RULE 3.170. PLEAS

(a) Types of Plea; Court’s Discretion. A defendant may
plead not guilty, guilty, or, with the consent of the court, nolo
contendere. Except as otherwise provided by these rules, all pleas to
a charge shall be in open court and shall be entered by the
defendant. If the sworn complaint charges the commission of a
misdemeanor, the defendant may plead guilty to the charge at the
first appearance under rule 3.130, and the judge may thereupon
enter judgment and sentence without the necessity of any further
formal charges being filed. A plea of not guilty may be entered in
writing by counsel. Every plea shall be entered of record, but a
failure to enter it shall not affect the validity of any proceeding in
the cause.

(b) Pleading to Other Charges. Having entered a plea in
accordance with this rule, the defendant may, with the court’s
permission, enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any and all
charges pending against him or her in the State of Florida over
which the court would have jurisdiction and, when authorized by
law, to charges pending in a court of lesser jurisdiction, if the
prosecutor in the other case or cases gives written consent thereto.
The court accepting such a plea shall make a disposition of all such
charges by judgment, sentence, or otherwise. The record of the plea
and its disposition shall be filed in the court of original jurisdiction
of the offense. If a defendant secures permission to plead to other
pending charges and does so plead, the entry of such a plea shall
constitute a waiver by the defendant of venue and all
nonjurisdictional defects relating to such charges.

(c) Standing Mute or Pleading Evasively. If a defendant
stands mute, or pleads evasively, a plea of not guilty shall be
entered.

(d) Failure of Corporation to Appear. If the defendant is a
corporation and fails to appear, a plea of not guilty shall be entered
of record.

(e) Plea of Not Guilty; Operation in Denial. A plea of not
guilty is a denial of every material allegation in the indictment or
information on which the defendant is to be tried.

(f) Withdrawal of Plea of Guilty or No Contest. The court
may in its discretion, and shall on good cause, at any time before a
sentence, permit a plea of guilty or no contest to be withdrawn and,
if judgment of conviction has been entered thereon, set aside the
judgment and allow a plea of not guilty, or, with the consent of the
prosecuting attorney, allow a plea of guilty or no contest of a lesser
included offense, or of a lesser degree of the offense charged, to be
substituted for the plea of guilty or no contest. The fact that a
defendant may have entered a plea of guilty or no contest and later
withdrawn the plea may not be used against the defendant in a trial
of that cause.

(g) Vacation of Plea and Sentence Due to Defendant’s
Noncompliance.

(1) Whenever a plea agreement requires the defendant
to comply with some specific terms, those terms shall be expressly
made a part of the plea entered into in open court.

(2) Unless otherwise stated at the time the plea is
entered:
(A) The state may move to vacate a plea and
sentence within 60 days of the defendant’s noncompliance with the
specific terms of a plea agreement.

(B) When a motion is filed pursuant to subdivision
(g)(2)(A) of this rule, the court shall hold an evidentiary hearing on
the issue unless the defendant admits noncompliance with the
specific terms of the plea agreement.

(C) No plea or sentence shall be vacated unless
the court finds that there has been substantial noncompliance with
the express plea agreement.

(D) When a plea and sentence is vacated pursuant
to this rule, the cause shall be set for trial within 90 days of the
order vacating the plea and sentence.

(h) Plea of Guilty to Lesser Included Offense or Lesser
Degree. The defendant, with the consent of the court and of the
prosecuting attorney, may plead guilty to any lesser offense than
that charged that is included in the offense charged in the
indictment or information or to any lesser degree of the offense
charged.

(i) Plea of Guilty to an Offense Divided into Degrees;
Determination of the Degree. When an indictment or information
charges an offense that is divided into degrees without specifying
the degree, if the defendant pleads guilty, generally the court shall,
before accepting the plea, examine witnesses to determine the
degree of the offense of which the defendant is guilty.

(j) Time and Circumstances of Plea. No defendant,
whether represented by counsel or otherwise, shall be called on to
plead unless and until he or she has had a reasonable time within
which to deliberate thereon.

(k) Responsibility of Court on Pleas. No plea of guilty or
nolo contendere shall be accepted by a court without the court first
determining, in open court, with means of recording the
proceedings stenographically or mechanically, that the
circumstances surrounding the plea reflect a full understanding of
the significance of the plea and its voluntariness and that there is a
factual basis for the plea of guilty. A complete record of the
proceedings at which a defendant pleads shall be kept by the court.

(l) Motion to Withdraw the Plea after Sentencing. A
defendant who pleads guilty or nolo contendere without expressly
reserving the right to appeal a legally dispositive issue may file a
motion to withdraw the plea within thirty days after rendition of the
sentence, but only upon the grounds specified in Florida Rule of
Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii)(a)–(e) except as provided by
law.

(m) Motion to Withdraw the Plea after Drug Court
Transfer. A defendant who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a
charge for the purpose of transferring the case, pursuant to section
910.035, Florida Statutes, may file a motion to withdraw the plea
upon successful completion of the drug court treatment program.

Committee Notes

1968 Adoption. (a) Patterned after the major portion of
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11.

(b) Same as section 909.07, Florida Statutes, except the
word “made” is substituted for “pleaded.”

(c) Taken from a part of section 908.03, Florida Statutes.

(d) Taken from a part of section 908.03, Florida Statutes.

(e) Same as section 909.16, Florida Statutes, except that
provision is added for trial by affidavit.

(f) Essentially the same as section 909.13, Florida Statutes.

(g) Essentially the same as section 909.09, Florida Statutes,
except for the addition of the charge by affidavit.

(h) Same as section 909.11, Florida Statutes, except
provision is made for a charge by affidavit.
1972 Amendment. This general topic is found in ABA
Standard relating to pleas of guilty. The Standards are divided into
3 parts: receiving and acting upon a plea; withdrawal of the plea;
and plea discussions and plea agreements. The first and second
parts are considered under this rule.

(a) Same as first part of existing rule; substance of second
sentence of existing rule transferred to new subdivision (j); new
provision permits, with court approval, plea of not guilty to be made
in writing.

(b) From ABA Standard 1.2; the purpose of this rule is to
permit a defendant to plead guilty or nolo contendere to all cases
pending against the defendant, thus avoiding multiple judicial and
prosecutorial labors. New concept of permitting this procedure even
though the other cases are pending in other counties is taken from
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 20 which has successfully met
the purpose explained above.

(c) Same as prior rule.

(d) Same as prior rule.

(e) Same as prior rule.

(f) Last sentence added from ABA Standard 2.2.

(g) Same as prior rule.

(h) Same as prior rule.

(i) This should be done in accordance with Boykin v.
Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969), and
Garcia v. State, 228 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 1969). This should also
include advising a defendant so pleading of the possibility of an
action or charge against him or her as a multiple felon if the
circumstances so warrant.

(j) From first sentence of present rule 3.170(a) with addition
of requirement of determination of factual basis for a plea of guilty
as provided by last sentence of federal rule 11. While requiring the
presence of a court reporter, the proposed rule does not require that
the reporter transcribe and file a transcript of the proceedings on a
plea of guilty or nolo contendere, although the committee considers
that such a requirement by the trial judge is desirable.

1973 Amendment. The purpose of this amendment is to
provide a method whereby a defendant may plead guilty to a
misdemeanor at first appearance without the necessity of the state
attorney subsequently filing an information.