From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

Bradford v. State

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA
Jul 13, 2020
298 So. 3d 734 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2020)

Opinion

No. 1D19-230

07-13-2020

John BRADFORD, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.

John Bradford, pro se, Petitioner. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Quentin Humphrey, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.


John Bradford, pro se, Petitioner.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Quentin Humphrey, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.

Per Curiam.

Petitioner, John Bradford, petitions this Court for relief alleging appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance. His direct appeal to this Court from judgment and sentence of the Circuit Court for Leon County resulted in an affirmance. Bradford v. State , 232 So. 3d 978 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017). Petitioner claims appellate counsel was deficient for failing to file a motion challenging the sentence, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b), and for failing to challenge the sentence in his direct appeal. We agree. The trial court sentenced Petitioner as a habitual felony offender to a term of imprisonment of twenty years for a second-degree felony and a third-degree felony. This general sentence imposed for multiple offenses is an illegal sentence. See Parks v. State , 765 So. 2d 35, 36 (Fla. 2000) ; Munoz v. State , 218 So. 3d 459 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017). The imposition of a twenty-year sentence on the third-degree felony is also illegal because it exceeds the maximum sentence authorized by section 775.084(4)(a), Florida Statutes (2015), for the offense. Accordingly, we grant the petition, vacate Bradford's sentence, and remand for resentencing.

Lewis and Bilbrey, JJ., concur; B.L. Thomas, J., dissents without opinion.


Summaries of

Bradford v. State

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA
Jul 13, 2020
298 So. 3d 734 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2020)
Case details for

Bradford v. State

Case Details

Full title:JOHN BRADFORD, Petitioner, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent.

Court:FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA

Date published: Jul 13, 2020

Citations

298 So. 3d 734 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2020)