DWIGHT ROY ECHEVARRIA, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the state's serious, material, and inexcusable breach of the plea agreement requires reversal of the denial of relief and allows the defendant to withdraw his plea.
The state breached its agreement not to oppose parole applications in exchange for the defendant's guilty plea and testimony against a co-defendant. T…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
Because the state was indisputably in serious, material, and inexcusable breach of its agreement not to oppose the appellant’s parole applications in return for his completely satisfied promise to plead guilty to reduced charges and testify in trial against the co-defendant,1 there is no choice under the law but to reverse the denial of 3.850 relief below, see State v. Frazier, 697 So. 2d 944 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997), and, because specific performance of the prosecution’s undertaking would be futile at this stage, to order that the defendant be permitted to withdraw his plea. Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971); Lee v. State, 501 So. 2d 591 (Fla.1987); State v. Tiedge, 670 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Buffa v. State, 641 So. 2d 474 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); Spencer v. State, 623 So. 2d 1211 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993); Macker v. State, 500 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Lollar v. State, 443 So. 2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). As we said in Frazier:
[E]ven if neutral principles of law did not, as they do, require this result, the state, above all parties, must keep its word. See State v. Hargis, 328 So. 2d 479, 481 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)(Rawls, J., dissenting). Its attempts to convince the lower court and this one that it should be allowed to break it are unseemly and unworthy.
697 So. 2d at 945. The last observation applies with even greater force to those individuals who knowingly broke the state’s promise in the first place.2
Reversed and remanded with directions.
. See Mack v. State, 461 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984), review denied, 471 So. 2d 43 (Fla.1985)(affirming conviction of co-defendant, shooter in armed robbery-murder, despite improper final argument, because of overwhelming evidence against him, including testimony of appellant).
. On the other hand, the prosecutor who made the plea agreement and has steadfastly insisted that it be honored is to be commended.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Griffis v. Fla. Fish & Wildlife Conservation Comm'n, 57 So. 3d 929 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)…d to its detriments ... the state, above all parties, must keep its word.”); see Velazquez v. State, 870 So. 2d 863 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004) (“[T]he state, above all parties, must keep its word.” (quoting Frazier, 697 So. 2d at 945)); Echevarria v. State, 845 So. 2d 340, 341 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003) (same); State v. Hargis, 328 So. 2d 479, 481 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976) (Rawls, J., dissenting) (“If ... ‘men must turn square corners when they deal with the Government,’ it is hard to see why the Government should not be held to a…
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Rodriguez v. State, 45 So. 3d 966 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)…ot tell the investigator about Macker’s cooperation or the plea agreement. See id. These actions were contrary to the plea agreement. This court concluded that the defendant had been prejudiced and vacated the plea. Similarly in Echevarria v. State, 845 So. 2d 340 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003), the State communicated to the Parole Commission that it opposed the defendant’s parole application, contrary to the plea agreement. The defendant was allowed to vacate his plea. In this case, by contrast, the State’s letter to t…
Authorities Cited (12 total)
- Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (U.S. 1971)
- State v. Frazier, 697 So. 2d 944 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)
- Gonzalez Eng'g, Inc. v. Miami Pump & Supply Co., Inc., 641 So. 2d 474 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)
- Spencer v. State, 623 So. 2d 1211 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)
- LEE v. State, 501 So. 2d 591 (Fla. 1987)
- Lamb v. Hoyt L. Lamb, 500 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- The City OF Delray Beach v. Shalanda Watts, 461 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)
- Lollar v. State, 443 So. 2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)
- Kenneth Hemmerle and wife v. DeSOTO Nat'l Bank OF Arcadia, 328 So. 2d 479 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)
- State v. Hargis, 328 So. 2d 479 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)