Malcolm v. State
The Fourth District reversed summary denial of a rule 3.850 motion alleging newly discovered evidence that trial counsel failed to convey a twenty-year plea offer, holding that while the motion was facially insufficient (improper oath and missing counsel affidavit under rule 3.850(c)(7)), the defendant should have been given leave to amend rather than an outright denial. The court reaffirmed its precedent in Clark v. State and Tribbitt v. State that trial counsel's knowledge of a plea offer is not imputed to the defendant for purposes of the newly-discovered-evidence exception to the two-year time bar. The panel granted the State's motion and certified conflict with the Fifth District's recent decision in Gadson v. State, which rejected that imputation rule.
Key facts
- Malcolm filed a rule 3.850 postconviction motion alleging that trial counsel failed to convey a twenty-year plea offer, which he characterized as newly discovered evidence.
- The trial court summarily denied the motion as facially insufficient due to an improper oath and missing counsel affidavit required by rule 3.850(c)(7), and the Fourth District appealed.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion is significant because it certifies an express, on-point conflict between the Fourth and Fifth Districts over whether trial counsel's knowledge of an unconveyed plea offer is imputed to the defendant for… — full analysis with a trial
🔒 Read the full opinion, holding & search the library
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision are available to members. Start a free 30-day trial — no credit card.
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.