Christopher Wilburn v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: December 31, 2025
• Docket: 3D2025-2015
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed December 31, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D25-2015 Lower Tribunal No. F22-19244 ________________

Christopher Wilburn, Appellant,

vs.

State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Milton Hirsch, Judge.

Christopher Wilburn, in proper person.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, for appellee.

Before FERNANDEZ, GORDO and GOODEN, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Woodbury v. State, 320 So. 3d 631, 650 (Fla. 2021)

(“The inquiry to determine if a plea has a factual basis need not be a mini-

trial[.]”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); Williams v. State, 316

So. 2d 267, 273 (Fla. 1975) (“We hold that the court may satisfy itself by

statements and admissions made by the defendant, his counsel, and the

prosecutor; by factual evidence heard or filed in the cause, i.e., preliminary

hearings, motions to suppress, or depositions taken in the cause. . . . These

are not the exclusive means for a trial court to reach a determination. The

trial court is free to utilize whatever procedure is best for the particular case

before it to ensure that the defendant is entering a plea to the proper offense

under the facts of the case.”); Francis v. State, 121 So. 3d 67, 68-69 (Fla. 3d

DCA 2013) (“The State’s proffer during the plea colloquy and defense

counsel’s stipulation that there was a factual basis for the plea satisfied the

factual basis requirement of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.172(a).”).