RONALD DAVIS SMALL, 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.
The court held that the trial court improperly denied the appellant's motion for post-conviction relief as untimely.
Appellant filed a motion for post-conviction relief shortly after voluntarily dismissing a belated direct appeal of a 2003 conviction. The trial court…
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 Voluntary Dismissal Of Appeal cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Appellant challenges the trial court’s summary denial of his motion for postcon-viction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Because the trial court improperly denied appellant’s motion as untimely, we reverse.
In 1976, appellant was sentenced to life in prison. He was later released on parole. In 2003, pursuant to a guilty plea, appellant was sentenced to 12 months in prison for grand theft. Appellant was later permitted to file a belated direct appeal of his 2003 conviction, which was voluntarily dismissed on March 16, 2006. On March 28, 2006, appellant filed a motion for postconviction relief in the 2003 case, and on April 27, 2006, the trial court denied appellant’s motion as untimely.
The trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion was improper. The two-year time limitation for filing motions for post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 does not begin to run until an appellate court grants a petitioner’s request for voluntary dismissal of a direct appeal. See Cabrera v. State, 721 So. 2d 1190 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). Accordingly, here the time limitation did not begin to run until appellant’s belated direct appeal was voluntarily dismissed on March 16, 2006, and appellant’s motion filed on March 28, 2006, was timely.
We reverse the trial court’s summary denial of appellant’s motion for postconviction relief, and remand with directions that the trial court consider the motion on the merits.
REVERSED and REMANDED, with directions.
WEBSTER, POLSTON, and HAWKES, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Diansky Rouzard v. State, 952 So. 2d 1290 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)…v. State, 766 So. 2d 413, 414 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). We also conclude that appellant’s amended motion was timely filed within two years of his conviction becoming final and that his claim is not based on newly-discovered evidence. See Small v. State, 941 So. 2d 555 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006). Contrary to the State’s argument, appellant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is not dependent upon our decision in Roberts v. State, 874 So. 2d 1225 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004), rev. denied sub nom. State v. West, 892 So. 2d…
-
Silver v. State, 964 So. 2d 180 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007)…d. This was error. The appellant’s conviction did not become final until after this Court relinquished jurisdiction on August 29, 2002, by issuing an order granting the appellant’s motion to voluntarily dismiss the direct appeal. See Small v. State, 941 So. 2d 555 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006). We therefore reverse and remand for the trial court to determine whether the motion is facially sufficient and, if so, to consider- the merits of the appellant’s claims. REVERSED and REMANDED. KAHN, WEBSTER, and ROBERTS, J…
-
Eastwood v. State, 2 So. 3d 374 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…la. R.Crim. P. 3.850(b). We reverse and remand for further proceedings. Appellant timely filed his motion within two years of his convictions and sentences becoming final. Cooper v. State, 902 So. 2d 904 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). See also Small v. State, 941 So. 2d 555 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006). Reversed and Remanded for Further Proceedings. KLEIN, HAZOURI and MAY, JJ., concur.…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Cabrera v. State, 721 So. 2d 1190 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)