JESUS RAUL RIVERON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1989-04-05
No. 88-2033
LETTS and DELL, JJ., concur.
541 So. 2d 722 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1989) Caution
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Appellant challenged the denial of his motion for discharge based on alleged speedy trial violations after pleading nolo contendere to felony charges. The court affirmed the denial, holding that under the 1984 amended Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191, there is no automatic discharge for felonies based merely on passage of time; instead, the defendant must be brought to trial or a hearing must be held within specific timeframes after filing a motion for discharge.


Holding

Under the 1984 amendment to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191, a felony defendant is not entitled to automatic discharge based merely on the passage of time after demanding speedy trial. Rather, the defendant must be brought to trial within ten days of filing a motion for discharge, or if not, is entitled to automatic discharge only if the court fails to comply with the procedural requirements. Here, the calendar call and plea within the ten-day period constituted compliance with the rule and precluded discharge.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant charged with a felony is not automatically discharged for a speedy trial violation upon the mere passage of time after a demand for speedy trial.

[2] Under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(i)(4), a defendant charged with a felony is entitled to automatic discharge only if the court fails to hold a hearing withi…

Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Under the old rule, perhaps he would have been so entitled. However, under the 1984 amendment to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a)(2) and (i)(4), he was not.”

Establishes that the 1984 amendment changed the applicable law governing speedy trial discharge rights for felony defendants.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

On April 26, 1988, appellant filed a demand for speedy trial. Sixty-three days later, with no trial held and no response received, he filed a demand f…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
DOWNEY, Judge.

DOWNEY, Judge.

Appellant pled nolo contendere to several felony charges, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion for discharge due to a violation of his speedy trial rights.

On April 26, 1988, appellant filed a demand for speedy trial. Sixty-three days later, no response having been forthcoming and no trial having been held, he filed a demand for discharge. Twelve days thereafter a calendar call was held, at which appellant pled nolo, reserving the right to appeal an alleged speedy trial violation. It was appellant’s contention that a calendar call was required within five days after his demand for discharge and, since it was not timely held, nor was any hearing held within sixty days of his demand for speedy trial, he was entitled to automatic discharge. Upon denial of appellant’s motion, he filed this appeal.

Appellant’s arguments for discharge are not well founded. Neither his demand for speedy trial, nor his demand for discharge were, without more, sufficient to qualify him for discharge. Under the old rule, perhaps he would have been so entitled. However, under the 1984 amendment to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a)(2) and (i)(4), he was not. Subsection (a)(2) of said rule provides that every person charged with a crime may demand a speedy trial within sixty days. No later than five days thereafter the court is supposed to hold a calendar call to set the case for trial no less than five, nor more than forty-five, days in the future. In the event the defendant is not brought to trial within fifty days of the filing of the demand for speedy trial, the defendant has the right to the appropriate remedy set forth in subsection (i) of said rule. Said subsection provides that, if the crime is a misdemeanor, the defendant is entitled, upon filing a demand therefor, to be discharged. If he be charged with a felony, he may, after the sixty days expire, file a motion for discharge. However, there is no automatic discharge in this instance. Instead, subsection (i)(4) provides that no later than five days from the filing of the motion for discharge the court shall hold a hearing and, if no section (d)(3) reasons exist, the defendant shall be brought to trial within ten days; if not, he is entitled to automatic discharge.

In the present case, though no hearing was held within five days, a calendar call was held within ten days, at which appellant pled nolo contendere. This is the equivalent of appellant’s going to trial within the ten-day period, which would constitute compliance with the rule and preclude discharge. Under the present rule, the key to entitlement to discharge for speedy trial violation in a felony case is not merely the passage of time after demand for speedy trial, but the passage of time after the motion for discharge without compliance with the provisions of (i)(4) of the rule. See Bloom v. McKnight, 502 So. 2d 422 (Fla.1987); State v. Willis, 533 So. 2d 920 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); Climpson v. State, 528 So. 2d 1296 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988).

In view of the foregoing, the judgment appealed from is affirmed.

LETTS and DELL, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Small v. State, 596 So. 2d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)
    …y event, I do not believe that the paper [*753] can be considered a nullity in the absence of any motion by the state seeking to strike it on that ground.2 In this case, the state filed no such motion. Not cited by either side are Riveron v. State, 541 So. 2d 722 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989), and Climpson v. State, 528 So. 2d 1296 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). Both have the same critical difference. In both cases, the trial court either held a calendar call or scheduled a trial to begin within the 15 days after the motion for…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw