JACK TWARDOKUS, 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.
Twardokus appealed the summary dismissal of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion for ineffective assistance of counsel. The appellate court reversed because the postconviction court incorrectly calculated the timeliness deadline by overlooking a belated appeal that extended the applicable two-year filing period.
The motion was timely filed. The two-year period for filing a motion for postconviction relief begins to run upon the issuance of the mandate, and the relevant mandate was the one issued February 22, 2008, in the belated appeal, not the December 14, 2005, mandate from the initial appeal.
[1] A postconviction motion is timely if filed within two years of the issuance of the mandate following a belated appeal.
[2] A postconviction court errs by dismissing a motion as untimely when it overlooks the issuance date of a mandate following a belated appeal.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“the postconviction court overlooked Twardokus's belated appeal, which encompassed all of the cases currently at issue”
Explains the core error: the postconviction court failed to consider the belated appeal when calculating the timeliness deadline
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTwardokus pleaded no contest to charges in multiple cases on July 28, 2004, and proceeded to trial on remaining counts in one case where he was convic…
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 Issuance Of Mandate cases and more on FLexlaw
Jack Twardokus appeals the summary denial of his motion for.postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We reverse and remand because the postconviction court *360erred when it dismissed the motion as untimely.
On July 28, 2004, Twardokus pleaded no contest to all charges in case numbers 02-2499CFA, 02-2744CFA, 03-1483CFA, 03-1542CFA, 04-1132CFA, and to counts one and three in case number 02-2729CFA. Subsequently, Twardokus proceeded to trial on the remaining counts in case number 02-2729CFA and was found guilty. Twar-dokus appealed his judgment and sentence in case number 02-2729CFA, which this court affirmed. The mandate issued December 14, 2005. Twardokus then filed a petition for belated appeal on July 28, 2006, which this court granted in case numbers 02-2499CFA, 02-2744CFA, 03-1483CFA, 03-1542CFA, and 04-1132CFA. Case number 02-2729CFA, limited to those counts to which Twardokus pleaded no contest, was later erroneously included in the belated appeal, and this court affirmed the judgment and sentences. Twardokus v. State, 973 So.2d 1138 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008). The mandate issued on February 22, 2008.
In his motion filed on February 5, 2009, which was directed to his pleas of no contest in the cases affirmed in 2008, Twardo-kus presented six claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The postconviction court dismissed the motion as untimely, finding that it was filed more than two years after this court’s initial mandate was issued on December 14, 2005. However, the postconviction court overlooked Twar-dokus’s belated appeal, which encompassed all of the cases currently at issue. As noted above, mandate issued in this appeal on February 22, 2008. Therefore, Twardokus’s motion of February 5, 2009, was timely filed. See Beaty v. State, 684 So.2d 206, 207 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (holding that the two-year period for filing a motion for postconviction relief begins to run upon the issuance of mandate).
Accordingly, we reverse the summary denial of Twardokus’s motion. On remand, the postconviction court is instructed to address the motion on the merits.
Reversed and remanded.
KELLY and WALLACE, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Rogers v. State, 146 So. 3d 1263 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)…^4415 was initiated. This court affirmed Rogers’ judgments and sentences and issued its mandate on March 7, 2012. The time for Rogers to file a motion under rule 3.850(b) then began to run on the date of this court’s mandate. See Twardokus v. State, 69 So. 3d 359, 360 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011). Thus, Rogers’ motion was timely filed, and the postconviction court should have reviewed it on the merits. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings. NORTHCUTT, MORRIS, and BLACK, Concur. . In contrast, "[t]he fil…
-
Huey v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corrections(Polk County) (M.D. Fla. 2025)…ted. This court affirmed Rogers' judgments and sentences and issued its mandate on March 7, 2012. The time for Rogers to file a motion under rule 3.850(b) then began to run on the date of this court's mandate. See Twardokus v. State, 69 So. 3d 359, 360 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011). Thus, Rogers' motion was timely filed, and the post-conviction court should have reviewed it on the merits. Accord Jimenez v. Quarterman, 555 U.S. 113, 120 n.4 (2009) (“[W]e merely hold that, where a state court has…
Authorities Cited
- Beaty v. State, 684 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)