JOSE BONILLA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jose Bonilla appealed the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence imposed under the 1995 sentencing guidelines. The court reversed and remanded, finding that Bonilla's offense fell within the window period established by Heggs v. State for challenging unconstitutional sentencing guidelines, and directing the trial court to determine whether his plea agreement was conditioned on a guidelines sentence and provide the State with appropriate remedial options.
Bonilla met Heggs's two-prong test by alleging that his crime fell within the window period (October 1, 1995 to May 24, 1997) and that the sentence imposed under the 1995 guidelines could not have been imposed under the 1994 guidelines without an upward departure. However, because his original sentence resulted from a plea agreement, he is not entitled to automatic resentencing under the 1994 guidelines. The State retains the option on remand of either proceeding to trial on all original charges or agreeing to vacate the sentence and resentence Bonilla under the 1994 guidelines.
[1] A defendant seeking collateral relief based on the unconstitutional application of sentencing guidelines must allege that the crime occurred within the relevant window pe…
[2] The window period for challenging sentencing guidelines under Heggs v. …
Previewing 2 of 5 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“Pursuant to Heggs, a defendant seeking collateral relief may do so if he can allege that the crime for which a sentence was received falls within the window period and that the application of the unconstitutional statute resulted in the imposition of a departure sentence.”
Establishes the two-prong test for seeking relief under Heggs v. State for sentences imposed under unconstitutional sentencing guidelines.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBonilla was charged with second-degree murder for an offense committed in March 1997. He entered into a negotiated plea agreement and was sentenced to…
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SAWAYA, J.
Jose Bonilla appeals the order denying his rule 3.800(a) motion to correct an illegal sentence. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Our review of this record reveals that Bonilla was charged with the March 1997 offense of second-degree murder. Based on a negotiated plea agreement, Bonilla claims he was sentenced to a 84-month term of incarceration in exchange for a guilty or no contest plea. We do not have the transcript of the plea dialogue or a copy of a written plea agreement so we do not know whether the plea agreement was conditioned on the sentencing guidelines. If the plea agreement was not conditioned on the sentencing guidelines, Bon-illa is not entitled to relief because his sentence is not illegal. See Dunenas v. Moore, 762 So. 2d 1007 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).
Bonilla claims in his motion that he was sentenced pursuant to the 1995 guidelines and that his sentence is illegal based on Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla.2000). If the trial court finds that the plea agreement was conditioned on a guidelines sentence, the trial court should proceed in light of the supreme court’s ruling in Trapp v. State, 760 So. 2d 924 (Fla.2000), the benefit of which the trial court lacked when ruling on Bonilla’s motion.
Pursuant to Heggs, a defendant seeking collateral relief may do so if he can allege that the crime for which a sentence was received falls within the window period and that the application of the unconstitutional statute resulted in the imposition of a departure sentence. At the time the trial court denied Bonilla’s motion, the closing date of the window period had not been defined by the supreme court. We now know, pursuant to Trapp, that the window period for challenging the sentencing guidelines opened on October 1, 1995, and closed on May 24, 1997. Trapp, 760 So. 2d at 928. Bonilla’s offense, committed in March 1997, falls squarely within the window period.
Not only has Bonilla sufficiently alleged that his crimes were committed within the window period, Bonilla also asserted that the sentence he received under the 1995 guidelines could not have been imposed under the 1994 guidelines absent an upward departure. Specifically, he alleged that if he had been sentenced under the 1994 guidelines, he would have been sentenced to a maximum of 67.7 months. To support these allegations, he provided copies of both the 1994 and 1995 scoresheets. Therefore, Bonilla has met Heggs’s two-prong test.
Although Bonilla is entitled to seek relief under Heggs, Bonilla is not entitled to automatic resentencing under the 1994 guidelines because his original sentence was the result of a plea agreement. Since we do not have the transcript of the sentencing hearing or a copy of a written plea agreement, we do not know whether the State agreed to drop or reduce additional charges against Bonilla in exchange for his plea. Where a defendant is entitled to relief under Heggs, but his original sentence was the result of a plea agreement, the state has the option on remand of proceeding to trial on the original charges or electing to have the defendant resen-tenced under the 1994 sentencing guidelines.
Accordingly, the order appealed is reversed. The case is remanded with the direction that if the plea agreement required a guidelines sentence, the State be given the option of proceeding to trial on all of the original charges or agreeing to have the sentence vacated and Bonilla re-sentenced under the 1994 sentencing. If the trial court finds that the plea agreement was not conditioned on a guidelines sentence, Bonilla is not entitled to any relief.
REVERSED and REMANDED with instructions.
W. SHARP, and HARRIS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
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Trotter v. State, 774 So. 2d 924 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…ent is not conditioned on the sentencing guidelines then a defendant is not entitled to appellate relief if his sentence is not illegal, this law is inapplicable here because Trotter did not enter a plea to a specific sentence. See Bonilla v. State, 766 So. 2d 1192 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). The sentence which was imposed reflected a guidelines sentence. The State merely recommended a guideline sentence that would have been imposed even in the event that Trotter had been convicted by a jury of the crime charged. Thi…
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Rashan Jones v. State, 781 So. 2d 447 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…ceeding to trial on the original charges or having appellant resen-tenced under the 1994 sentencing guidelines. See Vareia v. State, 777 So. 2d 1168 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001); Buckingham v. State, 771 So. 2d 1206, 1209 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000); Bonilla v. State, 766 So. 2d 1192, 1194 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (reversing motion to correct illegal sentence for determination of whether plea agreement was conditioned on sentencing guidelines, as neither copy of written plea agreement nor transcript of plea colloquy was attached to o…
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Poole v. State, 777 So. 2d 1186 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…laims that because the 1995 sentencing guidelines were ruled to be unconstitutional,1 his sentence is illegal. He is incorrect. His sentence was imposed pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement and not based upon the guidelines. See Bonilla v. State, 766 So. 2d 1192 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). Additionally, he has not shown that application of the 1995 sentencing guidelines has made any impact upon his sentence. See Parker v. State, 767 So. 2d 532, 533 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). Nevertheless, Poole correctly insists that h…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 2000)
- Xzavier Trapp v. State, 760 So. 2d 924 (Fla. 2000)
- Durwin D. Dunenas v. Moore, 762 So. 2d 1007 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)