Opinion
No. 99-82
Opinion filed July 21, 1999. JULY TERM, A.D., 1999
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Richard Payne, Judge, L.T. No. 98-30270.
Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Lisa Walsh, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Michael J. Neimand, and Jan E. Vair, and Christine E. Zahralban, Assistant Attorneys General, for appellee.
Before NESBITT, SHEVIN, and SORONDO, JJ.
Ron Anderson seeks to withdraw his guilty plea to grand theft. Anderson, a foreign national, proceeded pro se in the lower court proceedings. Although the initial judge assigned to the case thoroughly questioned Anderson concerning his right to be represented by counsel and obtained Anderson's waiver of that right, the successor judge did not renew the offer of counsel nor did he ensure at the later hearings that Anderson wished to waive his right to counsel. The State concedes error.See Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 835 (1975), Johnson v. State, 497 So.2d 863, 868 (Fla. 1986); Jones v. State, 584 So.2d 120 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.111(d).
Although not raised by either party, we also note that Anderson, who is not a U.S. citizen, was not informed of the possible immigration consequences of his plea, as required by Rule 3.172(c)(8), Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Anderson is entitled to withdraw his plea. We reverse the conviction and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.