HOWARD C. HICKEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Howard Hickey appealed the denial of his post-conviction Rule 3.850 motion challenging the validity of his guilty plea and alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The appellate court affirmed the denial as to most claims but reversed and remanded on the issue of whether Hickey was properly advised that he was accepting a departure sentence prior to entering his plea.
The court affirmed the trial court's denial as to issues one, two, and four (that the plea was free and voluntary, that counsel was not ineffective in coercing the plea, and other ineffective assistance claims), but reversed and remanded as to issue three. The record did not conclusively show that Hickey was advised that he was agreeing to a departure sentence, requiring either the trial court to attach additional record excerpts proving he was so advised or conduct an evidentiary hearing.
[1] A post-conviction motion is facially sufficient when it alleges grounds for relief that, if true, would entitle the movant to relief.
[2] When a post-conviction motion is facially sufficient, the trial court must either conduct an evidentiary hearing or attach record excerpts that conclusively refute the mo…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A facially sufficient motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, which is the case here, requires the trial judge to either conduct an evidentiary hearing, or if he summarily denies the motion to attach to his order such portions of the transcript as conclusively refute that Hickey is entitled to the relief requested.”
Establishes the standard for reviewing summary denials of post-conviction Rule 3.850 motions
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHickey entered a guilty plea pursuant to a plea bargain. He subsequently filed a post-conviction motion alleging his plea was not free and voluntary, …
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[*9] BROWNING, J.
Howard K. Hickey (Hickey) appeals the denial of his post-conviction motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Hickey alleged that: 1) his plea of guilty was not free and voluntary; 2) that his trial counsel was ineffective by coercing him into accepting a plea bargain to crimes for which no factual basis to constitute crimes charged was ever proven by the state; 3) that his trial counsel was ineffective and the trial court erred for not informing him prior to accepting his bargain for plea that he was agreeing to a departure sentence and that such agreement would provide the basis to impose a departure sentence; and 4) his trial counsel was ineffective because he allegedly failed to inform Hickey that the state’s witnesses had changed their testimony, for not allowing defendant to testify at a trial, and on other grounds not germane to this appeal.
The trial court ruled that the record conclusively refuted these allegations and accordingly attached those portions of the record so showing to his order.
We affirm as to issues one, two and four, and reverse and remand as to issue three.
As to issue three, we are impelled to reverse and remand for further proceedings. A facially sufficient motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, which is the case here, requires the trial judge to either conduct an evidentiary hearing, or if he summarily denies the motion to attach to his order such portions of the transcript as conclusively refute that Hickey is entitled to the relief requested. Golden v. State, 703 So. 2d 1207 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). The portion of the record attached to the trial court’s order does not conclusively show that Hickey was advised either by his trial counsel, or the trial court, prior to his plea that he was agreeing to a departure sentence and that such agreement would provide the basis to impose the departure sentence.
Accordingly, this constitutes error. Thornburg v. State, 591 So. 2d 1121 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
We therefore, reverse and remand as to issue three, and the trial court shall upon remand either attach additional record excerpts that conclusively disprove Hickey’s claim that he was not properly advised concerning the fact that he was pleading to a departure sentence, or if no such portions of the record exist, conduct an evidentiary hearing on that portion of Hickey’s motion.
AFFIRMING in part, REVERSING in part, and REMANDING for attachments or further proceedings.
ALLEN and WEBSTER, JJ., CONCUR.
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Jerkins v. State, 46 So. 3d 1080 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)…t Code and, therefore, a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment, rather than the 1995 sentencing guidelines, pursuant to which his maximum sentence (absent a departure) would be much less. These allegations were facially sufficient. In Hickey v. State, 740 So. 2d 8 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999), the defendant alleged that his plea to an upward departure sentence had been involuntary where neither his attorney nor the trial court informed him that he was agreeing to an upward departure [*1081] sentence and that such agre…
Authorities Cited
- Golden v. State, 703 So. 2d 1207 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)
- Thornburg v. State, 591 So. 2d 1121 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)