LANCE T. HARTWELL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Lance Hartwell appealed his conviction and habitual offender sentence across four consolidated cases, raising multiple postconviction claims. The court reversed in part, finding that the State failed to provide proper notice of habitualization and improperly denied Hartwell's opportunity to amend his insufficient claim regarding proof of predicate convictions.
The court held that the State's attempt to refute the lack-of-notice claim using a notice from a different case was insufficient and that actual notice must be determined at an evidentiary hearing. The court also held that the trial court erred by denying Hartwell's claim regarding predicate conviction proof without affording him an opportunity to amend the facially insufficient claim as required by applicable law.
[1] Postconviction relief claims are procedurally barred if they could or should have been raised on direct appeal.
[2] A trial court's attachment of a notice of intent to habitualize in a different case than the one in which the defendant was habitualized does not conclusively refute a cl…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“All but two of them are procedurally barred because they could or should have been raised on direct appeal.”
Establishes that most of Hartwell's postconviction claims were procedurally barred under Smith v. State
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHartwell was convicted and sentenced in four separate cases that were consolidated for a single jury trial. He was sentenced as a habitual offender. T…
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Appellant, Lance T. Hartwell, was convicted and sentenced in four separate cases after all were consolidated for a single jury trial. Hartwell makes several claims for posteonviction relief. All but two of them are procedurally barred because they could or should have been raised on direct appeal. See Smith v. State, 445 So.2d 823 (Fla.1983). Hartwell’s claims that the State did not provide notice of its intent to habitualize him or proper proof of his predicate offenses to support habitualization require reversal.
To refute Hartwell’s claim regarding the lack of notice of habitualization, the trial court attached to its order a notice of intent to habitualize in a different case than the one in which Hartwell was habitualized. The State concedes that this does not conclusively refute Hartwell’s claim. While lack of written notice of ha-bitualization can be harmless error if the defendant had actual notice, whether Hart-well had actual notice would have to be determined in an evidentiary hearing. See Massey v. State, 609 So.2d 598, 600 (Fla. 1992). Therefore, we reverse and remand for either attachment of those portions of the record conclusively refuting Hartwell’s claim or an evidentiary hearing.
Hartwell also alleges that the State did not provide certified copies of his predicate convictions to prove that he qualified to be sentenced as a habitual offender. Hartwell’s claim that the State did not prove his prior convictions at sentencing is facially insufficient because Hartwell does not deny that he qualifies to be sentenced as a habitual offender. See Sampson v. State, 832 So.2d 251 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). Instead of striking the claim and allowing an amendment as is required by Spera v. State, 971 So.2d 754 (Fla.2007), the trial court held that Hartwell’s reply to the State’s response was his amendment to that claim and denied it. The trial court’s denial without affording Hartwell an opportunity to amend was error under Spera. We therefore reverse and remand to allow Hartwell to amend this facially insufficient claim within a reasonable time set by the trial court.
We affirm the denial of postconviction relief in all other respects.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED
ORFINGER and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
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Cited By
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Hammond v. State, 34 So. 3d 58 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)…aim. While aware that the State was arguing that his claim was insufficient, Hammond filed a reply in the trial court but did not seek an opportunity to amend. This alone might not be sufficient to preclude relief under Spera. See Hartwell v. State, 12 So. 3d 892, 893 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009). Hammond filed an initial brief in this appeal. Patently aware that his claim was, however, insufficient and that the claim has already been denied as such, Hammond did not raise Spera or argue that he has any good faith bas…
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Palmer v. State, 240 So. 3d 824 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018)…lusively refute Palmer's allegation. While a copy of the notice was provided to counsel, it was not served on Palmer. No other records demonstrate whether Palmer had actual notice of the State's intent to seek an HFO sentence. See Hartwell v. State, 12 So. 3d 892, 893 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (noting that "lack of written notice of habitualization can be harmless error if the defendant had actual notice"). Therefore, we reverse and remand for the trial court to include attachments to its order conclusively refuti…
Authorities Cited
- Spera v. State, 971 So. 2d 754 (Fla. 2007)
- Massey v. State, 609 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 1992)
- Sampson v. State, 832 So. 2d 251 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)