Supreme Court to address key criminal procedure issues in today’s hearings
Supreme Court, in oral arguments today, will be asked to decide whether the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure permit a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea when a case is sent back to a lower court for resentencing on appeal.
In a separate case the same day, justices will also be asked to decide whether the state must “expressly request” a court to impose statutory prosecution costs when sentencing a defendant.
In both cases, justices will be asked to weigh conflicting district court of appeal decisions.
The former, Jeromee Saffold v. State, concerns a Broward County man who was convicted of armed sexual battery, kidnapping, and aggravated battery in connection with the assault of a teenager in 2015.
At issue are conflicting opinions by the Fourth District Court of Appeal and the Second District Court of Appeal regarding Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.170(f), and whether it permits a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea when a case is sent back to a lower court for resentencing.
The latter, Jourdan Daniel Parks v. State, concerns a man who was deemed a habitual felony offender and sentenced to 25 years after being found guilty of fleeing to elude a police officer, resisting arrest with violence, and two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer in connection with an attack on a Bay County deputy in 2020.
At issue are conflicting opinions between the First District Court of Appeal and the Second District Court Appeal regarding whether a court may impose statutory prosecution costs of $100 on the defendant without an “express request” by the state.
In an August 2023 decision upholding the imposition of the cost, First DCA Chief Judge Timothy J. Osterhaus wrote, in part, that “we affirm because the cost for the state attorney is a minimum cost that is mandated by subsection (8) and not an ‘investigative’ cost incurred by an agency, as described in § 938.27(1), which can only be imposed ‘if requested’ by the agency.”
However, Osterhuas acknowledged the decision conflicts with a 2021 Second DCA decision in D.L.J. v. State, which found that the state must first request the imposition of a statutory prosecution cost.
Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure to codify active case management and to make changes regarding discovery. Because rules adopted by the Supreme Court earlier this year differed substantially from a report of the Civil Procedure Rules Committee, further comments were allowed from interested parties.
