Williams v. State, 316 So. 2d 267 (Fla.1975).
In order to withdraw a guilty plea after sentence for lack of factual basis, a defendant must show prejudice or manifest injustice. Williams, 316 So. 2d at 275; Grant v. State, 316 So. 2d 282 (Fla.1975).
616 So. 2d 1067, 1068 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (emphasis added).
In this case, the record reflects a sufficient factual basis to sustain the convictions for armed burglary and aggravated battery with a firearm. The plea is supported not only by the factual basis stipulation quoted above, but also by the arrest affidavit, the information, and the victim’s deposition. Suarez, 616 So. 2d at 1068. Consequently, we conclude that the record shows no manifest injustice. The trial court properly denied the defendant’s motion to withdraw his plea and imposed the sentence.
Accordingly, we affirm.
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Johanne Cuevas v. State, 770 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)…f Criminal Procedure 3.850 claim that there was no factual basis for the plea where the arrest affidavit was a part of the record and sufficiently set forth a factual basis for the charge), rev. denied, 740 So. 2d 528 (Fla.1999); Blackwood v. State, 648 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (holding depositions or police affidavits were sufficient to support a factual basis otherwise stipulated to by the parties in an attempt to vacate a plea based upon a lack of voluntariness in entering the plea). Accordingly, we a…
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Aime v. State, 723 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…th a factual basis for the charge of second-degree murder, including that defendant had committed “an act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind regardless of human life.” § 782.04(2), Fla. Stat. (1993); see Blackwood v. State, 648 So. 2d 294, 295 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). As there was a sufficient factual basis for the plea, defendant’s corresponding claim of ineffective assistance of counsel by allowing a plea in the absence of such also fails. Finally, the transcript of the plea colloquy d…
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State v. Nessim Jaime Sion, 942 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)…tual basis the defendant has the burden of establishing that a manifest injustice or clear prejudice has occurred. Id. at 274. James v. State, 886 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004); State v. Fox, 659 So. 2d 1324 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995); Blackwood v. State, 648 So. 2d 294 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995); Suarez; Monroe v. State, 318 So. 2d 571 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). In the instant case, we find no merit to Sion’s assertion that there was no factual basis in the record for his plea to the charged offense apart from his stipulation…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Williams v. State, 316 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 1975)
- Koenig v. State, 597 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 1992)
- Suarez v. State, 616 So. 2d 1067 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)
- Grant v. State, 316 So. 2d 282 (Fla. 1975)