FOY B. HALL, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the Second District Court of Appeal's decision holding that a trial court failed to comply with Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(j) by not establishing a factual basis for Hall's guilty plea. Despite the procedural defect, the Court affirmed because Hall demonstrated no prejudice or manifest injustice.
The trial court's guilty plea procedure was deficient and did not comply with Rule 3.170(j); however, because Hall showed no prejudice or manifest injustice, the conviction is affirmed.
[1] A trial court must determine a factual basis for a guilty plea as required by Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(j).
[2] Responsibility for ensuring proper guilty plea procedures are followed rests with both the trial judge and trial counsel.
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 intelligence“The guilty plea procedures are designed to protect the defendant, not to provide a procedural technicality to avoid the administration of justice.”
Establishes that guilty plea procedures serve a protective function but are not mere technicalities and must be balanced against actual prejudice.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHall pleaded guilty to breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor at his arraignment in the presence of the state attorney and public d…
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OVERTON, Justice.
This cause is before us on petition for writ of'certiorari to review the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal reported at 303 So. 2d 417 (Fla.App. 2d 1974). The decision sought to be reviewed conflicts with Lyles v. State, 299 So. 2d 146 (Fla.App. 1st 1974).
At issue is the failure of the trial judge to properly follow the guilty plea procedure outlined in Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170 (j). As set forth in the Second District’s opinion, the record clearly reflects that the trial court failed to determine a factual basis for the plea. The Second District certified as of great public interest the same question as set forth in Williams v. State, 316 So. 2d 267 (Fla.1975). We have jurisdiction under Article V, Section /3(b)(3), Florida Constitution.
At his arraignment in the presence of the state attorney and public defender, the defendant, Hall, pleaded guilty to the below-mentioned charge. An extremely short and summary inquiry was made by the trial judge. No suggestion of further inquiry was made by either counsel. It is apparent that the defendant and his counsel were primarily interested in having the defendant remain on his own recognizance pending a presentence investigation report. His record justifies this concern. At the sentencing, the trial judge directly questioned the defendant concerning his criminal record. The defendant confirmed that his criminal record was as follows: breaking and entering in 1955, with a sentence of two years; breaking and entering in 1958 with a sentence of six years; escape in 1959 with a sentence of one year; larceny of an automobile in 1959 with a sentence of three years; and attempted robbery in 1972, with no sentence being mentioned. The instant offense was breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemean-or. Clearly, this is not an inexperienced defendant. His answers to the court’s inquiries were as follows:
“THE COURT: Now, you plead guilty to this charge. Did anybody threaten you in any way to force you to plead guilty ?
“DEFENDANT: No, sir. “THE COURT: Did anybody promise you any reward or any leniency, or any special consideration by this Court to induce you to tender this plea of guilty?
“DEFENDANT: No, sir. “THE COURT: Did you plead guilty freely and voluntarily ?
“DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. “THE COURT: Do you know of any reason why the Court should not accept your tendered plea of guilty and sentence you according to law ?
“DEFENDANT: No, sir.”
The aforementioned questions immediately followed the trial judge’s review of the defendant’s record with defendant. The trial judge then proceeded to impose a four year sentence.
This was not a model guilty plea inquiry, and it did not comply with Rule 3.-170(j). We wish to emphasize, however, that the responsibility to see that proper procedural steps are followed does not rest solely with the trial judge; both trial counsel are ethically bound to share this responsibility. The adversary system is based upon each tribunal’s being fully informed concerning the pertinent law in the case. See Canon 7-23, Code of Professional Responsibility. The guilty plea procedures are designed to protect the defendant, not to provide a procedural technicality to avoid the administration of justice. In the instant case there has been no showing of any kind of prejudice or manifest injustice by the defendant. Williams v. State, supra, is therefore controlling. The decision of the District Court is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
ADKINS, C. J., ROBERTS and ENGLAND, JJ., and CARLISLE, Circuit Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (24 total)
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Robinson v. State, 373 So. 2d 898 (Fla. 1979)…r improper, he is ethically bound to immediately advise the trial judge of that fact. It is ethically wrong to ignore or cause technical or procedural errors to ensure an opportunity for reversal on appeal. We reiterate our holding in Hall v. State, 316 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 1975), that both the prosecutor and the defense counsel are ethically bound to see that proper procedural steps are followed when a guilty plea is entered by a defendant. Our examination of the entire record in this case reflects that there wa…
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Koenig v. State, 597 So. 2d 256 (Fla. 1992)…Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.172 governs the taking of pleas in criminal cases. This rule provides basic procedures designed to ensure that a defendant’s rights are fully protected when he enters a plea to a criminal charge. Hall v. State, 316 So. 2d 279, 280 (Fla.1975). The rule specifically provides that a trial judge should, in determining the voluntariness of a plea, inquire into the defendant’s understanding of the fact that he is giving up the right to plead not guilty, the right to a trial by…
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Clement Lemmon Edwards v. State, 393 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)…ule of Criminal Procedure 11 was not intended to relieve counsel of his responsibilities to his client, Michel v. United States, supra, Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.172 provides no immunity to counsel for his derelictions. Cf. Hall v. State, 316 So. 2d 279 (Fla.1975) (holding that counsel are ethically bound to see that proper procedural steps are followed in accepting a guilty plea). This brings us to the dissenter’s comment that it must be obvious to any alien defendant that deportation is a possib…
Previewing 3 of 24 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Williams v. State, 316 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 1975)
- Lyles v. State, 299 So. 2d 146 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)
- Jensen v. Kaplan, 303 So. 2d 417 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)