State v. Lasley, 86-3168

Decision Date23 October 1987
Docket NumberNo. 86-3168,86-3168
Parties12 Fla. L. Weekly 2472 STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Edwin LASLEY and Robert Buchanan, Appellees.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Charles Corces, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, and Lyndi Gordon, Asst. State Atty., Clearwater, for appellant.

Richard Sanders and Robert W. Pope of Pope & Henninger, P.A., St. Petersburg, for appellees.

FRANK, Judge.

Pursuant to Rule 9.160 of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, the county court of Pinellas County certified the following question as one of great public importance.

WHERE A DEFENDANT HAS ENTERED A PLEA IN TRAFFIC COURT WHICH WAS NOT ELECTRONICALLY OR STENOGRAPHICALLY RECORDED OR THE SUBJECT OF A SIGNED WRITTEN WAIVER, MAY SUCH PLEA BE WITHDRAWN UPON APPROPRIATE MOTION WITHOUT ANY FURTHER SHOWING OF PREJUDICE?

The state has appealed and we reverse, but we do not reach the certified question in the light of the following analysis.

Edwin Lasley and Robert Buchanan were convicted of driving while intoxicated. Lasley was charged in 1977 and pleaded nolo. Buchanan was charged in 1979, pleaded not guilty and was convicted after a trial. Neither Lasley nor Buchanan sought appellate review. In 1986, each filed a motion with the county court seeking an order vacating his judgment of conviction and permitting the withdrawal of his plea. The motions were based solely on the fact that at the time they entered their pleas in 1977 and 1979, the pleas were not recorded either stenographically, mechanically or electronically and neither Lasley nor Buchanan waived the recording of his plea.

On November 3, 1986, the county court granted the motions. The predicate for the county court's action was an "order and opinion" entered in 1981 by the circuit court in a matter styled Baxter v. State, Case No. 80-1885. In that order and opinion the circuit court concluded that a traffic court plea which is not memorialized in accordance with rule 6.200 of the Rules for Traffic Court will sustain post-conviction relief without any showing of prejudice.

Shortly following the state's filing of its notice of appeal, Lasley and Buchanan attacked the timeliness of the notice. In an opinion dated May 15, 1987, we denied their motion to dismiss. State v. Lasley, 507 So.2d 711 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). We determined that the state's appeal is governed by the 30 day period prescribed in rule 9.110(b) of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and not the 15 day period imposed upon the state in rule 9.140(c)(2). The consideration underlying our conclusion was that a proceeding initiated under rule 3.850 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure is civil in nature and not controlled by the 15 day limitation applicable to appeals by the state in criminal matters. Id. Thus, having announced that the present appeal is from orders originating in a post-conviction effort collaterally attacking judgments of convictions, we follow the principles associated with the implementation of rule 3.850. The county court erred; we reverse and vacate the orders granting the relief sought by Lasley and Buchanan.

An essential ingredient in pursuing post-conviction relief is the loss of liberty. Rule 3.850 begins with...

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4 cases
  • Lozano v. State
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 25 Junio 1991
  • Marriott v. State, 91-3482
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 7 Octubre 1992
    ...motion was the proper procedural vehicle to invoke the court's jurisdiction to vacate appellant's nolo contendere plea, State v. Lasley, 513 So.2d 1372 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987), and the trial court could properly have permitted appellant to withdraw his After the evidentiary hearing the trial cou......
  • Turner v. State
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 23 Agosto 2013
    ...none of which were addressed by the postconviction court. Citing Raines v. State, 14 So.3d 244 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009), and State v. Lasley, 513 So.2d 1372 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987), the postconviction court dismissed the motion. However, Turner is not challenging the legality of his sentence; he is co......
  • Johnson v. State, 98-224
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 20 Febrero 1998
    ...Nichols, III, Judge. Carliss M. Johnson, Daytona Beach, pro se. No Appearance for Appellee. PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See State v. Lasley, 513 So.2d 1372 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). DAUKSCH, COBB and ANTOON, JJ., ...

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