ANDRES GUAJARDO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Andres Guajardo appealed the summary denial of his Rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief, challenging his guilty plea to cocaine trafficking on grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. The court reversed and remanded regarding his ineffective assistance claim based on alleged misadvice about sentencing, finding the record insufficient to summarily deny the claim without an evidentiary hearing.
The court reversed the summary denial of Guajardo's ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on misadvice regarding sentencing and remanded for an evidentiary hearing or additional record evidence to refute the claim, as the plea colloquy contained no inquiry into whether Guajardo was promised anything by counsel in exchange for entering the plea.
[1] A postconviction court must attach portions of the record that conclusively refute a defendant's claim or hold an evidentiary hearing.
[2] A plea colloquy is insufficient to refute a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel if it does not specifically address the issue raised by the defendant.
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“Absent such record evidence, Guajardo's claim cannot be refuted without an evidentiary hearing.”
Establishes the standard that claims of ineffective assistance based on misadvice require an evidentiary hearing when the plea colloquy does not address the alleged promises or misrepresentations.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGuajardo pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, receiving concurrent fifteen-year sentences with a fifteen-yea…
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Andres Guajardo challenges the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 8.850. We affirm the denial of his first two claims without comment. We reverse the denial of Guajar-do’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on the misadvice of his counsel.
Guajardo pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in cocaine and one count of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. He was sentenced to concurrent, fifteen-year prison terms, with a fifteen-year minimum mandatory on each count. Guajardo claims that because he could no longer afford to pay for legal services, his counsel induced him to enter his plea by promising him a five-year sentence to be followed by probation. He further alleges that counsel failed to even attend the plea hearing and that he was not aware he was facing a fifteen-year minimum mandatory sentence at the time he entered the plea because he thought he was still subject to the five-year agreement.
In denying the claim, the postconvietion court attached portions of the record showing that Guajardo entered an open plea and that the minimum mandatory sentence and the fact that the State might *407decide to waive it were discussed at the plea hearing. However, the plea colloquy contains no questions regarding Guajardo’s satisfaction with counsel and fails to inquire as to whether he was promised anything by counsel in exchange for entering the plea. Absent such record evidence, Guajardo’s claim cannot be refuted without an evidentiary hearing. See Chandler v. State, 843 So.2d 1046, 1047 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003).
Accordingly, we reverse the postconviction court’s summary denial of his claim of ineffective assistance based on the misad-vice of counsel and remand for the court to either attach additional record evidence to refute the claim or to hold an evidentiary hearing. We note that should Guajardo be permitted to withdraw his plea, the State may proceed to trial and Guajardo could face a sentence that is harsher than the one he is currently serving.
Reversed and remanded.
LaROSE and KHOUZAM, JJ., concur.
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Thompkins v. State, 120 So. 3d 66 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)…e trial court. We would also note that if appellant is permitted to withdraw his pleas, the State may proceed to trial, with appellant facing a sentence harsher than the one he is now serving, including a potential death sentence. Guajardo v. State, 1 So. 3d 406 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. TAYLOR, MAY, and LEVINE, JJ„ concur.…
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Cornett v. State, 94 So. 3d 665 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012)…(Fla. 5th DCA 2004). We note that if the appellant is allowed to withdraw his plea and proceed to trial, he faces the possibility of a life sentence, which is clearly harsher than the minimum sentence he is currently serving. See Guajardo v. State, 1 So. 3d 406, 407 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. ORFINGER, C.J., SAWAYA, and JACOBUS, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Chandler v. State, 843 So. 2d 1046 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)