FRANK LEDLOW, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Frank Ledlow appeals a trial court's denial of his motion to vacate a judgment and sentence for aggravated assault, and also appeals a contempt of court conviction and four-month consecutive sentence imposed during the hearing on his motion. The appellate court affirms the denial of the Rule 3.850 motion but reverses and remands the contempt conviction because the trial court failed to follow the required procedural safeguards under Florida Criminal Procedure Rule 3.830.
The trial court properly denied the Rule 3.850 motion, but improperly imposed the contempt of court conviction and sentence because it failed to follow the procedural requirements of Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.830. The contempt conviction is vacated and the case is remanded for proceedings consistent with the proper procedures.
[1] A trial court's denial of a motion filed under Fla.R. …
[2] A trial court may not summarily punish a defendant for contempt of court without first informing the defendant of the accusation and inquiring as to any cause to show why…
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“A criminal contempt may be punished summarily if the court saw or heard the conduct constituting the contempt committed in the actual presence of the court... Prior to the adjudication of guilt the judge shall inform the defendant of the accusation against him and inquire as to whether he has any cause to show why he should not be adjudged guilty of contempt by the Court and sentenced therefor.”
Statement of the mandatory procedural requirements under Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.830 for direct criminal contempt convictions, which the trial court failed to follow.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLedlow sought to vacate his judgment and sentence for aggravated assault by filing a motion under Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.850. At the hearing on this motion, …
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McCORD, Judge.
Appellant appeals the order of the trial court denying his motion filed under Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.850 seeking to have vacated the judgment and sentence for aggravated assault. We have considered the briefs and record as to the appeal from the court’s denial of appellant’s motion and find no error. In addition appellant appeals his conviction for contempt of court and the four-month consecutive sentence therefor imposed by the trial judge at the conclusion of the hearing on appellant’s aforesaid motion. At the conclusion of the hearing on appellant’s motion, the trial court, without previous notice, stated as follows:
“It is further found by this Court, the defendant has filed pleadings that are misrepresentations of facts and possible perjury has been committed by this defendant in the testimony that he has given today; at the time of taking of his plea, as reflected by the record of January 5, 1976; and for the misrepresentations to this Court in his motion as filed; the representations that he made to the Court at the time the plea was taken; and his testimony taken under oath, today, finds this defendant in contempt and sentences him to four months in the County Jail, said four months to run consecutive to Docket Number 75-925-A, imposed upon this defendant on April the 12th, 1976.”
The state further points out that in Bartz v. State, 221 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2 DCA 1969), the District Court of Appeal, Second District, in remanding for an evidentiary hearing on a motion filed under Fla.R.Crim.P. 1.850 (the predecessor to Rule 3.850), stated:
“In our opinion there should be an evidentiary hearing on the instant motion to vacate, properly confined and restricted to the one proposition of alleged misapprehension herein discussed. In doing so, we repeat what we have previously said in similar cases, where we have reversed for an evidentiary hearing, that if the evidence at such hearing should develop, to the satisfaction of the trial Judge, that there was no basis or foundation in fact whatever for the sworn allegations as made, we would strongly recommend consideration by the trial court or the State Attorney of either prosecution for perjury or citation for contempt, or both.”
The state apparently contends that the trial judge in the case sub judice correctly followed the recommendations of the District Court of Appeal, Second District, in Bartz. There the court recommended a “citation for contempt.”
It appears that if appellant’s actions constituted contempt of court, such would fall under Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.830 — Direct Criminal Contempt. That rule provides as follows:
“A criminal contempt may be punished summarily if the court saw or heard the conduct constituting the contempt committed in the actual presence of the court. The judgment of guilt of contempt shall include a recital of those facts upon which the adjudication of guilt is based. Prior to the adjudication of guilt the judge shall inform the defendant of the accusation against him and inquire as to whether he has any cause to show why he should not be adjudged guilty of contempt by the Court and sentenced therefor. The defendant shall be given the opportunity to present evidence of excusing or mitigating circumstances. The judgment shall be signed by the judge and entered of record. Sentence shall be pronounced in open court.”
We do not at this point rule upon the question of whether or not appellant’s actions constituted contempt. The procedure required by the aforesaid rule was not followed by the trial court. It is necessary that such procedure be followed in order to afford due process to appellant. The judgment and sentence for contempt of court is therefore vacated.
Affirmed in part and reversed in part and remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.
RAWLS, Acting C. J., concurs.
SMITH, J., dissents in part.
SMITH, Judge,
dissenting in part:
I do not conceive that appellant is summarily punishable for criminal contempt or that procedural compliance with Fla.R. Crim.P. 3.830 can result in such punishment. Appellant stated at various times that he had four, nine and eleven years of education and he testified his lawyer promised him probation on his plea of guilty, which his lawyer contradicted. Summary contempt proceedings cannot displace a prosecution for perjury, with attendant procedural guaranties for the accused, unless his false testimony had an obstructive effect and “there existed judicial knowledge of the falsity of the testimony.” Mitchell v. Parrish, 58 So. 2d 683, 685 (Fla.1952). Here appellant is subjected to contempt proceedings because his testimony was not believed. That, in my view, is insufficient. I would vacate the contempt judgment without remand.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Fisher v. State, 482 So. 2d 587 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…entered of record. 6. The sentence shall be pronounced in open court. It is necessary that the procedure set out in this rule be followed in order to insure due process to the accused and failure to do so must result in reversal. Ledlow v. State, 346 So. 2d 609 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); Garber v. State, 335 So. 2d 609 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); Holden v. State, 380 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980). Even technical errors, such as a failure to recite in the judgment those facts upon which the adjudication of guilt was base…
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Holden v. State, 380 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980)…s contained in Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.830 is mandatory. Keezel v. State, 358 So. 2d 247 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Ray v. State, 352 So. 2d 110 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977); [*550] Duncan v. State, 349 So. 2d 723 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); Ledlow v. State, 346 So. 2d 609 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977). Based on the court’s failure to comply with these procedures, we reverse the judgments and sentences and remand to allow Green and Holden a hearing so as to conform with Rule 3.830. BOARDMAN and DANAHY, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Mitchell v. Parrish, 58 So. 2d 683 (Fla. 1952)
- Bartz v. State, 221 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969)