John Bradford v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJuly 13, 2020
Docket1D19-0230
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
No. 1D19-230
_____________________________
JOHN BRADFORD,
Petitioner,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Respondent.
_____________________________
Petition Alleging Ineffective Assistance of Appellate Counsel—
Original Jurisdiction.
July 13, 2020
PER CURIAM.
Petitioner, John Bradford, petitions this Court for relief
alleging appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance. His
direct appeal to this Court from judgment and sentence of the
Circuit Court for Leon County resulted in an affirmance. Bradford
v. State, 232 So. 3d 978 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017). Petitioner claims
appellate counsel was deficient for failing to file a motion
challenging the sentence, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal
Procedure 3.800(b), and for failing to challenge the sentence in his
direct appeal. We agree.
The trial court sentenced Petitioner as a habitual felony
offender to a term of imprisonment of twenty years for a second-
degree felony and a third-degree felony. This general sentence
imposed for multiple offenses is an illegal sentence. See Parks v.
State, 765 So. 2d 35, 36 (Fla. 2000); Munoz v. State, 218 So. 3d 459
(Fla. 5th DCA 2017). The imposition of a twenty-year sentence on
the third-degree felony is also illegal because it exceeds the
maximum sentence authorized by section 775.084(4)(a), Florida
Statutes (2015), for the offense. Accordingly, we grant the petition,
vacate Bradford’s sentence, and remand for resentencing.
LEWIS and BILBREY, JJ., concur; B.L. THOMAS, J., dissents
without opinion.
_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
_____________________________
John Bradford, pro se, Petitioner.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Quentin Humphrey,
Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.
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