Case Title: State of Florida v. Charles W. Cummings

Citation: 

Docket Number: SC96-522

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 2000-07-06T00:00:00Z

Document:
Supreme 
Court 
of 
Florida
 
____________
No. SC96522
____________
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Petitioner,
vs.
CHARLES W. CUMMINGS,
Respondent.
[July 6, 2000]
PER CURIAM.
We have for review State v. Cummings, No. 99-00519, 1999 Fla. App.
LEXIS 11082 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 20,1999), in which the Second District affirmed
the imposition of a guidelines sentence on a defendant who qualified as a prison
releasee reoffender, relying on  State v. Cotton, 728 So. 2d 251 (Fla. 2d DCA
1998).  In so doing, the Second District acknowledged conflict with Woods v.
State, 740 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999), and  McKnight v. State, 727 So. 2d 314
(Fla. 3d DCA 1999).  We have jurisdiction.  See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const.
-2-
We recently approved the First District's decision in Woods, holding that the
Act, as properly interpreted by the First District, does not violate separation of
powers, and rejecting other constitutional challenges to the Act.  See State v.
Cotton, Nos. SC94996 & SC95281 (Fla. June 15, 2000).  Accordingly, for the
reasons expressed in Cotton, we quash the Second District’s decision in this case,
and remand for further proceedings consistent with our opinion in Cotton. 
Because it appears that the respondent entered a plea of guilty based upon the trial
court’s indication that respondent, upon such plea, would not be sentenced
pursuant to the Act, upon remand to the trial court, respondent shall have the right
to withdraw his guilty plea.  
It is so ordered.
WELLS, C.J., and SHAW, HARDING, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE and LEWIS, JJ.,
concur.
QUINCE, J., dissents with an opinion.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING MOTION, AND
IF FILED, DETERMINED.
QUINCE, J., dissenting.
I dissent for the reasons stated in my dissent in State v. Cotton, Nos.
SC94996 & SC95281 (Fla. June 15, 2000).
-3-
Application for Review of the Decision of the District Court of Appeal - 
Direct Conflict
Second District - Case No. 2D99-00519 
(Pinellas County)
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Robert J. Krauss, Senior Assistant Attorney
General, and Erica M. Raffel, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, Florida,
for Petitioner
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Megan Olson, Assistant Public
Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Bartow, Florida,
for Respondent