In re Amendments to the Fla. Rules Procedure

• Decision Date: 06 February 2014
• Docket Number: No. SC11–1679.,SC11–1679.
• Parties: In re AMENDMENTS TO the FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND the FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

132 So.3d 734

In re AMENDMENTS TO the FLORIDA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND the FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE.

No. SC11–1679.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Dec. 5, 2013.

Rehearing Stricken as Unauthorized Feb. 6, 2014.

Original Proceeding—Criminal Courts Steering Committee, Florida Criminal Procedure Rules Committee and Florida Appellate Rules Committee.

Kevin M. Emas, Chair, Criminal Courts Steering Committee, Miami, FL, and

Bart Schneider, Senior Attorney, Office of State Courts Administrator, Tallahassee, FL; John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director and Heather Savage Telfer, Bar Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, FL and James C. Hankinson, Chair, Post–Conviction Relief Subcommittee, Tallahassee, FL, for Petitioner.

Mark Caliel, Chair, Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, Jacksonville, FL, Donald Eugene Scaglione, Past Chair, Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, Brooksville, FL, Michael Robert Ufferman, Chair, Appellate Court Rules Committee, Tallahassee, FL, Jamie Billotte Moses, Past Chair, Appellate Court Rules Committee, Orlando, FL, Seth Elliot Miller and Michael J. Minerva of the Innocence Project of Florida, Tallahassee, FL, Scott N. Errico, Jonathan N. Diament and David W. Talley, Sumter Correctional Institution, Bushnell, FL, Glen Phillip Gifford and Andrew McBride Stanton of the Florida Public Defender Association, Tallahassee, FL, Sonya Rudenstine of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Gainesville, FL, Joe F. Daiak, Jr. of Lake Correctional Institution, Clermont, FL and Reginal L. Holston of South Bay Correctional Institution, South Bay, FL, Responding with comments.

PER CURIAM.

Consistent with the orders entered in this case on December 5, 2013, the opinion dated April 18, 2013, is withdrawn and this revised opinion is substituted in its place.

BACKGROUND

The Supreme Court Criminal Court Steering Committee (Steering Committee) and the Subcommittee on Postconviction Relief (Subcommittee) have filed a joint petition recommending amendments to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.170 (Pleas), 3.800 (Correction, Reduction, and Modification of Sentences), 3.850 (Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence), and 3.851 (Collateral Relief after Death Sentence has been Imposed and Affirmed on Direct Appeal), and recommending adoption of new Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.801 (Correction of Jail Credit). We have jurisdiction. Seeart. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. The amendments we adopt here are the culmination of extensive study of Florida's postconviction relief process.

Among its 2010 charges, the Steering Committee was directed to review Florida's postconviction rules and, if necessary, recommend amendments to the Court. In re Criminal Court Steering Committee, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC10–34, at 2 (Jul. 1, 2010). To facilitate the Steering Committee's charge, the Subcommittee was established by the Court to “conduct a comprehensive review of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800 (Correction, Reduction, and Modification of Sentences), Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 (Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence), and Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851 (Collateral Relief after Death Sentence has been Imposed and Affirmed on Direct Appeal).” In re Subcommittee on Postconviction Relief, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC10–40, at 1 (Jul. 2, 2010). The Subcommittee was directed to study the recommendations made by the Commission on District Court of Appeal Performance and Accountability and the Commission on Trial Court Performance and Accountability pertaining to the postconviction relief process and Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170( l ). Id. at 2; In re Subcommittee on Postconviction Relief, Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC10–53, at 1 (Oct. 6, 2010).¹

On October 10, 2011, the Steering Committee and the Subcommittee filed a joint petition proposing multiple amendments to the postconviction rules and the deletion of rule 3.170( l ). As explained in the joint petition, the proposed amendments are “intended to more effectively control the filing of postconviction motions by introducing greater finality and uniformity into what has become an unwieldy postconviction process,” and to “achieve a balance between the rights of the convicted defendants and the appropriate use of court resources.”

The Court published the proposals for comment in The Florida Bar News. Several comments were filed, including comments from the Florida Public Defender Association, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The Florida Bar's Appellate Court Rules Committee and Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, ² and the Innocence Project of Florida, as well as from a number of individual commentors. The Steering Committee and the Subcommittee filed a joint response to the comments. The Court heard oral argument on the proposals.

AMENDMENTS

Upon consideration of the proposed amendments, the comments and response thereto, the matters discussed at oral argument, and the motions for rehearing properly before the Court, we adopt a number of the proposed amendments, some with modifications, and we adopt several additional amendments on our own motion. We also decline to adopt several proposals, as further explained below.³

Rule 3.170( l ) (Motion to Withdraw the Plea after Sentencing)

The Steering Committee and the Subcommittee recommend the deletion of rule 3.170( l ), which allows a defendant to file a motion to withdraw a plea of guilty or nolo contendere within thirty days of rendition of the sentence. The rule limits the grounds properly raised to those set out in Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii)(a)-(e) except as provided by law. In proposing the deletion of the rule, the Steering Committee and the Subcommittee contend that most motions brought under this rule are pro se and allege ineffective assistance of counsel, and as such, present issues that would be better addressed on appeal or pursuant to rule 3.850. We disagree. To the extent that these claims fall within the grounds allowable by the rule and are timely, adjudicationof a motion to withdraw the plea is preferable in the trial court and closer in time to entry of the plea. Accordingly, we decline to eliminate rule 3.170( l ).

Rule 3.800 (Correction, Reduction, and Modification of Sentences)

The Steering Committee and the Subcommittee propose several amendments to rule 3.800, including deleting the text of subdivision (a) (Correction) and substantially amending subdivision (b) (Motion to Correct Sentencing Error). ⁴ Due to the concerns raised in the comments filed and at oral argument, we decline to adopt these proposals.⁵ However, we amend rule 3.800(a) to remove language that would conflict with new rule 3.801, discussed below. In addition, we amend rule 3.800(b) to add a provision governing the disposition of rehearing motions and the effect such motions have on rendition of the order on a rule 3.800(b) motion. As amended, the rule provides that a response may be filed within ten days of service of a motion for rehearing, and a motion for rehearing must be disposed of within fifteen days of the response but not later than forty days from the date of the order for which rehearing is sought. If no order is filed within forty days, the motion for rehearing is deemed denied. In addition, it provides that a timely filed motion for rehearing tolls rendition of the order subject to appellate review.

New Rule 3.801 (Correction of Jail Credit)

We adopt new rule 3.801 as proposed with a minor modification. This new rule governs the correction of a sentence that fails to allow county jail time credit as provided in section 921.161, Florida Statutes (2012). The rule is intended to prevent stale claims by requiring that jail credit issues be brought within one year of the sentence becoming final. Successive motions for jail credit are not allowed. The rule also identifies the contents that must be included in a motion seeking such relief and specifies that certain subdivisions of rule 3.850 are applicable to motions under this rule. The rule provides a one-year grace period for sentences imposed prior to July 1, 2013.

Rule 3.850 (Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence)⁶

We amend rule 3.850 to address several issues identified by the Postconviction Rules Workgroup and by the Steering Committee and the Subcommittee in the joint petition. However, due to the concerns raised in the comments and at oral argument, we decline to amend current subdivisions (a) (Grounds for Motion) and (b) (Time Limitations), and to adopt a new subdivision (b), as proposed, the combined effect of which would have been to create separate subdivisions of the rule governing conviction claims and sentencing claims. We also decline to amend current subdivision( l ) (Habeas Corpus), as proposed in the joint petition.

We amend subdivision (c) (Contents of Motion) in several ways, as proposed. First, it is amended to add the requirements that the motion be under oath, stating that “the defendant has read the motion or that it has been read to him or her, that the defendant understands its contents, and that all of the facts stated therein are true and correct,” and that the motion explain whether the judgment resulted from a plea or from a trial. Next, it is amended to require that newly discovered evidence claims be supported by affidavits attached to the motion. Lastly, it is amended to remove the language governing the form of the motion currently set out in the last paragraph and to move that language to new subdivision (d) (Form of Motion).⁷

Next, we add new subdivision (e) (Amendments to Motion). This new subdivision is intended to codify existing case law on amendments to postconviction motions and to comport with the amendments to current subdivision (d) (Procedure; Evidentiary Hearing; Disposition), discussed below. These new provisions together are meant to further the ultimate goal of allowing the trial...