DAVID W. SPEROW, 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.
In this Anders appeal of a guilty plea conviction, the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the voluntariness of appellant's nolo plea to armed robbery but identified and ordered correction of a scrivener's error in the written judgment that incorrectly designated the offense as a life felony rather than the reduced first-degree felony to which appellant actually pleaded.
The court held that appellant's plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered. However, the written final judgment contains a scrivener's error: it incorrectly specifies armed robbery under section 812.13(2)(a) (a life felony) when appellant actually pleaded to the reduced charge of robbery with a weapon under section 812.13(2)(b) (a first-degree felony). The judgment must be corrected on remand to reflect the actual offense to which appellant pleaded.
[1] A nolo contendere plea is considered knowing and voluntary if the defendant understands the charges, the rights they are waiving, and the consequences of the plea.
[2] A scrivener's error in a written judgment can be corrected on remand to accurately reflect the offense for which the defendant was adjudicated guilty.
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“the plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered, but that appellant's written sentence does reflect a scrivener's error that must be corrected on remand”
Establishes the court's principal holdings regarding plea voluntariness and the existence of a correctable error
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was charged with armed robbery (a life felony under section 812.13(2)(a)) and armed kidnapping. Pursuant to a plea agreement, appellant plea…
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 Appeal From Conviction cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
In this Anders1 appeal, appellant entered a negotiated nolo plea to armed robbery under section 812.13(2)(b) and was sentenced to seventy-two months in prison. His counsel challenges the voluntariness of his plea and asks us to correct a scrivener’s error in the final judgment. Following a thorough review of the record on appeal and the law, we find that the plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered, but that appellant’s written sentence does reflect a scrivener’s error that must be corrected on remand.
Appellant was charged by information with armed robbery (a first degree felony punishable by life under section 812.13(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1997)), and armed kidnapping (a life felony under section 787.02(2), Florida Statutes (1997)). Pursuant to the plea agreement, appellant pleaded nolo to the reduced charge of robbery with a weapon, a first degree felony under section 812.13(2)(b), and the State agreed to nolle prosse the armed kidnapping count. The written plea specifically provided that appellant agreed to a guidelines sentence. Appellant’s scoresheet reflected a sentencing range of 45.7 to 76.2 months in prison. The court orally adjudicated appellant guilty of the lesser offense of robbery with a weapon and imposed a sentence of 72 months’ incarceration. However, in the written final judgment, in the column entitled “Offense Statute Number,” only section 812.13 appears, with no reference to which subsection applied. Yet, in the column entitled “Degree,” the judgment specifies that it is “FI — LIFE.”
It is apparent from appellant’s written plea agreement and the transcript of the change of plea hearing that appellant was pleading to the reduced charge of robbery with a weapon, a first degree felony. See § 812.13(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (1997). However, the written judgment specifies that appellant was adjudicated guilty of armed robbery under section 812.13, a life felony (codified in section 812.13(2)(a)). This was clearly a scrivener’s error. Accordingly, we remand to the trial court for correction of this scrivener’s error. See Nemeth v. State, 752 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000).
CAMPBELL, A.C.J., and ALTENBERND and FULMER, JJ., concur. . Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (U.S. 1967)
- Humana Workers' Comp. Servs. & Ken Constr. v. McDONALD, 752 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)
- Nemeth v. State, 752 So. 2d 1286 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)