Vardaman v. State

63 So. 3d 925, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 10160, 2011 WL 2555384
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJune 29, 2011
Docket4D08-2603
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 63 So. 3d 925 (Vardaman v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vardaman v. State, 63 So. 3d 925, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 10160, 2011 WL 2555384 (Fla. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

TAYLOR, J.

Jerome Vardaman appeals the revocation of his probation and imposition of sentence. His probation violation charges were based on a new arrest for drug offenses. Because we find no error in the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to suppress evidence, we affirm the order revoking appellant’s probation. However, we reverse the thirty-year prison sentences imposed in this case because the totality of circumstances presented an un-rebutted presumption of judicial vindictiveness. See Wilson v. State, 845 So.2d 142 (Fla.2003).

Appellant originally pled to carjacking with a firearm (Count I), robbery with a firearm (Count II), and resisting arrest without violence (Count IV). On July 31, 2002, he was sentenced as a youthful offender to four years in prison, followed by two years of community control on Count I, a concurrent six-year term of probation on Count II, and time served on Count IV. He violated community control and was reinstated to probation on December 18, 2006. On January 16, 2008, appellant was arrested for possession of cocaine with intent to sell and possession of cannabis.

Following appellant’s arrest on the new drug charges, an affidavit and amended affidavit alleging violation of probation were filed. Appellant filed a motion to suppress, which the court denied after a hearing. The trial court held two status hearings on May 6 and 7, 2008, during which the court extended appellant a plea offer of concurrent eight-year prison terms on Counts I and II, with credit for four years. 1 Appellant rejected the offer, although it would have resulted in his serving only an additional four years in prison. On May 8, after a final hearing, the trial court revoked appellant’s probation and sentenced him to concurrent thirty-year prison terms on Counts I and II.

Appellant unsuccessfully sought to vacate the thirty-year prison sentences in a Rule 3.800(b)(2) motion. There, as in this appeal, he argued that the trial court’s involvement in the plea-bargaining process, followed shortly thereafter by an un-rebutted presumptively vindictive sentence, violated due process and constituted reversible error. Appellant asserted that the court gave no reasons for the vast disparity between its plea offer of eight years, with credit for four years, and the actual thirty-year sentences it imposed.

Whether a defendant’s sentence is vindictive is a question of law subject to de novo review. Parker v. State, 977 So.2d 671, 672 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) (citing Trot *927 ter v. State, 825 So.2d 362, 365 (Fla.2002)). “When there is judicial participation in plea negotiations, followed by a harsher sentence, the supreme court has adopted a totality of the circumstances approach in determining whether a presumption of vindictiveness arises.” Mounds v. State, 849 So.2d 1170, 1171 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003) (citing Wilson, 845 So.2d at 155). It is the defendant’s burden to demonstrate vindictiveness. Id. If the defendant meets this burden, a rebuttable presumption of vindictiveness arises, which the state must then rebut.

The Florida Supreme Court explained that “[jjudicial participation in plea negotiations followed by a harsher sentence is one of the circumstances that, along with other factors, should be considered in determining whether there is a ‘reasonable likelihood’ that the harsher sentence was imposed in retaliation for the defendant not pleading guilty and instead exercising his or her right to proceed to trial.” Wilson, 845 So.2d at 156. Other factors that should be considered are:

(1) whether the trial judge initiated the plea discussions with the defendant in violation of Warner1 2 1;
(2) whether the trial judge, through his or her comments on the record, appears to have departed from his or her role as an impartial arbiter by either urging the defendant to accept a plea, or by implying or stating that the sentence imposed would hinge on future procedural choices, such as exercising the right to trial;
(3) the disparity between the plea offer and the ultimate sentence imposed; and
(4) the lack of any facts on the record that explain the reason for the increased sentence other than that the defendant exercised his or her right to a trial or hearing.

Id. (footnotes omitted).

Regarding factors (1) and (2), “if the judge participates in the plea negotiations beyond what is contemplated by Warner, or by his or her comments appears to have departed from the role of a neutral arbiter, then these actions alone may give rise to a presumption of judicial vindictiveness that would shift the burden to the State to produce affirmative evidence on the record to dispel the presumption.” Id. Generally, the trial judge should not advocate for a plea offer, which may result in the judge losing the status of a neutral arbiter. Id. at 156-57. Additionally, “[t]he trial judge must make clear that the sentence is based on what the judge presently has before him or her, and must caution that there is no guarantee that this same sentence will be imposed if the defendant elects to go to trial. Further, if the defendant elects not to accept the offer and the judge later imposes a harsher sentence, the trial judge should consider placing the reasons for the greater sentence on the record.” Id. at 157.

In circumstances very similar to those in this case, the Florida Supreme Court found an unrebutted presumption of judicial vindictiveness in Wilson. Id. at 158. There, the state alleged that Wilson violated his community control. Id. at 146. At the final hearing, Wilson indicated he wanted to enter an open plea and admit to the violation. Id. The court offered Wilson 128 months if he pled guilty, but when *928 Wilson indicated he wanted his fiancée to testify before the court imposed sentence, the court withdrew the offer and said before the hearing, “ ‘And my advice to you was the court’s offer was the bottom of the guidelines and in my opinion you should have taken it.’ ” Id. at 146-47, 158. The trial court then imposed a mid-range guideline sentence of 150 months. Id. at 147.

In Wilson, the court explained that this comment suggested the judge may have departed from his role as a neutral arbiter, and implied the judge had already decided that Wilson would not receive the bottom-guidelines sentence, regardless of what the hearing revealed, resulting in a penalty for exercising his right to a hearing. Id. at 158. The court entered the 150-month sentence with no explanation, and the record did not contain any facts to support it. Id. The supreme court stated: “In Wilson’s case, it is not simply the increased sentence that gives rise to an unrebutted presumption of vindictiveness.

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Bluebook (online)
63 So. 3d 925, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 10160, 2011 WL 2555384, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vardaman-v-state-fladistctapp-2011.