DAVID R. FLINT, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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David Flint challenges the summary denial of his postconviction motion alleging newly discovered evidence regarding his trial counsel's misadvice about a plea offer. The court reverses and remands because, although a subsequent change in law would render the motion untimely, Flint's motion was timely under the law existing when filed, and fairness requires it be considered on the merits.
The court reverses the summary denial and deems Flint's motion timely filed. Although a subsequent change in law (Ey v. State and Singleton v. State) would render the motion untimely under the newly adopted standard, because Flint's motion was pending when that change occurred and was timely under the law in effect when filed, the court deems it timely in the interest of fairness and remands for consideration on the merits.
[1] A defendant's postconviction motion alleging counsel's misadvice regarding gain time eligibility is deemed timely when the motion was pending at the time of a controlling…
[2] A defendant's claim of counsel's misadvice regarding parole or gain time eligibility is not considered newly discovered evidence for purposes of overcoming a statute of l…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“Because Flint's motion was pending at the time Ey was decided, we conclude that we must, as did this court in Singleton, deem Flint's claim timely and remand with instructions for the postconviction court to address the claim on the merits.”
The core holding that Flint's motion is deemed timely despite the change in law because it was pending when the law changed, requiring remand for merits review.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFlint was convicted of first-degree murder in 1992 and sentenced to life with a 25-year minimum mandatory. Nearly 15 years later, on October 22, 2007,…
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David R. Flint, Jr., pro se, challenges the summary denial of his postconviction motion, which he filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and in which he alleged newly discovered evidence. Notwithstanding the subsequent change in the law, because Flint’s motion was timely under the law at the time the motion was filed, we must reverse.
Flint was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life with a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory. The judgment and sentence were entered on December 11, 1992, and were subsequently affirmed by this court. See Flint v. State, 641 So.2d 76 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (table decision). He then filed a rule 3.850 motion, which was summarily denied by the postconviction court. This court affirmed that summary denial. See Flint v. State, 684 So.2d 1359 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (table decision). Then on October 22, 2007, nearly fifteen years after entry of his judgment and sentence, Flint filed a second rule 3.850 motion, alleging newly discovered evidence.
In that motion, Flint claimed that on June 5, 2006, he discovered that his trial counsel had misadvised him with regard to the State’s plea offer. Flint maintained that during jury selection, his counsel informed him that the State had made a plea offer of forty years, that he specifically asked his counsel whether he could receive early release on the forty-year sentence via parole or gain time, and that trial counsel told him he would have to serve the entire forty years if he accepted the plea. According to Flint, he rejected the plea and proceeded to trial because he knew he was facing twenty-five years to life if convicted by a jury and he decided to take his chances. However, on June 5, 2006, while seeking commutation of his life sentence upon service of two-thirds of his twenty-five-year minimum mandatory, Flint was informed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) that he would have *71been entitled to basic and incentive gain time on the forty-year plea offer had he accepted it. Flint stated in his rule 3.850 motion that had he been aware that he was entitled to gain time on the plea offer, he would have accepted the offer and would have received a lesser sentence than the one imposed after trial.
In summarily denying this claim, the postconviction court concluded that the newly discovered evidence exception to rule 3.850(b)(l)’s two-year time limit did not apply to Flint’s motion because the information that Flint alleged in his motion “does not qualify as newly discovered evidence.” The court further found that Flint “failed to establish ... that he could not have timely obtained the information” and “failed to meet the burden of due diligence.”
In Singleton v. State, 981 So.2d 1259, 1260 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008), this court addressed a similar claim in which the defendant alleged that he had newly discovered “that his counsel misadvised him regarding his eligibility for parole.” This court concluded as follows:
The defendant asserting a claim that counsel gave erroneous advice concerning parole eligibility can ... readily determine the legal error which is the basis for the postconviction claim.... [T]he claim of misadvice does not depend on “facts” that “could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence” and the [newly discovered evidence] exception in rule 3.850(b)(1) from the two-year time limitation on the filing of postconviction claims is therefore not applicable.
Id. at 1261 (citing Ey v. State, 982 So.2d 618 (Fla.2008), which involved the timeliness of a claim that counsel misadvised a defendant regarding the potential effect of his plea on a subsequent sentence imposed in another case). Here, Flint himself notes in his motion that any entitlement he may have had to basic or incentive gain time on the plea offer would have been pursuant to section 944.275, Florida Statutes (1991). As the postconviction court correctly pointed out in its order, “Publication of law and statutes of Florida give[s] citizens constructive notice of consequences of their actions.” See State v. Beasley, 580 So.2d 139, 142 (Fla.1991) (“[P]ublication in the Laws of Florida or the Florida Statutes gives all citizens constructive notice of the consequences of their actions.”), cited in Ellis v. State, 762 So.2d 912 (Fla.2000).
“That, however, is not the end of the matter.” Singleton, 981 So.2d at 1261. In Singleton, despite concluding that the newly discovered evidence exception to rule 3.850(b)(l)’s two-year time limit did not apply to Singleton’s motion, this court deemed Singleton’s claim timely filed and remanded for the postconviction court to address it on the merits. The Singleton court noted that in a previous line of cases, this court had defined the triggering event for rule 3.850 claims of newly discovered evidence based on counsel’s misadvice regarding gain time as “when the authorities provided information to the defendant that belied the earlier advice of counsel.” 981 So.2d at 1261. Acknowledging that it was changing that definition, this court reasoned as follows:
In Ey, the court recognized that a rule contrary to the rule it was adopting had previously been applied by district courts. 982 So.2d at 625. On that basis, the court determined to “deem [Ey’s] motion timely filed as to [the misadvice] claim.” Id. Here, a similar circumstance exists, and Singleton’s claim is likewise deemed timely filed. See also Green [v. State], 944 So.2d [208, 219 (Fla.2006)] (stating that “in the interest of fairness, defendants whose cases are already final *72will have two years from the date of this opinion in which to file a motion comporting with the standards adopted today”).
Id. (some alteration in original).
Because Flint’s motion was pending at the time Ey was decided, we conclude that we must, as did this court in Singleton, deem Flint’s claim timely and remand with instructions for the postcon-viction court to address the claim on the merits. See also Chandler v. State, 1 So.3d 284, 284 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (“[U]n-der the law in effect when Chandler filed his motion ... this court would have found Chandler’s motion to be timely. Accordingly, under Ey, his motion should be deemed timely and considered on its merits.”).
As such, we reverse and remand for the postconviction court to reconsider Flint’s motion. On remand, the court shall either attach those portions of the record that conclusively refute Flint’s claim or hold an evidentiary hearing.
Reversed and remanded.
SILBERMAN and VILLANTI, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Conionilli v. State, 58 So. 3d 380 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)…two years from when his conviction became final pursuant to rule 3.850(b).3 982 So. 2d at 625. However, if such a claim is raised prior to the date of the decision in Ey, the pre-Ey timing rule applies to the movant’s benefit. E.g., Flint v. State, 13 So. 3d 70, 72 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Singleton, 981 So. 2d 1259. Unlike Green, however, Ey did not create an extra two-year window. 982 So. 2d 618. Conionilli argues that this court should do so. [*383] However, even if we assume that a two-year post-Ey window s…
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Finfrock v. State, 27 So. 3d 191 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)…s also been applied in other contexts. See, e.g., Ey v. State, 982 So. 2d 618 (Fla.2008) (affirmative misadvice concerning a plea’s effect on subsequent sentencing enhancement for another crime committed before the plea was entered); Flint v. State, 13 So. 3d 70 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (affirmative misadvice by counsel that defendant would not be entitled to basic and incentive gain time on a plea offer); Chandler v. State, 1 So. 3d 284 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009) (failure to advise defendant that plea would subject him…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Beasley, 580 So. 2d 139 (Fla. 1991)
- Ellis v. State, 762 So. 2d 912 (Fla. 2000)
- EY v. State, 982 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 2008)
- Singleton v. State, 981 So. 2d 1259 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)
- Morris v. State, 1 So. 3d 284 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
- Chandler v. State, 1 So. 3d 284 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)