CLARENCE WILSON, DOC # 553181, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2016-03-18
No. 2D15-4120
CASANUEVA, WALLACE, and LaROSE, JJ., Concur.
189 So. 3d 912 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2016) Positive Treatment
Cited by 12 cases

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.

Synopsis

Clarence Wilson appeals denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The court affirms dismissal of most grounds but reverses the summary denial of ground five, which alleges counsel failed to inform him of the maximum sentence for sexual battery, causing him to reject a favorable plea offer and receive a life sentence instead.


Holding

The court reverses the summary denial of ground five, holding that post-rejection events (such as Wilson's silence at sentencing) cannot cure counsel's alleged pre-rejection failure to provide information necessary for an informed decision about the plea offer. However, the claim is facially insufficient because Wilson must allege that the State would not have withdrawn the offer and the trial court would have accepted it.


Headnotes

[1] Prejudice from ineffective assistance of counsel in rejecting a plea offer is determined by circumstances at the time of the offer and what would have been done with prop…

[2] Events occurring after a defendant rejects a plea offer cannot cure counsel's alleged failure to provide necessary information for an informed decision.

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Key Quotes

“in the context of ineffective assistance resulting in the rejection of a plea offer, '[prejudice ... is determined based upon a consideration of the circumstances as viewed at the time of the offer and what would have been done with proper and adequate advice.'”

Establishes the standard for evaluating prejudice in ineffective assistance claims involving rejected plea offers; prior events at sentencing cannot cure pre-offer counsel deficiencies.

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Facts & Procedural History

Wilson was convicted by jury of sexual battery and kidnapping (later reversed). The State offered a plea deal of fifteen years' imprisonment. Wilson's…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Clarence Wilson appeals the order summarily denying his postconviction motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm the order without further comment to the extent that it denies grounds one through four and ground six of his motion; we reverse the order to the extent that it denies ground five of the motion and remand for further proceedings.

In ground five, Mr. Wilson alleged that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to inform him of the nature of the charges against him and the maximum sentence he could receive if convicted at trial. Mr. Wilson claimed that as a result of counsel’s alleged omission he rejected the State’s plea offer of fifteen years’ imprisonment and was sentenced to life imprisonment after a jury convicted him of sexual battery.1 Mr. Wilson asserted that if he had understood the sentence he was facing if convicted at trial, he would have accepted the State’s plea offer.

The postconviction court found that Mr. Wilson’s actions at his sentencing hearing refuted the allegations of ground five. Specifically, the postconviction court noted Mr. Wilson’s failure to say anything concerning a misunderstanding about the maximum sentence he faced when counsel announced that they had gone over his scoresheet, as well as his protestation of innocence. But “[i]n the context of ineffective assistance resulting in the rejection of a plea offer, ‘[prejudice ... is determined based upon a consideration of the circumstances as viewed at the time of the offer and what would have been done with proper and adequate advice.’ Armstrong v. State, 148 So.3d 124, 126 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014) (alteration in original) (quoting Alcorn v. State, 121 So.3d 419, 432 (Fla.2013)). Thus, events occurring, after Mr. Wilson rejected the plea offer could not cure counsel’s alleged failure to provide him with all of the information necessary to make an informed decision concerning the offer. See Armstrong, 148 So.3d at 126.

Accordingly, we reverse the order under review to the extent "that' it summarily denies ground five.' We note that ground five is facially insufficient because Mr. Wilson failed to allege, that the State would not have withdrawn the offer and that the trial court would "have accepted the offer. See Alcorn, 121 So.3d at 422 (holding that to establish prejudice from the loss of a favorable plea offer, a defendant must allege and prove a reasonable probability that he would have accepted the offer had counsel advised him correctly, the State would not have withdrawn the offer, the court would have accepted the .offer, and the conviction or sentence or both under the offer would have been less severe than under the judgment and sentence imposed). Thus we remand this case to the postconviction court with directions to enter an order allowing Mr. Wilson sixty days to amend ground five of his motion to state a facially sufficient claim under Al-corn. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(f)(3). In all other respects, the postconviction court’s order is affirmed.

Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

CASANUEVA, WALLACE, and LaROSE, JJ., Concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Phillips v. State, 229 So. 3d 426 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)
    …at 126 (quoting Alcorn, 121 So. 3d at 432) (alteration in original and citation omitted). Mr. Phillips cannot go back and accept the offer that he previously rejected and that was no longer available; the damage has been done. See Wilson v. State, 189 So. 3d 912, 913 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016) (“[Ejvents occurring after [the defendant] rejected the plea offer could not cure counsel’s alleged failure to provide him with all of the information necessary to make an informed decision concerning the offer.”). Mr. Philli…
  • Ogden v. State, 273 So. 3d 162 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)
  • Huntoon v. State, 240 So. 3d 142 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018)
    …Thus, the events occurring after the hearing on his motion to suppress could not cure counsel's alleged failure to provide Mr. Huntoon with all of the information necessary to make an informed decision concerning the offer. See Wilson v. State, 189 So. 3d 912, 913 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016). In ground five of his rule 3.850 motion, Mr. Huntoon alleged that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to advise and explain to him that he could be found guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon if…

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