THOMAS ROLLE, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Defendant's guilty plea to second-degree murder must be withdrawn because the sentencing statute under which he received fifty years was declared unconstitutional, making his sentence illegal.
A defendant may withdraw a guilty plea when the sentencing statute applied was unconstitutional, requiring resentencing under valid guidelines or retrial.
[1] A guilty plea may be withdrawn when the sentencing statute applied at the time of sentencing is subsequently declared unconstitutional, rendering the sentence illegal.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“for a life felony committed on or after July 1, 1995, the defendant may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life or to imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life imprisonment”
Description of the amended statute that was later declared unconstitutional
Thomas Rolle pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to fifty years imprisonment on December 27, 1995, under a statute amended July 1…
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PER CURIAM.
Thomas T. Rolle appeals the denial of his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty to the charge of second degree murder, relying on the holding of Williams v. State, 676 So. 2d 1056 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) that where a court sentences a defendant for a life felony and opts for a term of years instead of a life sentence, it may impose a sentence no harsher than forty years imprisonment. Rolle therefore argues that he should be able to withdraw his plea because he was sentenced to fifty years imprisonment.
The State argues that Williams is not applicable because Rolle’s offense was committed on December 27, 1995. Section 775.082(3)(a)3, Florida Statutes (1995), was amended to state that for a life felony committed on or after July 1, 1995, the defendant may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life or to imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life imprisonment. The statute, however, was amended pursuant to 1995 Fla. Laws, ch. 95-184, § 16, which was declared unconsti tutional in Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla.2000). Thus, Rolle should be allowed to withdraw his plea, as it was a plea to an illegal sentence. Upon remand, the State should be given the option of proceeding to trial on the original charges or having Rolle resentenced under the 1994 guidelines. See Latiif v. State, 787 So. 2d 834, 837 (Fla.2001).
Reversed and remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Rolle v. State, 889 So. 2d 1008 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)…PER CURIAM. As the State properly concedes, the judgment entered following this Court’s opinion in Rolle v. State, 830 So. 2d 239 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002), contains a scrivener’s error. As such, this case is remanded for entry of a corrected judgment changing the defendant’s sentences for second degree murder in counts one and two from fifty years imprisonment to forty years impriso…
Authorities Cited
- Heggs v. State, 759 So. 2d 620 (Fla. 2000)
- Salim Kamau Latiif v. State, 787 So. 2d 834 (Fla. 2001)
- Williams v. State, 676 So. 2d 1056 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)