Junes v. State

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed September 05, 2018. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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No. 3D17-2251 Lower Tribunal No. 08-21901 B ________________

Manuel A. Junes, Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida, Appellee.

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

Manuel A. Junes, in proper person.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Christina L. Dominguez, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before ROTHENBERG, C.J., and SALTER and LOGUE, JJ.

ROTHENBERG, C.J. Manuel A. Junes (“the defendant”) appeals the trial court’s order treating his

motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal

Procedure 3.800(a) as a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule

of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and denying the motion as untimely filed. Because

we conclude that the defendant’s motion was properly filed under rule 3.800(a), it

was not time-barred. We, therefore, reverse the order on appeal for consideration

on the merits under rule 3.800(a).1

Reversed and remanded.

1 Although we ordered and received a response by the State addressing the merits of the defendant’s claims, we are without jurisdiction to address the merits in the first instance. We, therefore, remand the motion for proper consideration by the trial court. The State is free to re-submit its response on the merits to the trial court.