Plea Not Stated On The Record

[Troubled-plea]

I’m in Florida. I was charged with a felony to which I plead not guilty. Later, I decided to enter a change of plea based on the offer by the state. I spoke with my attorney about a no-contest plea which is what we discussed and agreed to do. We re-entered court to enter a change of plea to "no contest". Upon speaking with the court, my attorney stated, "we wish to enter a change of plea". Following that, many other things were discussed, and the official "colloquy" took place however, I never (nor did my attorney) verbally stat what the change of plea was to be. The court assumed it was a change of plea to guilty yet, this was never stated. This all has been verified by the actual transcripts from the hearing we have since pulled and reviewed.

Fast forward one year, and now the whole thing is EXTREMELY important. Without getting into much detail, the plea thought to have been entered (guilty) is now causing more legal problems for me. If the record accurately reflected what my change of plea intention was (no contest) I would not be having more issues.

Question, I thought it was per state law that a defendant must verbally speak and clearly state what they plea to the court and that the court must hear and accept it? Anyone know the statute number which contains this procedure? I would like to find that as well as get some idea as what to expect from this whole issue. What would have to be done to correct this problem and have the court record accurately reflect a no contest plea which is what I would have said had I been directly asked????????

[aaron]

Have you checked the court records to be sure that a guilty plea was entered? For most purposes, a "no contest" plea is treated in the same manner as a guilty plea. As part of the plea hearing, were you required to state on the record facts constituting the offense charged?

You should order a transcript of the plea hearing from the court reporter for the sentencing court, and take it to a criminal defense lawyer (preferably one who has expertise in post-conviction relief) for a full evaluation. You should also get the disposition sheet (or equivalent document) from the court record showing how the court entered your plea. (You can hire a lawyer to get those documents for you, if you wish.)

[Troubled-plea]

Have you checked the court records to be sure that a guilty plea was entered? For most purposes, a "no contest" plea is treated in the same manner as a guilty plea. As part of the plea hearing, were you required to state on the record facts constituting the offense charged?

You should order a transcript of the plea hearing from the court reporter for the sentencing court, and take it to a criminal defense lawyer (preferably one who has expertise in post-conviction relief) for a full evaluation. You should also get the disposition sheet (or equivalent document) from the court record showing how the court entered your plea. (You can hire a lawyer to get those documents for you, if you wish.)

The court records have been checked and incorrectly reflect a "guilty" plea. This is not what we went in to court to do, yet that is what the record reflects. A transcript was ordered and reviewed, this is how I know for sure I never spoke or stated what the court recrods reflect. My attorney simply stated, "we wish to enter a change of plea". What we wished to change it to was never actaully spoke and the court assumed it was to be guilty. I did not verbally state guilty or no contest. Also, I did not state (or eloquate) the facts that constituted the offense. I was only asked by the judge what I was thinking the day of the alleged offense but, that was all. Only P/C was read by the prosecution.

Isn't there a statute that covers the idea of a defendant verbally stating what they actually plea?

[seniorjudge]

http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsup...02-1943rep.pdf

Google florida statute "plea of guilty" for lots of information.

Before you do that, however, you must read the transcript to see exactly what happened.

[aaron]

Although your rights could be affected by the passage of time, you may have grounds to have the plea set aside. (Note that this would reopen the prosecution.) It sounds like you have already discussed this with a lawyer.

Take a look at the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure (PDF), especially Rules 3.170 - 7.172.

[Troubled-plea]

Although your rights could be affected by the passage of time, you may have grounds to have the plea set aside. (Note that this would reopen the prosecution.) It sounds like you have already discussed this with a lawyer.

Take a look at the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure (PDF), especially Rules 3.170 - 7.172.

Thank you, I have downloaded the .PDF you sent me and it seems that I have a good position in my case. I am encouraged by what I have read. The case was resolved over a year ago. I am now being told, due to a recent event, I could be charged with a federal crime if I plead guilty to this case over a year ago. If I plead no contest, then I can not be charged federally. That is why it is so important to establish what was done in th first case over a year ago

[aaron]

Given that context, if you have not done so already, you should get help from a criminal defense lawyer to challenge the plea as entered.

[Troubled-plea]

Given that context, if you have not done so already, you should get help from a criminal defense lawyer to challenge the plea as entered.

Actually, I have spoken to the same attorney that I used for the original case about this situation. I think I am probably going to use his services again as he is a great attorney.

I am encouraged by what I have read in the PDF file you sent and am hopeful that I can get the incorrect "guilty" that was entered, vacated and have it appropriately entered as no contest. This would resolve the whole situation.

Thanks for your advise an the PDF file.