JORGE MORALES, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
Jorge Morales appeals the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. His 30-year prison sentence plus 5-year probation for a first-degree felony exceeded the 30-year statutory maximum. The court reversed, holding that a defendant cannot agree to an illegal sentence even through plea negotiation, and the sentence must be corrected.
A criminal defendant may not agree to an illegal sentence, regardless of whether it results from a plea negotiation. A sentence combining incarceration and probation is illegal if the total exceeds the statutory maximum. The trial court's denial of the motion to correct the illegal sentence is reversed.
[1] A criminal defendant cannot agree to the imposition of an illegal sentence.
[2] A sentence combining prison and probation is illegal if the total of the incarcerative and supervisory portions exceeds the statutory maximum.
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“A criminal defendant may not agree to the imposition of an illegal sentence.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that plea agreements cannot validate illegal sentences
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMorales received a sentence of 30 years in prison followed by 5 years of probation for a first-degree felony. He filed a motion under Florida Rule of …
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Negotiated Plea Agreement cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Jorge Morales challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to correct illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). He accurately alleges that his sentence of thirty years’ prison followed by five years’ probation-for a first-degree felony exceeds the thirty-year maximum allowable sentence. The trial court denied the motion on the basis that the sentence was the result of a negotiated plea. We reverse.
A criminal defendant may not agree to the imposition of an illegal sentence. See Vickers v. State, 630 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). A sentence which combines prison and probation is illegal if the total of the inearcerative and supervisory portions of the sentence exceeds the statutory maximum (provided the guidelines do not call for a sentence in excess of this statutory maximum, which is inapposite here). See Garcia v. State, 666 So. 2d 231 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Robbins v. State, 641 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). As this sentence was imposed pursuant to a plea negotiation, the State may avail itself of the opportunity to require the withdrawal of the -plea.1 See Hayes v. .State, 598 So. 2d 135 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992); Forshee v. State, 579 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). Considering that the five-year probationary period which will need to be deleted from the sentence to render it legal was directed to run concurrently with a like probationary period on a legal sentence, we trust there will be no need to revive this criminal prosecution.
Reversed and remanded.
CAMPBELL, A.C.J., and FRANK and PATTERSON, JJ., concur. . Correction of the sentence at issue will result in a penalty of thirty years in prison,’ which is the maximum allowable for a first-degree, felony. Unless the State agreed to a plea involving reduced charges or waived habitual offender sentencing as part of the negotiation, which Morales denies, ordinarily the usual option available to the State to require vacation of the plea would not apply in such circumstances because the State could not conceivably be prejudiced by a sentence correction which results in a maximum sentence. In this case, however, Morales also entered a plea to a second-degree felony for which a sentence was imposed which did not meet the statutory maximum and which was directed to run concurrently with the prison sentence on the first-degree felony. The sentencing on both counts comprehends a negotiated package. At least in theory the State could be prejudiced by the failure of this agreement resulting from our identification of the illegality of one of the sentences.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Chambliss v. State, 579 So. 2d 388 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
- Hayes v. State, 598 So. 2d 135 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)
- Vickers v. State, 630 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)
- Robbins v. State, 641 So. 2d 934 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)
- Garcia v. State, 666 So. 2d 231 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)