Florida District Courts of Appeal, 2016

Michael Goldberg v. State of Florida

Michael Goldberg v. State of Florida
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided January 6, 2016 · Taylor, Conner, Klingeñsmith
182 So. 3d 847; 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 172; 2016 WL 66604 (Southern Reporter, Third Series)

Michael Goldberg v. State of Florida

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Michael Goldberg appeals the summary denial of his rule 3.850 motion for post-conviction relief, in which he alleged seven claims -of ineffective assistance of counsel. We reverse and remand for further .proceedings as to Goldberg’s claim that cojm-sel failed to convey a plea offer. We affirm the denial of Goldberg’s remaining elaims without comment.

Following a jury trial, Goldberg was convicted of two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and aggravated fleeing and eluding. The trial court imposed two terms of ten years in prison as to the battery charges and one term of thirty years in prison as to the aggravated fleeing and eluding, all habitual felony offender sentences, to run concurrently.

Goldberg alleges that counsel failed to inform him of a plea offer of fifteen years in prison. He claims that if he had been *848 properly informed, he would have accepted the plea and would not have gone to trial. Acceptance of this offer would have resulted in a lesser sentence than the thirty years in prison he is currently serving.

Under the law in effect at the time his motion was filed, Goldberg’s claim is facially sufficient. Cottle v. State, 733 So.2d 963 (Fla. 1999), required a defendant to allege only that (1) coun'sel failed to convey a plea offer; (2) he would have accepted the. plea offer but for counsel’s failure to convey it; and (3) acceptance of the plea would have resulted ,in a lesser sentence than was ultimately imposed. See id. at 967.

Because Goldberg’s claim .is facially sufficient under Cottle and is not conclusively refuted by the record, the trial court erred in summarily denying it. After Goldberg’s motion was filed, the Florida Supreme Court decided Alcorn v. State, 121 So.3d 419 (Fla. 2013), in which it receded from Cottle and held that a defendant must also allege that the prosecutor would not have withdrawn the plea offer and the court would have accepted it. See Alcorn, 121 So.3d at 429-30. Accordingly,’ we reverse and remand for further proceedings as to Goldberg’s claim that counsel failed to convey a plea offer of fifteen years in prison.

. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. , .

TAYLOR, CONNER and . KLINGEÑSMITH, JJ., concur.

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