CARLOS RAMOS, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that a fifty-year sentence was illegal for life felonies under the statute in effect at the time, but that mandatory minimum stacking was permissible.
Carlos Ramos pleaded guilty to various felonies and received a fifty-year sentence, including consecutive mandatory minimums. He moved to correct his …
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PER CURIAM.
Carlos Ramos appeals an order denying his motion to correct illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Defendant-appellant Ramos states that he entered into a plea agreement for a fifty-year sentence. The agreement included two consecutive mandatory minimum sentences of three years. The underlying crime was committed on March 20, 1989, and the sentencing occurred in 1991.
The defendant alleges that his fifty-year sentences were illegal with respect to the life felonies to which he pled guilty. He argues that under the statute in effect at the relevant time, a fifty-year sentence was not a permissible sentence for a life felony. See § 775.082(3)(a), Fla. Stat. (1989); Lamont v. State, 610 So. 2d 435, 437 (Fla.1992); Ferguson v. State, 804 So. 2d 411, 412 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).
The State concedes that the defendant is correct on this issue. The counts that are affected are the life felonies only, namely, counts 10-13 and 15-16. The State points out, however, that the sentences can be restructured through the use of consecutive sentences in order to accomplish the original sentencing intent. See Hanna v. State, 823 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002); Mathis v. State, 649 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). The State may request such restructuring on remand to the trial court. The defendant’s fifty-year sentences for counts one and two are legal sentences and are not to be disturbed. See Ferguson, 804 So. 2d at 412.
The defendant also contends that stacking of his mandatory minimum sentences was impermissible. We affirm the denial of relief on this claim. See State v. Christian, 692 So. 2d 889, 891 (Fla.1997).
To the extent that the defendant suggests that his trial counsel was ineffective, such a claim cannot be raised by Rule 3.800(a) motion. See Maddox v. State, 673 So. 2d 198 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996).
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for resentencing on the life felonies.
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Cited By
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McDUFFIE v. State, 946 So. 2d 99 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…trial court cannot impose an illegal sentence even pursuant to a plea bargain.” Ferguson v. State, 804 So. 2d 411, 412 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). Consequently, McDuffie’s forty-five-year prison sentence is illegal and must be reversed. See Ramos v. State, 931 So. 2d 1023 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (holding that fifty-year sentence for life felony was illegal where section 775.082(3)(a), Florida Statutes (1989), proscribed punishment by life imprisonment or for a term not exceeding forty years); Miranda v. State, 832 So. 2d…
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Thornton v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2019)…-31 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (reversing denial of rule 3.800(a) motion because sentence of sixty years was illegal where statute provided that the maximum sentence for a life felony was a term of imprisonment not to exceed forty years); Ramos v. State, 931 So. 2d 1023, 1024 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (reversing denial of rule 3.800(a) motion where "fifty-year sentences were illegal with respect to the life felonies to which he pled guilty"). That Thornton's sentences were part of a plea agreement is inconsequential.…
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Grosvenor v. State (Fla. 5th DCA 2020)…lowers, 286 So. 3d 346, 347 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019) (holding that although defendant agreed to probation as part of plea, probationary term of sentence for second-degree murder with firearm was illegal as it exceeded statutory maximum); Ramos v. State, 931 So. 2d 1023, 1024 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (reversing denial of rule 3.800(a) motion where “fifty-year sentences were illegal with respect to the life felonies to which he pled guilty”); Dyer v. State, 629 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (holding that fifteen-year ter…
Authorities Cited
- Lamont v. State, 610 So. 2d 435 (Fla. 1992)
- State v. Christian, 692 So. 2d 889 (Fla. 1997)
- Prince C. Ferguson v. State, 804 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)
- Mathis v. State, 649 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
- Lilie R. McGEE v. State, 673 So. 2d 198 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Aldric D. Maddox v. State, 673 So. 2d 198 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Collins v. State, 823 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)
- Hanna v. State, 823 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002)