Background
Adam Farney appealed from a judgment of the Circuit Court for Orange County, where Judge Renee Roche presided. He asserted that his plea was involuntary.
The appellate court’s brief per curiam opinion does not describe the alleged defect in the plea or provide additional facts about the underlying criminal case. The dispositive issue was whether Farney had preserved his involuntary-plea claim for appellate review.
The Court’s Holding
The Sixth District Court of Appeal affirmed. Citing Raducan v. State, 363 So. 3d 227, 228–29 (Fla. 6th DCA 2023), the court held that Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii)(c) requires a defendant to preserve an involuntary-plea claim by filing a motion to withdraw the plea.
That preservation requirement applies even when the defendant characterizes the alleged error as fundamental. Because Farney’s claim had not been preserved through a motion to withdraw his plea, the court affirmed without addressing the claim’s merits.
Key Takeaways
- A defendant seeking appellate review of an allegedly involuntary plea must first preserve the claim by moving to withdraw the plea.
- Characterizing the alleged plea error as fundamental does not eliminate the preservation requirement.
- The court affirmed on preservation grounds and did not decide whether Farney’s plea was actually involuntary.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces the procedural rule governing challenges to guilty or no-contest pleas in Florida criminal appeals. Defense counsel must raise an involuntary-plea claim in the trial court through a motion to withdraw the plea before seeking direct appellate review.
The opinion also confirms that the fundamental-error doctrine does not provide a way around this requirement.