Florida Third District Court of Appeal – Criminal Headnotes – April 26, 2017
ANTONIO GONZALEZ V. STATE OF FLORIDA — SCOPE OF PROBATION REVOCATION ORDER
A written trial court order revoking probation improperly referenced an alleged violation not mentioned in its oral pronouncement from the bench. Remanded to conform the revocation order to the oral findings.
EDUARDO CASTILLO V. STATE OF FLORIDA – 10/20/LIFE RECLASSIFICATION
The trial court erred in reclassifying a second-degree murder conviction to a life felony where the state had introduced no direct evidence the defendant had carried a deadly weapon. The only evidence was a witness statement to police, not subject to cross-examination and later recanted.
CALVIN WATKINS V. STATE OF FLORIDA — UNTIMELY FILING OF MOTION FOR REHEARING, NOTICE OF APPEAL
A motion for rehearing of a trial court order denying a motion to correct an illegal sentence was untimely where it was mailed more than 30 days after the order was entered. The order thus became final, and the time for filing a notice of appeal ran from that date, rather than from a later date on which a timely motion would have been deemed denied. Appeal dismissed without prejudice to a possible petition for a belated appeal.
STATE OF FLORIDA V. AMBROSE DIXON AND JOHAN MATEINZO — TRIAL JUDGE DISQUALIFIED FOR ENFORCING POLICY TO REQUIRE FORMAL CHARGES WITHIN 21 DAYS
The appeals court granted the State’s request for a writ of prohibition requiring the trial court to grant its motion to disqualify (as to Appellee Dixon) and a writ of certiorari quashing a trial court order denying pre-trial detention (as to Appellee Matienzo). The trial judge had announced a policy to release defendants on their own recognizance, or imposing a $1 bond if the State failed to file formal charges within twenty-one days after arrest, without regard to severity of alleged offense.