CARL L. DESORT, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that a defendant who chooses to go to trial cannot claim denial of equal protection because his accomplice received a plea bargain to a lesser offense.
Defendant was convicted of robbery after a non-jury trial. His accomplice, charged in the same information, pleaded nolo contendere to a lesser offens…
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PER CURIAM.
Defendant-appellant was informed against, tried non-jury, found guilty and sentenced to five years imprisonment for robbery [Fla.Stat. § 813.011, F.S.A.].
On appeal, appellant first contends the trial court erred in convicting him of robbery where he and his accomplice were both charged by the same information and where the trial court accepted a plea of nolo contendere to a lesser included offense from the accomplice. We cannot agree.
First, we note that the validity of plqa bargaining has been upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court in Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970). In the case sub judice, defendant elected to plead not guilty and thereby chanced being tried, found not guilty and acquitted. On the other hand, if defendant had decided to engage in plea bargaining and the prosecution had accepted a plea of guilty (or nolo contendere) to a lesser offense, any opportunity for acquittal would have been foreclosed thereby. Defendant having chosen the course of action which he did, he now is precluded from complaining that he was denied equal protection for by pleading not guilty he voluntarily positioned himself in an entirely different status from his accomplice. Cf. Weathington v. State, Fla.App.1972, 262 So. 2d 724. Thus, this argument of appellant must fail.
We have considered also appellant’s second point on appeal and find that to be lacking in merit. See Bailey v. State, Fla. App.1967, 199 So. 2d 726; Parrish v. State, Fla.App.1957, 97 So. 2d 356.
Accordingly, the judgment and conviction herein appealed is hereby affirmed.
Affirmed.
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State v. Russo, 299 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 4th DCA 1974)…? 1 Plea bargaining has generally been approved by the courts of this country. Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747; Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427; Desort v. State, Fla.App. 1974, 287 So. 2d 719. It involves exactly what the name implies, a bargain, a deal, an agreement, a contract. Recognizing the seriousness of his plight, a defendant may be willing to plead guilty or nolo contend-ere to an offense that is less grievous than the one with…
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Sawyer v. State, 292 So. 2d 623 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)…resulting verdict of guilty and possible death sentence, is now precluded from complaining of the course of action which he elected to pursue. Accordingly, the order deny [*624] ing appellant’s motion is affirmed. Cf. Desort v. State, Fla.App.1974, 287 So. 2d 719. Affirmed.…
Authorities Cited
- Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742 (U.S. 1970)
- Prentiss T. Parrish v. State, 97 So. 2d 356 (Fla. 1st DCA 1957)
- Weathington v. State, 262 So. 2d 724 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- Bailey v. State, 199 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967)