ROBERT WILLIAM ADAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Trial court erred by accepting a guilty plea induced by a prosecutor's sentencing recommendation, then imposing a sentence exceeding that recommendation without informing the defendant of its intent to reject the bargain or offering withdrawal of the plea.
A sentencing judge who receives a guilty plea knowing it results from a plea bargain cannot later reject the bargain's terms without first advising the defendant and offering an opportunity to withdraw the plea.
[1] A sentencing judge who accepts a guilty plea induced by a plea bargain with the prosecutor cannot later reject the bargain's terms without first informing the defendant o…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“We do not conceive that a sentencing judge may knowingly receive a plea which is the product of a bargain with the prosecutor and yet declare himself independent of the bargain, so avoiding by finesse the provisions of Rule 3.171 (c), R.Cr.P.”
Court's statement of the legal principle prohibiting judges from accepting bargain-induced pleas and then rejecting the bargain's terms.
Appellant tendered a guilty plea based on a plea bargain in which the State recommended a maximum ten-year sentence. The trial court, while emphasizin…
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SMITH, Judge.
The trial court determined to sentence appellant to a term of twenty years rather than to the maximum ten recommended by the State pursuant to a plea bargain. At issue is whether the court erred by failing to announce his determination not to sentence in accordance with the bargain and by failing to give appellant an opportunity, in those circumstances, to withdraw his plea of guilty.
While the trial court emphasized when appellant tendered the guilty plea that the court was not bound by the prosecutor’s recommendation and that the maximum sentence was life imprisonment, at no point did the sentencing judge advise appellant that judicial concurrence with the bargain was impossible. We do not conceive that a sentencing judge may knowingly receive a plea which is the product of a bargain with the prosecutor and yet declare himself independent of the bargain, so avoiding by finesse the provisions of Rule 3.171 (c), R.Cr.P. See Thomas v. State, 327 So. 2d 63 (Fla.App. 1st, 1976). Sentencing judges who wish to be free of the consequences of bargains and of the Rule should refuse to “have made known to him the agreement and reasons therefor prior to the acceptance of the plea.” Rule 3.171(c), R.Cr.P. Kurlin v. State, 302 So. 2d 147 (Fla.App. 1st, 1974).
The sentence is vacated and the case is remanded so that the court may either impose sentence in accordance with the plea bargain or vacate the judgment and offer appellant an opportunity to withdraw his guilty plea.
Reversed.
RAWLS, Acting C. J., and MILLS, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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State v. Adams, 342 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 1977)…ADKINS, Justice. By petition for certiorari, we have for review a decision of the District Court of Appeal, First District (Adams v. State, 328 So. 2d 48), which allegedly conflicts with a prior decision of this court (Brown v. State, 245 So. 2d 41) on the same point of law. Article V, Section 3(b)(3), Florida Constitution. The respondent, defendant in the trial court, and two other persons were cha…1 / 2
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Segarra v. State, 360 So. 2d 79 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)…a general rule, in sentencing a defendant whose plea of guilty was the result of negotiations, the trial court must either impose a sentence in accordance with the plea bargain or vacate the judgment and allow withdrawal of the plea. Adams v. State, 328 So. 2d 48 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). As stated in Wood v. State, 357 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), case no. HH-49, opinion filed April 21, 1978, the court may consider a bargained plea to have been tendered in reliance on a particular disposition and on the prot…
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Reynolds v. State, 339 So. 2d 714 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)…dant and have him affirm his plea or withdraw it. E. g., Moore v. State, 339 So. 2d 228 (Fla.2d DCA 1976) (opinion filed October 6,1976, Case No. 75-1716, not yet reported); Kiefer v. State, 295 So. 2d 688 (Fla.2d DCA 1974). See also Adams v. State, 328 So. 2d 48 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Enos v. State, 272 So. 2d 847 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973). Where there is confusion or legitimate disagreement as to the terms of the plea negotiation the trial court has the same affirmative duty to inquire as to whether the defendant…
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
- Schubert v. State, 302 So. 2d 147 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)
- Kurlin v. State, 302 So. 2d 147 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)
- Thomas v. State, 327 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)