JOHNNY BOOTH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Johnny Booth appeals his conviction for resisting an officer with violence after pleading guilty pursuant to a plea agreement that mentioned the possibility of habitual offender sentencing. The trial court sentenced him as an habitual felony offender without clear prior notice that the state or court intended to pursue such sentencing, violating the requirement under Ashley v. State that defendants receive actual notice of intent to seek habitual offender treatment before entering a plea.
The sentence is vacated because the trial court failed to give Booth actual notice, prior to his plea, that either the state or the court intended to pursue habitual offender sentencing. A mere warning of the possibility of habitual offender treatment is insufficient under Ashley v. State; a defendant must be made aware of actual intent to seek such sentencing before entering a guilty plea.
[1] A defendant must be made aware prior to entering a guilty plea whether the state or the court intends to seek habitual offender treatment.
[2] Simply informing a defendant of the possibility of being sentenced as a habitual offender is insufficient notice before accepting a guilty plea.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“This court has interpreted Ashley v. State, 614 So. 2d 486 (Fla.1993) as requiring that a defendant be made aware, prior to entering a plea, either that the state intends to seek habitual offender treatment, or that the court intends to do so.”
Establishes the legal standard that actual notice of intent (not mere possibility) must be given before plea entry
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBooth entered into a plea agreement for resisting an officer with violence that mentioned only the possibility of habitual offender sentencing without…
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W. SHARP, Judge.
Booth appeals from a judgment and sentence for resisting an officer with violence.1 He pled guilty after entering into a plea agreement and entering into a dialogue with the trial judge. Subsequently, the court served notice on Booth that it intended to hold a hearing to sentence Booth as an habitual offender. Booth moved to withdraw his plea, which the trial judge denied. He adjudicated Booth guilty and sentenced him as an habitual felony offender. We vacate the sentence and remand for further proceedings.
The plea agreement in this case simply raised the possibility that Booth might be sentenced as an habitual offender. It provided:
e. That a hearing may hereafter be set and conducted in this case to determine if I qualify to be classified as a Habitual Felony Offender or a Violent Habitual Felony offender, and:
(1) That should I be determined by the Judge to be a Violent Habitual Felony Offender, and should the Judge sentence me as such, I could receive up to a maximum sentence of _10^ years imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of _5_ years imprisonment and that as to any habitual offender sentence I would not be entitled to receive any basic gain time.
(2) That should I be determined by the Judge to be a Non-Violent Habitual Felony Offender, and should the Judge sentence me as such, I could receive up to a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of_ years imprisonment and that as to any habitual offender sentence I would not be entitled to receive any basic gain time.
Further, at the plea hearing, the judge asked Booth if he understood he could receive a sentence up to those maximum set forth in paragraphs 4(a) through (c) of the agreement, if Booth were found to be an habitual offender. Booth replied, “Yes.” However, there was never any indication that the trial judge or the prosecution intended to pursue an habitual offender sentence.
A hearing was held on Booth’s motion to withdraw his plea. He testified he did not think he would be sentenced as an habitual offender and that he entered his plea based on that understanding. He admitted he knew it was possible he could be found to be an habitual offender, but at the time he entered his plea, he did not think a hearing-on that issue would be held.
This court has interpreted Ashley v. State, 614 So. 2d 486 (Fla.1993) as requiring that a defendant be made aware, prior to entering a plea, either that the state intends to seek habitual offender treatment, or that the court intends to do so. Thomspon v. State, 638 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). Giving notice that the possibility exists that a defendant may be sentenced as an habitual offender is not sufficient. Santoro v. State, 644 So. 2d 585 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); Jones v. State, 639 So. 2d 147 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); Blackwell v. State, 638 So. 2d 119 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); Thompson v. State, 638 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). We may not be correct in this interpretation of Ashley but as a court we are committed to it.
Accordingly, we vacate Booth’s sentence in this case and remand to the trial court. At resentencing, the trial court should either sentence Booth pursuant to the guidelines (including a departure sentence), or, if the court believes a more severe sentence is necessary, it should allow Booth to withdraw his guilty plea and proceed to trial.
Judgment AFFIRMED; Sentence VACATED; REMANDED.
HARRIS, C.J., concurs.
GOSHORN, J., dissents with opinion.
. § 843.01, Fla.Stat. (1993).
GOSHORN, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent for the reasons set forth in my dissent in Thompson v. State, 638 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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State v. Booth, 672 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 1996)…ice on Booth that it intended to hold a hearing to sentence Booth as an habitual offender. Booth moved to withdraw his plea, which the trial judge denied. He adjudicated Booth guilty and sentenced him as an habitual felony offender. Booth v. State, 654 So. 2d 571, 572 (Fla. 5th DCA1995) (emphasis added). This defendant, during his dialogue with the judge at the plea hearing, was certainly given notice that he could be sentenced as a habitual offender. I am concerned, however, that it was the judge who initi…1 / 2
Authorities Cited
- Ashley v. State, 614 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 1993)
- Thompson v. State, 638 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)
- Santoro v. State, 644 So. 2d 585 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)
- Jones v. State, 639 So. 2d 147 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)
- Scott v. State, 638 So. 2d 119 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)
- Blackwell v. State, 638 So. 2d 119 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)