RICHARD MARGAREJO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2007-12-19
No. 2D07-700
VILLANTI, J., and GREEN, OLIVER L., Senior Judge, Concur.
975 So. 2d 508 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2007)

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.

Synopsis

Richard Margarejo appealed the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, claiming his Miranda warning was constitutionally deficient because it failed to inform him of his right to counsel during questioning. The court affirmed the denial as untimely, holding that absent a ruling from the Florida Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court establishing a fundamental change in constitutional law, the two-year filing deadline cannot be extended.


Holding

The court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief. Although recent district court decisions have found similar Miranda warnings constitutionally deficient, the two-year filing deadline under Rule 3.850(b) cannot be extended without a fundamental change in constitutional law established by the Florida Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court, which has not yet occurred.


Headnotes

[1] A motion for postconviction relief is untimely if filed more than two years after the judgment and sentence became final, unless specific exceptions apply.

[2] A defect in a Miranda warning does not constitute newly discovered evidence that extends the two-year time limitation for filing a motion for postconviction relief.

Previewing 2 of 4 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

Key Quotes

“Although recent district court decisions have held that similar Miranda warnings are constitutionally deficient, that case law does not currently warrant postconviction relief in any case in which the normal two-year period for the filing of a motion for relief under rule 3.850 has expired.”

Establishes the court's holding that district court recognition of Miranda defects does not override the two-year filing deadline absent a ruling from a higher court.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Margarejo was convicted in 1997 of first-degree murder, armed burglary of a dwelling, and armed robbery with a firearm, and was sentenced to life impr…

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.


Opinion of the Court
ALTENBERND, Judge.

ALTENBERND, Judge.

Richard Margarejo appeals an order summarily denying his motion for postcon-viction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. He claims that an alleged defect in the Miranda

warning given to him during the police investigation leading to his conviction in 1997 warrants postconviction relief at this time. The trial court denied Mr. Margare-jo’s motion as untimely. Although recent district court decisions have held that similar Miranda warnings are constitutionally deficient, that case law does not currently warrant postconviction relief in any case in which the normal two-year period for the filing of a motion for relief under rule 3.850 has expired. Accordingly, we affirm.

In 1997, Mr. Margarejo was convicted of first-degree murder, armed burglary of a dwelling, and armed robbery with a firearm. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed the judgment and sentences, which were affirmed in Margarejo v. State, 743 So. 2d 1089 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (case number 2D97-4178) (table decision). Mandate issued on October 4, 1999.

Mr. Margarejo’s current motion for postconviction relief was filed in December 2005. The motion alleges in part that Mr. Margarejo’s trial counsel was ineffective because he did not seek to suppress Mr. Margarejo’s confession on the grounds that the Miranda warning given to Mr. Margarejo did not inform him of his right to have counsel present during any questioning. See, e.g., Powell v. State, 969 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007); see also M.A.B. v. State, 957 So. 2d 1219 (Fla. 2d DCA), review granted, 962 So. 2d 337 (Fla.2007) (table decision).

Mr. Margarejo’s motion for postconviction relief was untimely under rule 3.850(b) (requiring motion to be filed within two years after the judgment and sentence became final unless certain exceptions apply).

See also Robinson v. State, 943 So. 2d 860, 861 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (determining that similar defect in Miranda warnings does not constitute newly discovered evidence under rule 3.850(b)(1) to permit extending the two-year time limitation).

At this time, Mr. Margarejo cannot establish that there has been a fundamental change in constitutional law meriting retroactive application, thus permitting an extension of the two-year time limitation pursuant to rule 3.850(b)(2).

This is because neither the Florida Supreme Court nor the United States Supreme Court has ruled on the issue presented by this postconviction motion. See Witt v. State, 387 So. 2d 922, 930 (Fla.1980).

The Florida Supreme Court has recently accepted review of M.A.B., 957 So. 2d 1219, a case addressing the sufficiency of similar Miranda warnings. A favorable decision for the defendant in that case might permit Mr. Margarejo to file another postconviction motion arguing that a fundamental change in constitutional law merited retroactive application in his case. Of course, even if the Florida Supreme Court eventually issues an opinion supporting Mr. Margarejo’s argument, he would need to establish that the decision constituted a development of fundamental significance as determined by the three-part test of Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 87 S.Ct. 1967, 18 L.Ed.2d 1199 (1967), and Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618, 85 S.Ct. 1731, 14 L.Ed.2d 601 (1965).

See Witt, 387 So. 2d at 929. It seems doubtful that Mr. Margarejo could overcome the third part of this test, but that issue might depend upon the language in the supreme court’s decision. See Chandler v. Crosby, 916 So. 2d 728 (Fla.2005).

Affirmed.

VILLANTI, J., and GREEN, OLIVER L., Senior Judge, Concur. . Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw