EDDIE L. PACE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Eddie Pace appeals his conviction for lewd and lascivious molestation and 20-year sentence. The court affirmed the conviction but reversed the sentence due to appearance of vindictiveness, as the trial judge offered a 12-year plea deal before trial but imposed 20 years after Pace exercised his right to jury trial.
The conviction is affirmed, but the sentence is reversed. The court held that Pace is entitled to resentencing before a different judge because the totality of circumstances—specifically the harsher sentence imposed after rejecting the plea offer and exercising the right to trial—gives rise to a presumption of vindictiveness under Wilson v. State.
[1] A claim that a sentence is vindictive because the sentencing judge participated in failed plea negotiations is distinct from a claim that a sentence is vindictive due to…
[2] A motion challenging a sentence imposed by a judge who participated in plea negotiations is not barred by the law of the case if the prior appeal addressed a different se…
Previewing 2 of 5 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 trial judge initiated plea negotiations with Mr. Pace contrary to the directive in State v. Warner, 762 So. 2d 507, 513 (Fla.2000)”
Establishes the trial judge violated precedent by initiating plea negotiations
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePrior to trial, the judge conducted a Williams rule hearing regarding admissibility of evidence about Pace's prior similar uncharged conduct. During t…
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ALTENBERND, Chief Judge.
Eddie Pace appeals a judgment for lewd and lascivious molestation and his sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment. We affirm the conviction without further comment. We reverse the sentence and remand for resentencing before a different circuit court judge.
Prior to trial, the judge conducted a hearing regarding the admissibility of certain Williams1 rule evidence. During this hearing, the trial judge was apprised of the circumstances regarding Mr. Pace’s current offense and prior similar conduct by Mr. Pace for which he was never charged. Mr. Pace had no other criminal record. At the conclusion of this hearing, the trial judge initiated plea negotiations with Mr. Pace contrary to the directive in State v. Warner, 762 So. 2d 507, 513 (Fla.2000). The majority of this discussion occurred “off the record.” However, it is undisputed that the trial judge offered to sentence Mr. Pace to twelve years’ imprisonment if he agreed to enter a plea of guilty regarding this offense. Mr. Pace refused the offer and proceeded to trial. When the jury returned a verdict of guilty, the trial judge imposed a twenty-year sentence. There is nothing in the record to indicate why the sentence imposed was harsher than the sentence offered by the trial judge prior to Mr. Pace exercising his right to a jury trial. Mr. Pace maintains that the sentence is vindictive. The totality of these circumstances leads us to conclude that Mr. Pace is entitled to relief pursuant to Wilson v. State, 845 So. 2d 142, 156 (Fla.2003). We therefore reverse the sentence imposed and remand for resentencing before a different circuit court judge. Id. at 159.
Conviction affirmed; sentence reversed; case remanded for resentencing.
SILBERMAN and WALLACE, JJ„ Concur. . Williams v. State, 110 So. 2d 654 (Fla.1959).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Maximiuano Mendez v. State, 28 So. 3d 948 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)…o the court prior to the trial”). In light of the above circumstances, there is an unrebutted presumption that the harsher sentence was imposed because Mendez exercised his right to a violation hearing. See Harris, 903 So. 2d at 366; Pace v. State, 903 So. 2d 383, 384 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (reversing and remanding for resentencing because totality of the circumstances indicated a vindictive sentence: trial judge initiated plea discussions off the record, trial judge offered a twelve-year sentence but imposed a…
Authorities Cited
- Williams v. State, 110 So. 2d 654 (Fla. 1959)
- Wilson v. State, 845 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 2003)
- State v. Warner, 762 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 2000)