4D2024-2610
The Fourth DCA reversed the summary denial of an untimely 3.850 motion alleging newly discovered evidence that trial counsel failed to convey a pre-trial plea offer, holding the record did not conclusively refute the claim. Applying its precedent in Petit-Homme and Clark, the court reiterated that a third party's knowledge of an unconveyed plea offer is not imputed to the defendant for purposes of the newly-discovered-evidence exception to the two-year time bar. A special concurrence flagged that the supporting affidavit relayed inadmissible hearsay from a now-deceased attorney and suggested the trial court could deny relief on remand for legal insufficiency under rule 3.850(c).
Key facts
- Defendant filed an untimely rule 3.850 motion alleging newly discovered evidence that trial counsel failed to convey a pre-trial plea offer.
- The trial court summarily denied the motion, and defendant appealed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.
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Why it matters
This case reinforces the Fourth DCA's established rule that a third party's knowledge of an unconveyed plea offer is not automatically imputed to a defendant, keeping the door open for otherwise time-barred IAC claims… — full analysis with a trial
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