JOHN JUSTIN WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Williams challenged his sentence for lewd assault based on an alleged scoresheet error, but because he entered a negotiated plea to the exact sentence imposed and the sentence does not exceed the statutory maximum, the court affirmed the trial court's denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence.
A sentence imposed pursuant to a negotiated plea is not illegal so long as it does not exceed the statutory maximum, even if the scoresheet calculation contains errors.
[1] A sentence is not illegal under rule 3.800(a) when it does not exceed the statutory maximum, even if based on an incorrectly calculated scoresheet resulting from a negoti…
[2] A defendant who enters a negotiated plea for a specific term of years, relying on an incorrectly calculated scoresheet, is not entitled to relief under rule 3.800(a) if t…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“when a defendant enters a negotiated plea for a term of years, relying upon an incorrectly calculated scoresheet, such sentence is not illegal so long as it does not exceed the statutory maximum”
Establishes the core holding that negotiated plea sentences are not illegal due to scoresheet errors if within the statutory maximum
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWilliams pleaded guilty to lewd assault (a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years) pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement requiring a sent…
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WARNER, J.
Appellant challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence based upon Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) alleging a scoresheet error. Although there appears to be a scoresheet error, appellant entered a negotiated plea to the exact sentence he received. His sentence is not beyond the statutory maximum for the crime for which he was sentenced. Therefore, he is not entitled to relief.
Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, appellant pled guilty to one count of lewd assault, a second degree felony punishable by up to fifteen years in prison. At the same time, the state agreed to nol prosse a second count which also carried a possible fifteen year prison term. The state and appellant agreed that the court would sentence him to fifty-four months in prison, with credit for time served. A 1994 scoresheet was used to calculate the guidelines range, even though the crime occurred in 1998. The prosecutor told the court at the sentencing hearing that the 1994 scoresheet was used to avoid Heggs issues. It included forty points for “sexual penetration.” At sentencing, the prosecutor also noted with respect to appellant’s scoring that absent the plea the state would have asked the court to exceed the guidelines based upon appellant’s prior juvenile record. The court accepted the plea after a careful examination of appellant and sentenced him to the fifty-four month agreed term.
About a year later, appellant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to rule 3.800(a) alleging that the forty points for sexual penetration had been erroneously added to the scoresheet, as penetration was non-existent in the crime to which he pled. Appellant alleged that without those points, his guidelines range would have dropped such that the sentence he received would have been a departure sentence.
The state responded that it used the wrong scoresheet and that it should have used the 1995 scoresheet. However, under the 1995 version, sexual contact would have permitted scoring forty points, so the sentence given would have been within the guidelines under the 1995 scoresheet. The trial court agreed and denied relief.
We affirm but on a different analysis. Appellant has not argued that the wrong scoresheet was used. Instead, he agreed to use the 1994 scoresheet. He simply argues that the assessment of forty points for sexual penetration was error. However, when a defendant enters a negotiated plea for a term of years, relying upon an incorrectly calculated scoresheet, such sentence is not illegal so long as it does not exceed the statutory maximum.” Mortimer v. State, 770 So. 2d 743, 744 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); accord Ivy v. State, 754 So. 2d 776, 776 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); Gibson v. State, 619 So. 2d 31, 31-32 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993). Appellant’s sentence does not exceed the statutory maximum.
Our affirmance is without prejudice to appellant filing a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to rule 3.850 to seek withdrawal of his plea based upon its involuntary character due to the incorrect score-sheet. Although in his filings with this court he has stated that he does not wish to withdraw his plea, that is his only avenue of relief.
STONE and KLEIN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (14 total)
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Ruff v. State, 840 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003)…tconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, raising the issue of the voluntariness of his plea and seeking to withdraw from the plea should he conclude that to do so would be in his best interests. See Williams v. State, 825 So. 2d 994, 996 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (“Our affirmance is without prejudice to appellant filing a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to rule 3.850 to seek withdrawal of his plea based upon its involuntary character due to the incorrect scoresheet. Althoug…
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Buenaventura Duran v. State, 929 So. 2d 43 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Williams v. State, 825 So. 2d 994, 996 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)(when a defendant enters a negotiated plea for a term of years, relying upon an incorrectly calculated scoresheet, such sentence is not illegal so long as it does not exceed the statutory maximum).…
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Rincon v. State, 996 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…for failing to raise a frivolous issue. Further, Rincon cannot establish a reasonable probability that the outcome of this case would differ as he entered a negotiated plea and agreed to the specific sentence that he received. See Williams v. State, 825 So. 2d 994, 996 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (finding that movant who did not want to withdraw his plea could not obtain relief based on a scoresheet error where the movant entered a negotiated plea to the specified sentence which did not exceed the statutory maximum).…
Previewing 3 of 14 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Mortimer v. State, 770 So. 2d 743 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- Uvanni v. Dott G.C. Gallenga, M.D., 619 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993)
- IVY v. State, 754 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- Dante Mortel McCRAY v. State, 754 So. 2d 776 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)