WALTER L. RICHIE, 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.
Walter Richie appeals the summary denial of his postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to object to scoresheet errors and for improper imposition of a public defender lien without notice. The court reversed on both claims, holding that scoresheet errors can affect sentencing even with downward departures and that failure to provide notice of the right to contest a public defender lien violates the defendant's rights.
The court reversed and remanded on both claims. First, even where a downward departure sentence is imposed, a defendant may be entitled to postconviction relief for failure to object to scoresheet errors if counsel knew or should have known of the errors and the erroneous points affected the sentence. Second, imposition of a public defender lien without providing notice of the right to contest the amount violates the defendant's rights, and neither a waiver in an insolvency affidavit nor an acknowledgment in a plea form is sufficient to waive this right.
[1] Failure to object to scoresheet errors constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel and entitles a prisoner to postconviction relief if counsel knew or should have known…
[2] A defendant may be entitled to relief from a miscalculated scoresheet even where a downward departure sentence is imposed.
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“Failure to object to scoresheet errors constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel and entitles a prisoner to postconviction relief if counsel failed to object to errors of which counsel knew or should have known and the inclusion of the erroneous points affected the sentence.”
Establishes the standard for ineffective assistance claims based on counsel's failure to object to scoresheet errors.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRichie pleaded guilty to multiple charges. The trial court sentenced him to 14 years and 11 months prison with 9 years and 11 months suspended on comm…
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 Downward Departure Sentence cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Walter L. Richie appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We reverse as to two of his claims only. Richie pleaded guilty to multiple charges for which he scored a maximum of fourteen years and eleven months in prison. The court sentenced him to a downward departure sentence of fourteen years and eleven months in prison, with nine years and eleven months suspended to be served on a combination of community control and probation. Richie alleges that his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to multiple scoresheet errors of which Richie apprised him and which would reduce his presumptive score by thirty-one months. Assuming that Richie is correct about the score-sheet errors, his sentence represents a downward departure from even the bottom of a properly prepared scoresheet.
Failure to object to scoresheet errors constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel and entitles a prisoner to postcon-viction relief if counsel failed to object to errors of which counsel knew or should have known and the inclusion of the erroneous points affected the sentence. See Manuel v. State, 629 So. 2d 1052 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). Thus, a defendant may be entitled to relief from a miscalculated scoresheet even where a downward departure sentence is imposed. See, e.g., Terrell v. State, 668 So. 2d 656 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (reversing for resentencing where the trial court believed that it was imposing a departure sentence but if prisoner’s contentions of scoresheet error were correct, he actually received a guideline sentence).
In this case, the sentencing judge at the departure hearing asked what Richie scored before determining the downward departure sentence. The trial court then imposed the maximum guideline sentence and suspended a portion of it. Under these circumstances, Richie’s sentence may have been affected by the additional thirty-one points which he alleges were erroneously included. Therefore, we reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing. If Richie’s claims prove true, he shall be entitled to be resentenced based on a corrected scoresheet.
Richie also alleges that the trial court erred in imposing a public defender lien without advising him of his right to contest the amount of the lien. Such a claim is cognizable in a rule 3.850 proceeding. See Lewis v. State, 629 So. 2d 1051 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). When a public defender lien is imposed, “[njotice of the accused’s right to a hearing to contest the amount of the lien shall be given at the time of the sentence.” Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.720(d)(1). This court has repeatedly held that it is error to impose such a lien without giving the defendant the required notice. See, e.g., Basham v. State, 695 So. 2d 887 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997).
Neither the purported waiver in the affidavit of insolvency nor the acknowledgment in the plea form that a lien is being imposed is sufficient to waive Richie’s right to such notice. See Bull v. State, 548 So. 2d 1103 (Fla.1989) (holding waiver in insolvency affidavit invalid to waive defendant’s right to notice and opportunity to be heard regarding public defender lien); Nieves v. State, 678 So. 2d 468 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996) (holding that acknowledgment in plea form that did not state amount of lien or include express waiver of right to contest amount was not sufficient to waive defendant’s right to notice required by rule 3.720(d)(1)).
Therefore, we reverse and remand. If the trial court again denies this claim, it must attach record documents which conclusively show that Richie was informed of his right to contest the amount of the lien. If Richie’s claim cannot be refuted, the court shall give him thirty days in which to file a written objection to the public defender lien. See Basham, 695 So. 2d at 888. If he does so, the lien shall be stricken, but it may be reimposed based on the trial court’s findings after a fee hearing. See id.
Richie’s other claims are without merit, and the trial court’s order is affirmed as to them.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part; and remanded.
FULMER, A.C.J., and GREEN and CASANUEVA, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (12 total)
-
Lindquist v. State, 155 So. 3d 1193 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)…the procedure employed to impose the punishment comported with statutory law and due process.”). In contrast, this court has held that such challenges may be raised in a timely motion for postconviction relief under rule 3.850. See Richie v. State, 777 So. 2d 977, 978 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); Townsend v. State, 604 So. 2d 885, 885 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). But the time for Lindquist to file such a motion expired many years ago. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(b). Like the Fourth District in Walden, 112 So. 3d at 580, we h…
-
State v. Brannum, 876 So. 2d 724 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)…ul completion of two years on community control followed by three years on probation, the sentence was a downward departure sentence requiring sufficient reasons for the departure); State v. Clay, 780 So. 2d 269 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001); Richie v. State, 777 So. 2d 977 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (acknowledging that sentence within guideline range but with a portion suspended constituted a downward departure); State v. White, 755 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000) (noting that a departure sentence had been imposed where the re…
-
Taylor v. State, 821 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)…001). On remand, Taylor shall be allowed to file an objection to the public defender lien within thirty days. If he does so, the lien must be stricken but may be reimposed based on the trial court’s findings after a fee hearing. See Richie v. State, 777 So. 2d 977 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). Taylor next argues that condition 43, which requires him to pay for the cost of drawing a DNA blood sample, should be stricken because it is a special condition of probation which was not orally pronounced. We disagree. Taylor w…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Bull v. State, 548 So. 2d 1103 (Fla. 1989)
- Manuel v. State, 629 So. 2d 1052 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Terrell v. State, 668 So. 2d 656 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)
- Nieves v. State, 678 So. 2d 468 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Lewis v. State, 629 So. 2d 1051 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Basham v. State, 695 So. 2d 887 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)