STATE OF FLORIDA, EX REL. MICHAEL JAMES SCHIERES, APPELLANT,
v.
RALPH W. NIMMONS, JR., CIRCUIT JUDGE, DIVISION T., FOURTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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A petitioner sought mandamus to compel a judge to accept a guilty plea to second-degree murder. The court held that the trial court properly rejected the plea because it was a tactical maneuver to avoid a first-degree murder indictment, and no absolute right exists to have a guilty plea accepted.
A trial court has discretion to reject a guilty plea and is not subject to mandamus to compel acceptance. The plea here was properly rejected because it was a tactical maneuver designed to avoid a first-degree murder indictment, and since the plea was not formally accepted, jeopardy did not attach.
[1] A court may reject a guilty plea in the exercise of sound judicial discretion.
[2] Mandamus will not lie to compel a court to accept a guilty plea when acceptance is a discretionary act.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There is, of course, no absolute right to have a guilty plea accepted ... A court may reject a plea in exercise of sound judicial discretion.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that trial courts have discretion to reject guilty pleas, supported by Santobello v. New York.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn September 6, 1978, Schieres tendered a guilty plea to second-degree murder. Before the trial court completed its inquiry into the plea's voluntarin…
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PER CURIAM.
This cause is before us on petition for writ of mandamus and response thereto. On consideration of the petition, response, reply and the transcript of the proceedings and record before us, the order to show cause is discharged for the reasons stated by the learned trial court in his response, in pertinent part as follows:
“On September 6, 1978, Petitioner tendered a plea of guilty to a charge of second degree murder and Respondent commenced an inquiry as to the voluntariness of said plea, although he had not yet made an inquiry into the factual basis for the plea .
The inquiry of Petitioner was interrupted by Assistant State Attorney, R. Baker King, who adivsed (sic) the Court that the plea was not acceptable to the State and that the case against Petitioner was scheduled to be taken before the Grand Jury on September 14, 1978. After a brief recess, he further advised Respondent that through inadvertance in the State Attorney’s Office, he was not aware that the case was on that day’s calendar and that it was intended that arraignment would be heard on the 18th of September, 1978, following the grand jury proceeding. He further informed Respondent that the relator had been advised by the New York authorities, after Petitioner had been arrested in that State, that Petitioner could not be held without bond on the New York charges and that due to the exigencies of the circumstances he directed that an information for murder in the second degree be filed so the New York authorities could hold Petitioner pending extradition to Florida.
Respondent continued the proceedings and ‘ . . . deferred ruling on whether to accept the plea of guilty tendered on behalf of the . . . [Petitioner] . . . until Monday, September 18th On the same day Petitioner filed a Motion for Expedited Order of Acceptance of Defendant’s Plea of Guilty to Murder in the Second Degree . . . requesting Respondent to accept the plea that was theretofore tendered and to prohibit the Office of the State Attorney from presenting evidence to the grand jury. Respondent entered his Order of September 6, 1978, for the reasons stated therein, to-wit: that the plea of guilty tendered by counsel for Petitioner was ‘ . a tactical maneauver (sic) designed to forestall the possibility of the Grand Jury’s returning an indictment for murder in the first degree Respondent was aware of Reyes v. Kelley, 224 So. 2d 303 (Fla.1969), and found it not applicable to the instant case.
On September 14, 1978, the Grand Jury returned an indictment against Petitioner and one Marianne Diehl for murder in the first degree . . . and the State nol prossed the information and a not guilty plea was entered upon arraignment of the indictment . on September 18, 1978.
* * * * * *
Whether Reyes, supra, is still viable law, in light of the changes that have taken place since it [Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.172(a)] was decided, however, is of no consequences (sic), for in this case Respondent continued the hearing without inquiring into ‘the events out of which the homicide arose’ 224 So. 2d at 305 and the plea was not accepted in law or in fact. Hence, jeopardy did not attach by the tendering of said plea and the pending prosecution is not a violation of the double jeopardy provision of the State or Federal Constitutions.”
We agree with appellee that under the holdings of the United States Supreme Court in Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262, 92 S.Ct. 495, 498, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971) and Lynch v. Overholser, 369 U.S. 705, 82 S.Ct. 1063, 8 L.Ed.2d 211 (1962) the rule is stated in the Santobello case:
“There is, of course, no absolute right to have a guilty plea accepted ... A court may reject a plea in exercise of sound judicial discretion.”
We further agree with appellee that the acceptance of a plea being a discretionary act, mandamus will not lie to force appellee to accept the guilty plea tendered.
Accordingly, order to show cause is DISCHARGED and the petition DISMISSED.
BOYER, Acting C. J., and MILLS and BOOTH, JJ., concur.
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Jame Elmer Boughey v. State, 577 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See In re Amendment to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220, 550 So. 2d 1097 (Fla.1989); State ex rel. Schieres v. Nimmons, 364 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978).…
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Rigabar v. Hon. Virginia Gay Broome, 658 So. 2d 1038 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…rial court agreed to the plea, but that its lawyer in this court opposes mandating the trial judge to consider accepting the plea after making the inquiries compelled by rule 3.172. . We distinguish this case from State ex rel. Schieres v. Nimmons, 364 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), where the plea was not agreeable to the prosecutor, who opposed it.…
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Fogle v. State, 895 So. 2d 522 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005)…PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See State ex rel. Schieres v. Nimmons, 364 So. 2d 1262, 1263 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). GRIFFIN, PALMER and ORFINGER, JJ., concur.…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (U.S. 1971)
- Lynch v. Overholser, 369 U.S. 705 (U.S. 1962)
- Gonzalo R. Reyes v. Honorable Richard Kelly, 224 So. 2d 303 (Fla. 1969)