CLARA MAE BRIGHT, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Clara Mae Bright pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after initially entering a not guilty plea to a second-degree felony for tormenting a child. The trial court failed to determine the factual basis for the plea as required by Rule 3.170(j), but the appellate court affirmed, finding the error harmless because the plea resulted from plea bargaining and Bright clearly understood she was not admitting to the crime she rejected.
The trial court's acceptance of the guilty plea was proper and not vitiated by undue motivation, as Bright's decision to plead guilty rather than risk trial was a voluntary calculation of her chances. Although the trial court failed to comply with Rule 3.170(j) by not determining a factual basis for the plea, this error was harmless because the plea resulted from plea bargaining, Bright explicitly stated she did not commit the crime, and she suffered no prejudice or manifest injustice.
[1] A guilty plea is not rendered involuntary by a defendant's desire to avoid the risk of a harsher sentence after trial.
[2] A trial court's failure to determine a factual basis for a guilty plea constitutes error.
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“Appellant calculated her chances and elected not to gamble on proving her innocence. This she had a right to do.”
Establishes that a defendant's strategic decision to plead guilty to avoid harsher punishment at trial is voluntary and does not constitute undue motivation.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBright was charged with unlawfully tormenting a child intentionally causing great bodily harm, a second-degree felony under § 828.04(1) F.S. 1973. She…
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DOWNEY, Judge.
Initially, appellant entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of unlawfully tormenting a child intentionally causing great bodily harm in violation of § 828.04(1) F.S. 1973, a second degree felony. Subsequently, appellant withdrew her not guilty plea and pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense contained in § 828.04(2), a misdemeanor of the first degree.
Prior to accepting the change of plea the trial judge carefully examined appellant as to the voluntariness of the plea, her appreciation of her rights, and her satisfaction with her counsel. The court then advised appellant of the charge against her and inquired if she was guilty of the charge, to which appellant answered, “no.” He then asked her if she was pleading guilty “because you are afraid that if you went to trial you would receive a more harsh punishment than if you pled guilty to the lesser offense.” Appellant acknowledged that was her reason for pleading guilty. The court ordered a presentence investigation and in due course sentenced appellant to eleven and one-half months in the county jail.
On appeal it is the contention of appellant that the trial court erred in accepting the guilty plea, relying upon Reddick v. State, Fla.App.1966, 190 So. 2d 340, as authority for that contention. The Red-dick case is not helpful here. It stands for the proposition that any “undue motivation” inducing an accused to plead guilty vitiates the plea. It is clear from the record in this case there was no “undue motivation.” Appellant calculated her chances and elected not to gamble on proving her innocence. This she had a right to do. Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970); North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970); Laird v. State, Fla.App.1973, 280 So. 2d 454; Scarborough v. State, Fla.App.1973, 278 So. 2d 657.
The real problem in this case is that the trial judge did not comply with Rule 3.170(j) RCrP; he did not determine that there was a factual basis for the plea of guilty. However, based upon the facts of this particular case we find the error in failing to make the factual determination required by the rule is harmless. In support of that conclusion we would point out that appellant does not contend she was prejudiced thereby. The plea in question was the result of plea bargaining. Finally, when appellant advised the court she had not committed the crime but chose to plead guilty to the misdemeanor rather than gamble on the outcome of a trial for the more serious charge, it was quite obvious that she was not unwittingly admitting guilt to a crime she did not commit and such unwitting admission is the evil Rule 3.170(j) seeks to remedy. 1 Wright, Federal Practice & Procedure, § 174 (describing the purpose of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11, the counterpart of our Rule 3.170 (j)); cf. Williams v. State, Fla. 1975, 316 So. 2d 267.
The rule in question requires a trial judge to make a determination that there is a factual basis for the plea. Failure to do so is error, but of course not all errors are harmful. We believe this case is a classic example of harmless error. Appellant has not shown any prejudice or manifest injustice resulting from the trial court’s acceptance of her plea under these circumstances. Williams v. State, supra.
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of conviction under review is affirmed.
WALDEN, C. J., and OWEN, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Shannon v. State, 406 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)…re that the facts of the case fit the offense for which the defendant was charged. Williams v. State, 316 So. 2d 267 (Fla.1975). It is intended to remedy an unwitting admission of guilt to a crime which the defendant did not commit. Bright v. State, 317 So. 2d 864 (Fla.4th DCA 1975). However, the defendant must demonstrate that he has been prejudiced or has suffered a manifest injustice by the particular guilty or nolo contendere plea procedure used in his case. Williams, supra. Here, Shannon alleged that the…
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Hoover v. State, 511 So. 2d 629 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…charges pending prior to the invalid plea must be reinstated.14 Jolly v. [*636] State, 392 So. 2d 54 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)15; State v. Vinson, 320 So. 2d 50 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975), aff'd, Vinson v. State, 345 So. 2d 711 (1977)16. See also Bright v. State, 317 So. 2d 864 (Fla. 4th DCA 1965)17; Shannon v. State, 406 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)18; Long v. State, 421 So. 2d 1089 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982)19. The attempt by the prosecutor in this case to find an offense to which appellant could be persuaded to plead, and for…
Authorities Cited
- Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742 (U.S. 1970)
- North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (U.S. 1970)
- Williams v. State, 316 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 1975)
- Reddick v. State, 190 So. 2d 340 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)
- Artis Scarborough v. State, 278 So. 2d 657 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973)
- Hiers v. State, 280 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 1st DCA 1972)
- Laird v. State, 280 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973)