JOHN BARRYMAN STARLING, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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John Starling appeals the summary denial of his motion to vacate his sentence, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel regarding time-served credit at sentencing. The appellate court reversed because the trial court improperly treated his rule 3.850 motion as untimely under rule 3.170(1) instead of examining whether tolling applied due to his incarceration in federal prison.
The appellate court reversed and remanded because the postconviction court erred by treating the motion as untimely under rule 3.170(1) rather than examining whether tolling applied under rule 3.850. On remand, the court must determine whether the filing deadline was tolled during Starling's federal incarceration.
[1] A postconviction court errs by treating a motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 as if it were filed under rule 3.170(1) and denying it as untimely b…
[2] A postconviction court should examine a motion for postconviction relief on its merits when a prior habeas corpus petition was dismissed without prejudice to allow the fi…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Despite the fact that the title of the motion mirrors the title of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, the postconviction court erroneously treated the motion as filed under rule 3.170(1) and denied the motion as untimely because it was not filed within thirty days of rendition of his sentence.”
Establishes the core error: the trial court applied the wrong rule and procedural standard in denying the motion.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceStarling entered a negotiated plea in June 2006 on Polk County charges. At sentencing, the court credited time served based on July 9, 2003, rather th…
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John Barryman Starling appeals an order summarily denying his unsworn motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence. Despite the fact that the title of the motion mirrors the title of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, the postconviction court erroneously treated the motion as filed under rule 3.170(1) and denied the motion as untimely because it was not filed within thirty days of rendition of his sentence. For this reason, we reverse the postconviction court’s order.
Mr. Starling, who entered into a negotiated plea in June 2006 for several Polk County charges, alleges that his attorney was ineffective for failing to correct a misunderstanding at sentencing regarding the amount of credit for time served he was to receive. This credit was apparently tied to the date of his arrest on federal charges— January 8, 2002 — but instead the date mentioned at sentencing was July 9, 2003. Although his attorney promised to correct this mistake, which he apparently thought was a scrivener’s error of some sort, he *569failed to do so. If the postconviction court is unwilling to correct this error, Mr. Starling seeks to withdraw his plea.
However, on its face, this motion is untimely. Mr. Starling did not file an appeal; therefore, the time for him to file a timely rule 3.850 motion expired sometime in July 2008. But Mr. Starling claims that he has been in federal custody and deprived of his constitutional right of access to the courts because Florida law materials are not available in his federal prison. At the time Mr. Starling filed his motion, he was incarcerated in a federal prison in Kentucky. Now he is imprisoned in a Florida state prison.
Mr. Starling previously raised this problem with lack of access to Florida legal materials in a petition for writ of habeas corpus, which the postconviction court dismissed without prejudice to his right to file a facially sufficient postconviction motion requesting tolling of the time for filing based on his federal incarceration. The dismissal was affirmed by this court in case number 2D13-1348. This rule 3.850 motion represents Mr. Starling’s attempt to file the motion authorized in the habeas proceeding, and the postconviction court should examine it on the merits.
We reverse the order denying Mr. Starling’s motion because the postconviction court failed to examine his motion under the appropriate rule. Unfortunately, as noted, Mr. Starling’s motion was not sworn. Accordingly, on remand, the post-conviction court shall enter an order authorizing Mr. Starling to file a sworn motion within sixty days. See rule 3.850(f)(2). If Mr. Starling files such a motion, the postconviction court should first examine whether the time for him to file a rule 3.850 motion was tolled during his incarceration in federal prison. See Ruiz v. State, 3 So.3d 385 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); Ramsey v. State, 965 So.2d 854 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).
Reversed and remanded with directions.
VILLANTI and MORRIS, JJ., Concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Seraphin v. State, 192 So. 3d 675 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…8-99 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)). Accordingly, we reverse the dismissal and remand for the postconviction court to determine whether Seraphin’s time for filing a rule 3.850 motion was tolled during his incarceration in federal prison. See Starling v. State, 137 So. 3d 568, 569 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) (reversing summary denial of an unsworn rule 3.850 motion and remanding for the postconviction court to provide an opportunity to amend and to determine whether the time for the movant to file a rule 3.850 motion was tolled d…
Authorities Cited
- Howell M. Ramsey v. State, 965 So. 2d 854 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
- Ruiz v. State, 3 So. 3d 385 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)