State v. Rojas
The Third DCA held that a trial court had no authority to sua sponte mitigate a defendant's sentence under Rule 3.800(c) where the sentence was part of a negotiated plea agreement expressly providing for mandatory minimum sentences upon a community-control violation and barring any motion to mitigate. The court affirmed the finding of a willful and substantial violation of community control but reversed the mitigated three-year sentences, ordering reinstatement of the originally agreed-upon ten-year and five-year sentences.
Key facts
- Defendant Rojas pleaded guilty to charges under a negotiated plea agreement that included mandatory minimum sentences of ten years and five years upon a violation of community control, with an express waiver of any right to seek sentence mitigation.
- The trial court found that Rojas willfully and substantially violated the terms of community control and imposed sentences, but then sua sponte reduced them to three years each without holding a hearing or considering Rojas's request for mitigation.
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Why it matters
This opinion reinforces and extends the Third DCA's prior holdings (Gutierrez, Swett, Arango) that courts must enforce agreed 'hammer clause' sentences in negotiated pleas resolving VOP cases, and clarifies that a judge… — full analysis with a trial
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