ANTONIO RIVERA
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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.
A trial court lacks jurisdiction to rule on a motion to correct an illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2) when filed after the defendant's initial brief has been served in a pending direct appeal.
[1] A motion to correct an illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2) must be filed before the defendant's initial brief is served in a pending dir…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“If an appeal is pending, a defendant or the state may file in the trial court a motion to correct a sentencing error. The motion may be filed by appellate counsel and must be served before the party's first brief is served.”
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2) requirement for timely filing
Antonio Rivera filed a Rule 3.800(b)(2) motion to correct an illegal sentence in the trial court after his initial brief had already been filed in the…
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.
FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
Case No. 5D2025-0008 LT Case No. 2020-CF-000486-A _____________________________
ANTONIO RIVERA,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee. _____________________________
3.800 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hernando County. Stephen E. Toner, Jr., Judge.
Antonio Rivera, Crawfordville, pro se.
No Appearance for Appellee.
June 6, 2025
PER CURIAM.
Antonio Rivera appeals the trial court’s order denying his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b)(2) motion to correct illegal sentence. Because Rivera filed his rule 3.800(b)(2) motion after his initial brief was filed in this Court, his motion was untimely filed. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.800(b)(2) (“If an appeal is pending, a defendant or the state may file in the trial court a motion to correct a sentencing error. The motion may be filed by
2 appellate counsel and must be served before the party’s first brief is served.”); see also Ashford v. State, 49 Fla. L. Weekly D2240 (Fla. 5th DCA Nov. 8, 2024) (finding that “the rule 3.800(b)(2) remedy is foreclosed” where defendant had already served his initial brief on his appeal). During the pendency of a direct appeal, the trial court lacks jurisdiction to enter an order on a motion to correct illegal sentence. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.800(a)(1); Smart v. State, 200 So. 3d 1285, 1285 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016) (finding “the trial court lacked jurisdiction to rule on [Appellant’s] motion to correct illegal sentence during the pendency of his direct appeal”). As such, the trial court’s order should be vacated and the instant appeal should be dismissed. See Meintzer v. State, 943 So. 2d 966, 968 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006).
ORDER VACATED; APPEAL DISMISSED.
MAKAR, KILBANE, and PRATT, JJ., concur.
_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Meintzer v. State, 943 So. 2d 966 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)
- Smart v. State, 200 So. 3d 1285 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016)