ROBERT GONZALEZ, 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.
Robert Gonzalez appealed the denial of his motion to withdraw a guilty plea, arguing it was involuntary because he relied on invalid 1995 sentencing guidelines when entering the plea. The court reversed and remanded, holding that Gonzalez was entitled to withdraw his plea because he entered it with an understanding about his sentencing range that was not dependent on the invalid guidelines.
The court held that Gonzalez was entitled to withdraw his plea. The trial court abused its discretion by concluding that because Gonzalez pleaded to a specific term of years rather than to the guidelines themselves, he was not entitled to withdraw the plea. The record showed Gonzalez entered the plea with the understanding he would receive a capped fifteen-year sentence, and there was no evidence to refute this claim.
[1] A defendant is entitled to withdraw a plea if the plea was involuntary due to reliance on invalid sentencing guidelines.
[2] A trial court abuses its discretion by denying a defendant the opportunity to withdraw a plea when the defendant relied on invalid sentencing guidelines and would not hav…
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 record reflects that Gonzalez entered his plea with the understanding that he would receive a downward departure sentence capped at fifteen years in prison. There was no evidence in the record to refute Gonzalez's claim. Accordingly, the trial court abused its discretion in this case.”
Establishes the core holding that the trial court abused its discretion by denying the plea withdrawal when there was unrefuted evidence of Gonzalez's conditional understanding.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGonzalez pleaded nolo contendere to dealing in stolen property and multiple counts of burglary and grand theft in exchange for a sentence capped at fi…
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
[*411] STRINGER, Judge.
Robert Gonzalez challenges the denial of his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion. In his motion, Gonzalez sought to withdraw his plea and alleged that his plea was involuntary due to his reliance on the 1995 sentencing guidelines which were held invalid by the supreme court in Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla.2000). We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Gonzalez pleaded nolo contendere in several cases to one count of dealing in stolen property and multiple counts of burglary and grand theft in exchange for a sentence capped at fifteen years in prison and ten years of probation. Gonzalez’s 1995 guidelines range was 26.11 years to 43.52 years in prison. The trial court sentenced Gonzalez to fifteen years for the second-degree felonies and five years concurrent on the third-degree felonies. After the supreme court issued its ruling in Heggs, Gonzalez filed a motion for postconviction relief seeking to be resentenced or to withdraw his plea.
Gonzalez’s original 3.850 motion was summarily denied by the trial court as untimely. However, this court reversed the summary denial and remanded the case for the trial court to address the motion on its merits. Gonzalez v. State, 783 So. 2d 1107 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). At the evidentiary hearing upon remand, Gonzalez testified that he entered his plea with the understanding that he was to receive a downward departure sentence capped at fifteen years in prison. Gonzalez further testified that he would not have entered his plea had he known that his 1994 sentencing guidelines range was 9.4 to 15.6 years. The trial court concluded that Gonzalez pleaded to a term of years that was not dependent upon the guidelines, and thus, he was not entitled to withdraw his plea. We disagree.
The record reflects that Gonzalez entered his plea with the understanding that he would receive a downward departure sentence capped at fifteen years in prison. There was no evidence in the record to refute Gonzalez’s claim. Accordingly, the trial court abused its discretion in this case.
We therefore reverse and remand for the trial court to allow Gonzalez to withdraw his plea. See Yurchis v. State, 799 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (holding that defendant was entitled to withdraw his plea where he alleged that he would not have entered his plea had he known his correct range under the sentencing guidelines); see also Murphy v. State, 773 So. 2d 1174 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). We certify conflict with Booker v. State, 771 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000), review dismissed, 804 So. 2d 328 (Fla.2001).
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
SALCINES and SILBERMAN, JJ„ Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Gregory Banks v. State, 887 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 2004)…ndividual to “file a legally sufficient motion under rule 3.850 challenging the voluntary and intelligent nature of his [or her] plea.” See also Gregg v. State, 839 So. 2d 794 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (certifying conflict with Booker); Gonzalez v. State, 826 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (certifying conflict with Booker); Carvello v. State, 824 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (certifying conflict with Regan); Honeycutt v. State, 805 So. 2d 987 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (certifying conflict with Regan); Murphy v. State, 7…1 / 2
-
Ganey v. State, 873 So. 2d 445 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)…ion to enter the plea was based on the unfavorable facts of the case rather than the potential prison exposure, Ganey’s testimony that he would not have entered the plea had he known the correct sentencing range was unrefuted. See Gonzalez v. State, 826 So. 2d 410, 411 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002). Thus, we conclude that the trial court should have allowed Ganey to withdraw his plea. Because Ganey established that his plea was not knowing and voluntary, we reverse the denial of Ganey’s motion and [*448] direct the tri…
Authorities Cited
- Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 2000)
- Pagliaro v. Penske Auto Ctrs., Inc., 773 So. 2d 1174 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)
- Booker v. State, 771 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)
- Yurchis v. State, 799 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
- Bryan v. State, 783 So. 2d 1107 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
- Gonzalez v. State, 783 So. 2d 1107 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)