OLIVER LEE, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Oliver Lee, Jr. appealed the summary dismissal of his post-conviction petition claiming a police officer beat him and coerced his guilty pleas. The court reversed and remanded, holding that allegations of coerced guilty pleas raise constitutional issues requiring an evidentiary hearing rather than summary dismissal.
A person coerced into pleading guilty is deprived of a constitutional right. Summary dismissal of a petition alleging coerced guilty pleas without an evidentiary hearing is improper. The presence of counsel at prior proceedings does not constitute a valid answer to allegations of coercion and brutality in obtaining the plea.
“A person charged with crime who is coerced into entering a plea of guilty is deprived of a constitutional right.”
Establishes the fundamental constitutional principle that coerced guilty pleas violate constitutional protections.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant pleaded guilty to three breaking and entering charges and received three consecutive one-year sentences. Two years later, while serving his …
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Appellant pleaded guilty to three infor-mations charging breaking and entering. He received three one-year sentences to be served consecutively. Two years later, while so serving, he petitioned the trial court for relief under Criminal Procedure Rule No. 1, F.S.A., Ch. 924 Appendix. One contention presented was that a-police officer beat him and coerced the guilty pleas.
A person charged with crime who is coerced into entering a plea of guilty is deprived of a constitutional right. Jones v. State, Fla.App.1964, 165 So.2d 191; Waley v. Johnston, 1941, 316 U.S. 101, 62 S.Ct. 964, 86 L.Ed. 1302; Walker v. Johnston, 1940, 312 U.S. 275, 61 S.Ct. 574, 85 L.Ed. 830; United States v. Taylor, 4 Cir. 1962, 303 F.2d 165; Euziere v. United States, 10 Cir. 1957, 249 F.2d 293. Here it was alleged a police officer used brutality on petitioner (aged 17) and forced him to confess guilt of things not done, and that the officer then threatened to exercise additional brutality which would “put him in the hospital” if he reported such beating to the court.
The petition under Rule 1 was summarily dismissed without evidentiary hearing. In denying the petition the trial court referred to the fact that at the times of arraignment, trial and sentence the petitioner was represented by the public defender. But the fact that petitioner had counsel on those occasions is not a valid answer to his allegations.
The trial judge concluded, and so stated in his order, that the record showed conclusively petitioner was not entitled to relief. We cannot agree. The record does *96not show a denial by the state of petitioner’s allegations, or trial of the issue which such a denial by the state would raise. The record does not deal with the matter of the alleged beating and coercion of guilty pleas and such allegations could not have been disproved, aside from the record or by testimony at a hearing at which petitioner was not present and given an opportunity to present evidence.
For tlie reasons stated and on the authority of Jones v. State, supra, the order appealed from is reversed, and the cause is remanded for evidentiary hearing on the petition.
It is so ordered.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Reddick v. State, 190 So. 2d 340 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)…92, 109 So. 627. In Jones v. State, Fla.App.1964, 165 So. 2d 191, this 2nd District Court reversed an order denying a motion under Rule No. 1 brought to obtain relief from being allegedly coerced into pleading guilty. In Lee v. State, Fla.App.1965, 175 So. 2d 95, the 3rd District Court likewise reversed an order entered upon an identical petition under Rule No. 1. And in McCray v. State, Fla.App.1966, 181 So. 2d 729, it was said that “[individuals accused of crimes possess extensive constitutional rights wh…
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Maxwood Clarence Brumley v. State, 224 So. 2d 447 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969)…the voluntariness of those pleas. That the appellant had a lawyer present and representing him at the time of arraignment does not refute the allegations in the motion with respect to coercion. Waley v. Johnston, supra; Lee v. State, Fla.App.1965, 175 So. 2d 95; and Nolan v. State, Fla.App.1966, 192 So. 2d 500. Such fact, however, may be considered by the trial court at the time of the evidentiary hearing as relating to the ultimate issue to be decided. The record also indicates a long delay between the ti…
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Gerald "Pops" Brown v. State, 187 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966)…ant to Criminal Procedure Rule I, F.S.A. ch. 924 Appendix. The petition alleges that the petitioner was forced to confess by physical violence and threats that if he told of the violence he would be killed. He relies upon Lee v. State, Fla.App.1965, 175 So. 2d 95. In that case we cited and followed many cases, including Jones v. State, Fla.App.1964, 165 So. 2d 191, which hold that a person who is coerced into entering a plea of guilty is deprived of a constitutional right. The record of appellant’s trial re…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Walker v. Johnston, 312 U.S. 275 (U.S. 1941)
- Waley v. Johnston, 316 U.S. 101 (U.S. 1942)
- United States v. Taylor, 303 F.2d 165 (4th Cir. 1962)
- Euziere v. United States, 249 F.2d 293 (10th Cir. 1957)
- Jones v. State, 165 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964)