CHARLES SUMNER, 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.
The court held that a guilty plea is valid even if the defendant is not explicitly advised of their right to remain silent, provided the plea is entered knowingly and voluntarily, with counsel's advice, and the record shows awareness of the plea's consequences.
[1] A guilty plea is not vitiated solely because it resulted from a plea bargain with the prosecution.
[2] A trial court is not required to explicitly advise a defendant of the right to remain silent before accepting a guilty plea, provided the record demonstrates the plea was…
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant pleaded guilty to assault and battery after being charged with aggravated assault. The trial court questioned the defendant about his un…
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 Knowing And Voluntary Plea cases and more on FLexlaw
BOYER, Judge.
The defendant was charged with the crime of aggravated assault by an information filed in the Felony Court of Volusia County, and the office of the Public Defender was appointed to represent him.
On August 25, 1972, the defendant was arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. On September 18, 1972, the defendant, with his attorney, entered a plea of guilty to the lesser included offense of assault and battery. Prior to accepting the plea, the trial judge interrogated the defendant regarding his education and his understanding of what had taken place in court. He then explained to him that he could receive as much as one year in the county jail, that he was waiving his right to trial by jury, his right to cross-examine his accusers and his right to testify in his own behalf. The court further asked if he was pleading guilty only because he was guilty, and asked the defendant if any promises had been made or threats made that coerced the plea. He further asked whether the assistant public defender representing him had represented him to his satisfaction. After receiving satisfactory answers to all of the aforementioned inquiries, the court accepted the plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.
On December 12, 1972, the defendant appeared and was adjudged guilty and sentenced to be confined in the county jail at hard labor for the period of one year from that date. The defendant then took this appeal.
The sole question before us is whether the trial court committed reversible error when it accepted the defendant’s plea of guilty without advising him of his constitutional rights to remain silent.
The Appellant argues that the plea was taken and the defendant permitted to answer in open court all of the many questions concerning his plea without having been advised by the court of his right to remain silent, citing Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed. 274. Appellant concedes that in the Boykin case, the Alabama trial court had accepted a plea of guilty in a capital case without apparently asking any questions concerning the voluntariness of that plea. However, he urges that all of his many answers to the court’s inquiry required a waiver of his right to remain silent and since the court never explained that right to him, it cannot be said that he had intelligently waived such right.
The State argues that it has long been recognized that a guilty plea is the product of many factors and its voluntariness can be determined only by considering all of the relevant circumstances, citing Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970); and further that the Boykin case was only intended to require a sufficient showing that the plea was entered knowingly and voluntarily; and does not prescribe an on-the-record warning ritual, citing Edwards v. State, 51 Wis.2d 231, 186 N.W. 2d 193 (1971). The State further argues that the requirement of extensive inquiries by the trial judge before accepting a guilty plea is inapplicable where the record shows that the defendant was represented by counsel and the guilty plea was the product of plea-bargaining arrangements between the prosecution and the defendant, citing Kelly v. State, 254 So. 2d 22 (Fla.App.1971).
The fact that the Appellant’s plea of guilty was “negotiated” cannot be successfully contradicted. It is settled law that a guilty plea entered as a result of a bargain with the prosecution does not, standing alone, vitiate such plea. Brown v. Beto, 377 F. 2d 950 (5th Cir. 1967). The record before this Court contains a clear showing that the Appellant spoke to his counsel before entering his guilty plea. Such a showing in the record simply means that it is not a “silent record” within the meaning of Boykin v. Alabama, supra.
Although we have consistently recited that cases from Federal courts, other than the U. S. Supreme Court, are not binding precedents on us, nevertheless such cases are persuasive. A Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals case, factually similar to the case sub judice, is United States v. Frontero, 452 F. 2d 406 (5th Cir. 1971), wherein Judge Wisdom, speaking for a unanimous court discussed this issue and the Boykin case, saying:
“Kelly argues that he was not informed of the constitutional rights waived as a consequence of his guilty plea. The colloquy between Kelly and the district judge reveals the fact that Kelly was informed that his plea constituted a waiver of his right to a jury trial.' This, Kelly argues, was not enough. He claims that he should have been informed that his plea constituted a waiver of his right to confront his accusers and his privilege against compulsory self-incrimination. This Court is, however, aware of no precedent, from the Supreme Court or elsewhere, for the proposition that due process requires that a defendant be informed pf each and every right which is waived by a guilty plea or that the waiver of these rights is a ‘consequence’, within the meaning of Rule 11, of which a defendant must be personally informed before a guilty plea may be accepted. Carrying Kelly’s argument to its logical conclusion, the court, before accepting a guilty plea, would be required to inform a defendant of his right to a speedy and public trial, his right to an impartial jury, his right to compulsory process for obtaining witnesses, his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, his right to have excluded from the trial any evidence illegally seized, and many more. We do not read Rule 11 as requiring this; nor do we feel that due process requires this. Kelly relies heavily, in fact solely, on Boykin v. Alabama, 1969, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274, as authority for this contention. This reliance is misplaced. Boykin involved a silent record, where there was absolutely no showing that the guilty plea was intelligently and voluntarily entered. The record in the case at bar reveals affirmative awareness of the ‘consequences’ of a guilty plea.” Id. at 415.
Affirmed.
RAWLS, C. J., and JOHNSON, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Mower v. State, 308 So. 2d 586 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975)…to advise a defendant of his privilege -against compulsory self-incrimination and right to be confronted by his accusers prior to accepting a bargained plea. (See Kelly v. State, Fla.App. 1st 1971, 254 So. 2d 22; Sumner v. State, Fla.App. 1st 1974, 289 So. 2d 434; Estes v. State, Fla.App. 1st 1974, 294 So. 2d 122; Lyles v. State, Fla.App. 1st 1974, 299 So. 2d 146; and Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274) The facts sub judice are remarkably similar to those in Kelly v. State, supra…
-
Ingersoll v. State, 305 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974)…PER CURIAM. The record reflects a sufficient showing that appellant’s guilty plea was given freely, voluntarily and knowingly. We affirm upon authority of Sumner v. State, 289 So. 2d 434 (1st D.C.A.Fla.1974); Hall v. State, 273 So. 2d 90 (4th D.C.A.Fla.1973). Affirmed. OWEN, C. J., and WALDEN and CROSS, JJ., concur.…
-
Ford v. State, 317 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975)…ailed to advise him of each and every right he had, step by step, which is not required where a record, like the one before us, shows that what occurred was a part of his trial strategy. Kelly v. State, 254 So. 2d 22 (Fla.App.1971); Sumner v. State, 289 So. 2d 434 (Fla.App.1974); Mower v. State, 308 So. 2d 586 (Fla.App.1975). In addition, the defendant does’ not contend that he has Been prejudiced, nor does the record show prejudice. Williams v. State, 316 So. 2d 267 (Fla.1975). Affirmed. BOYER, C. J., and Mc…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (U.S. 1969)
- Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742 (U.S. 1970)
- United States v. Frontero, 452 F.2d 406 (5th Cir. 1971)
- Brown v. Beto, 377 F.2d 950 (5th Cir. 1967)
- Williams v. State, 254 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 3d DCA 1971)