RAUL COSME, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Raul Cosme appealed the summary denial of his postconviction motion claiming his trial counsel failed to convey a plea offer of fifteen years in prison. The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing, finding his claim facially sufficient and not refuted by the record.
The court held that Cosme's claim is facially sufficient under Alcorn v. State and is not refuted by the record. The court rejected the State's argument that the claim is inherently incredible, finding it plausible that the State would offer fifteen years early in the case when evidence was sparse and co-defendants had not yet agreed to testify.
[1] A claim that trial counsel failed to convey a plea offer is facially sufficient for postconviction relief if not refuted by the record.
[2] A postconviction court must hold an evidentiary hearing on a claim that trial counsel failed to convey a plea offer when the claim is facially sufficient and not refuted…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Cosme's claim that trial counsel failed to convey a plea offer is facially sufficient and is not refuted by the record.”
States the primary holding that reversal is warranted because the postconviction claim meets the threshold requirements for an evidentiary hearing.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCosme was convicted of two counts of attempted second degree murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle following a jury trial, and was found in vio…
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We reverse the summary denial of Raul Cosme’s Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion for postconviction relief and remand for an evidentiary hearing. Cosme’s claim that trial counsel failed to convey a plea offer is facially sufficient and is not refuted by the record.
In one of the three cases on appeal, Cosme was charged with .two counts.of attempted first degree murder with a firearm and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle. Following a jury trial, he was convicted of two eounts of attempted second degree murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle. In the other two cases, Cosme was alleged to have violated his probation, imposed after he pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery with a firearm and one count of robbery with a weapon. Following a final hearing, he was found in violation and his probation was revoked. ⅛
Cosme was initially sentenced to life in prison in all three cases. In two separate appeals, we reversed and remanded for resentencing. Cosme v. State, 111 So.3d 280, 282 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013); Cosme v. State, 89 So.3d 1096, 1097-98 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). Cosme was resentenced to thirty years in all three cases.
In this timely rule 3.850 motion, Cosme claimed trial counsel failed to convey a global plea offer of fifteen years in prison. Counsel told Cosme about the offer only after the State revoked it and offered life in prison. Counsel said he did not tell Cosme about the fifteen-year offer because he wanted to negotiate an even lighter sentence. Cosme alleged that he would have accepted the. fifteen-year offer if counsel had timely conveyed it.
' The State concedes that, Cosme’s claim is facially sufficient under Alcorn v. State, 121 So.3d 419, 433 (Fla. 2013). But the State argues it is “inherently incredible” that the prosecution would have offered Cosme fifteen years for the serious crimes charged in these cases, especially considering that it later sought a life sentence. See Capalbo v. State, 73 So.3d 838, 840 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011) (“A postconviction court is not required to hold hearings on absurd claims or accept as true allegations that defy logic and which are inherently incredible.”).
We reject the State’s argument. The State in its response below conceded that the alleged offer must have been made very early in the case, within two months after the new charges were filed. According to. Cosme, at that time the State’s evidence was sparse and his co-defendants *10had not yet entered pleas and agreed to testify against him. It is not inherently incredible that the State would have offered fifteen years early in the case, perhaps in an effort to secure Cosme’s testimony against his allegedly more culpable co-defendants, and then later sought a life sentence when its case was stronger.
Because Cosme’s claim- is facially sufficient and is,- not refuted by the record, we reverse ; and remand for an evidentiary hearing.
Reversed and remanded.
Taylor, Conner and Klingensmith, JJ., - concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Alcorn v. State, 121 So. 3d 419 (Fla. 2013)
- Capalbo v. State, 73 So. 3d 838 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
- Harvey v. State, 89 So. 3d 1096 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)
- Cosme v. State, 89 So. 3d 1096 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
- Cosme v. State, 111 So. 3d 280 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)