Balcazar v. State
Balcazar v. State
Opinion of the Court
Oscar Balcazar appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief, in which he raised two claims in accordance with Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm the postconviction court’s denial of claim two without further discussion. However, because claim one was facially insufficient, the postconviction court should have struck the claim with leave to amend instead of summarily denying it.
After entering an agreed no-contest plea, Balcazar was convicted of driving under the influence, fleeing to elude, and resisting arrest with violence. The trial court sentenced him to eighteen months in prison followed by probation. Balcazar alleged in his rule 3.850 motion that trial counsel failed to inform him that his convictions would subject him to deportation. The claim is facially insufficient because
Accordingly, we reverse the denial of claim one and remand for the court to strike the claim with leave to amend within a period of time not to exceed thirty days. If Balcazar files an amended motion on this claim, “the postconviction court may again summarily deny the claim if it is once again facially insufficient or if the court attaches portions of the record conclusively refuting his allegations.” Philip v. State, 14 So.3d 1243, 1244 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). However, in light of the substantive basis of the postconviction court’s denial
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
. The postconviction court also indicated that claim one was successive to a motion filed earlier. However, although Balcazar did raise in general terms a similar claim in his previous postconviction motion, the court did not squarely rule on that claim in its earlier order. We conclude that the claim as raised in the motion underlying this appeal was not successive. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(f).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.