Summary
reversing with instructions to permit defendant to withdraw his plea where trial court erroneously indicated defendant could not be sentenced pursuant to the Prison Releasee Reoffender Punishment Act
Summary of this case from Motes v. StateOpinion
No. SC95541.
Opinion filed June 22, 2000.
Application for Review of the Decision of the District Court of Appeal — Certified Direct Conflict of Decisions
Second District — Case No. 2D98-03185
(Pinellas County)
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Robert J. Krauss, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and Wendy Buffington, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, Florida, for Petitioner
Judith Ellis, St. Petersburg, Florida, for Respondent
We have for review the decision in State v. Cowart, 24 Fla. L. Weekly D1085 (Fla. 2d DCA Apr. 28, 1999), which the court certified to be in conflict with the opinion in Woods v. State, 740 So.2d 20 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999), and McKnight v. State, 727 So.2d 314 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const.
We recently approved the First District's decision in Woods, holding that the Act, as properly interpreted by the First District, does not violate separation of powers, and rejecting other constitutional challenges to the Act. See State v. Cotton, SC94996 SC95281 (Fla. June 15, 2000). Accordingly, for the reasons expressed in Cotton, we quash the Second District's decision in this case, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Because it appears that the respondent entered a plea of guilty based upon the trial court's indication that respondent, upon such plea, would not be sentenced pursuant to the Act, upon remand to the trial court, respondent shall have the right to withdraw his guilty plea.
It is so ordered.
HARDING, C.J., and SHAW, WELLS, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE and LEWIS, JJ., concur.
QUINCE, J., dissents with an opinion.
I dissent for the reasons stated in my dissent in State v. Cotton, Nos. SC94996 SC95281 (Fla. June 15, 2000).