Coblentz v. State, 2D00-2568.
| Decision Date | 27 October 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 2D00-2568.,2D00-2568. |
| Citation | 775 So.2d 359 |
| Parties | Leander J. COBLENTZ, Jr., Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Leander J. Coblentz, Jr., appeals the trial court's order denying his motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). We affirm without prejudice to Mr. Coblentz's seeking relief through a civil remedy. See Angell v. State, 712 So.2d 1132 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998).
In July 1999, Mr. Coblentz entered a nolo contendere plea to two counts of handling and fondling and one count of indecent exposure. These offenses allegedly occurred in September 1997. Mr. Coblentz received sentences totaling 102.15 months' prison, followed by 1 year of community control and 5 years' probation. He does not contest these sentences.
Apparently, the trial court also declared that Mr. Coblentz was a sexual predator pursuant to section 775.21(4)(c), Florida Statutes (1997). We assume from our record that the trial court made this separate "written finding" at the sentencing hearing. See § 775.21(5)(a)(1), Fla. Stat. (1997). Mr. Coblentz's attorney did not file a direct appeal of this finding.
Candidly, we are uncertain what appellate remedy was available to Mr. Coblentz at that point in time. It would appear that Mr. Coblentz entered into a voluntary plea in the criminal case and that his sentence was lawful. He had no basis for an appeal in his criminal case. See Leonard v. State, 760 So.2d 114, 119 (Fla.2000). This court has held that the sexual predator status is not a portion of the sentence. See Collie v. State, 710 So.2d 1000, 1006 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 722 So.2d 192 (Fla.), and cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1058, 119 S.Ct. 624, 142 L.Ed.2d 563 (1998). It is not clear to us that he had a right to court-appointed counsel to pursue an appeal of this civil finding.
Mr. Coblentz claims that he does not qualify as a sexual predator. His convictions are second-degree felonies. Under section 775.21(4)(c) he would qualify as a sexual predator only if he had a prior conviction for an enumerated crime. He claims that he has no such prior conviction. The State has not disputed his claim in this record.
In Angell, 712 So.2d 1132, this court held that a person in Mr. Coblentz's situation should seek a civil remedy. We suggested that an action for declaratory relief might be the appropriate vehicle. We note that Mr. Coblentz filed his motion within a year of the entry of the order determining sexual predator status. It is arguable that the trial court could, and perhaps should, have treated this motion as a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540.
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...1132, 1132 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)), but this approach proved to be judicially inefficient. See id. at 231-33 (citing Coblentz v. State, 775 So.2d 359, 360 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (remanding for Coblentz to raise his sexual predator designation challenge in a civil proceeding although the record stro......
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Cabrera v. State, 5D03-2367.
...prejudice to Cabrera to raise it in a proper motion pursuant to rule 3.800(a) or rule 3.850. We certify conflict with Coblentz v. State, 775 So.2d 359 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000), review denied, 789 So.2d 344 (Fla.2001), and Angell v. State, 712 So.2d 1132 (Fla. 2d DCA AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in ......
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King v. State, 2D04-1513.
...to correct his designation under rule 3.800, "civil relief," or "any other petition for a writ," citing our opinion in Coblentz v. State, 775 So.2d 359 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). The trial court denied this motion with an order suggesting that the trial court believed that Mr. King's sexual predat......
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Milks v. State, 2D02-60.
...violent predator because it was entered months after Mr. Milks entered a plea to the charges against him. See Coblentz v. State, 775 So.2d 359, 360 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). We conclude that we have jurisdiction in this direct appeal of the trial court's order to review whether the sexual predato......