A.P., A CHILD, 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.
The court held that a juvenile's guilty plea is invalid if the trial court fails to advise the juvenile of their right to appointed counsel.
[1] A trial court must advise a juvenile defendant of the right to have an attorney appointed by the court before accepting an uncounseled guilty plea.
[2] A guilty plea entered without the juvenile defendant being advised of the right to appointed counsel is not knowing and voluntary.
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 intelligenceA juvenile pled guilty to burglary without an attorney. He later moved to withdraw his plea, arguing he wasn't properly advised of his right to appoin…
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 Guilty Plea Colloquy cases and more on FLexlaw
ANTOON, J.
A.P. appeals from an adjudication of delinquency arguing that the trial court erred in denying his pretrial motion to withdraw his guilty plea. We agree and therefore reverse.
After a petition for delinquency was filed, A.P. appeared before the trial court without an attorney and pled guilty to the charge of burglary of a dwelling.1 Prior to disposition, A.P. filed a motion to withdraw his plea, asserting that his decision to plead guilty without first conferring with counsel was not made knowingly and voluntarily because he had not been properly advised of his right to counsel. See Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.080(b)(2). The motion was denied and A.P. was sentenced to a level six commitment.
A.P. argues that he should have been permitted to withdraw his guilty plea because the trial court failed to advise him of his right to be represented by an attorney appointed by the court. We agree.
A juvenile defendant can waive his right to counsel and proceed to enter an uncounseled guilty plea; however, before accepting the plea, the trial court is obligated to determine whether such waiver was made voluntarily and intelligently. See KM. v. State, 448 So. 2d 1124, 1125 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). In making this determination, it is essential for the trial court to advise the juvenile that he “has the right to be represented by an attorney at every stage of the proceedings and, if necessary, one will be appointed.” Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.080(b)(2). See also Fla. R. Juv. P. 8.165(a). Here, the trial court’s failure to advise A.P. of his right to receive appointed counsel renders the guilty plea colloquy inadequate. See G.L.D. v. State, 442 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); R.V.P. v. State, 395 So. 2d 291 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). Accordingly, we must vacate the adjudication and disposition entered in this case and remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
VACATED and REMANDED.
GRIFFIN, C. J., and W. SHARP, J., concur. . § 810.02(3), Fla. Stat. (1997).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
B.F. v. State, 747 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)…igently, and (3) determine whether any unusual circumstances existed which would preclude the juvenile from exercising his right to represent himself. See K.M. v. State, 448 So. 2d 1124, 1125 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984), cited with approval in A.P. v. State, 730 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). It is plain from the arraignment colloquy that although B.F. had been minimally informed that he had the right to be represented by counsel, no inquiry was made either into: (1) the child’s comprehension of the right to counsel…
-
M.Q. v. State, 818 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…ounsel, and no basis to conclude that M.Q. made an informed waiver of his right to counsel. The state concedes that the trial court failed to follow the dictates of Rule 8.165. See E.C.H. v. State, 751 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000); A.P. v. State, 730 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999); D.L. v. State, 719 So. 2d 931 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). But it argues that because M.Q. failed to file a motion to withdraw his plea, this appeal is not cognizable, since such a motion is a prerequisite to a direct appeal challenging…
-
C.L.R. v. State, 756 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)…sserts that the trial court erred in failing to properly advise her of her right to counsel as required by Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.165. The state concedes the error. See B.F. v. State, 747 So. 2d 1061 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000); A.P. v. State, 730 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999); J.R.V. v. State, 715 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). We therefore grant the petition, issue the writ, and order the child to be immediately released. The trial court can then comply with the requirements enunciated in J.R.V., 7…
Authorities Cited
- In the Interest of R. v. P., 395 So. 2d 291 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)
- K.M. v. State, 448 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)
- G.L.D. v. State, 442 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)