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Cornelius v. State10/12/2005
EN BANC
Ott Cornelius, II, seeks review of an order denying his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion. At issue is Cornelius's challenge to his plea as involuntary in light of the Legislature's enactment, effective July 1, 1998, of section 322.271, Florida Statutes, which prevents persons with lifetime driver's license suspensions from applying for work permit licenses. § 322.271, Fla. Stat. (Supp.1998). Because the denial of an application for a work permit license is not a direct consequence of the plea, we affirm.
Cornelius entered into a plea in 1997 to resolve a felony DUI charge. As part of his change of plea, he agreed to a lifetime revocation of his driver's license. In the rule 3.850 motion under review, Cornelius alleges that he did so because counsel advised him that he could apply for a work permit license after five years. This was a correct statement of law at the time. See § 322.271(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (1997).
At the plea conference, the trial court informed defendant that his license was revoked for life. Thus, the court informed him of the direct consequence of his plea. See Daniels v. State, 716 So. 2d 827 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998).
Effective July 1, 1998, the Legislature changed the law to eliminate the opportunity to apply for a work permit license for individuals with lifetime suspensions. See § 322.271, Fla. Stat. (Supp. 1998). Absent an application pending at the time, no additional permits were to issue. Cornelius was not eligible to apply for the work permit license until after the effective date of the statute's amendment. Because the applicable law is the law in effect at the time the application for license reinstatement is made, Cornelius was precluded from reinstatement of his driving privileges. See Hill v. Dep't of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles, 891 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005).
The trial court summarily denied Cornelius's post-conviction relief motion, which alleged his plea was involuntary based upon the change of the license reinstatement statute. The court found that there was a conflict within this court on the issue of whether a driver's license suspension is a direct or collateral consequence of the plea. Compare State v. Scibana, 726 So. 2d 793, 794-95 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), with Prianti v. State, 819 So. 2d 231, 232 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) (citing Daniels, 716 So. 2d at 828). Because neither of these cases dealt with a license reinstatement, they are distinguishable.
In Daniels we explained:
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(k) requires the trial court to determine that a defendant's plea is voluntary. One aspect of a voluntary plea is that the defendant understand the reasonable consequences of his plea, including "the mandatory minimum penalty provided by law, if any, and the maximum possible penalty provided by law." Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.172(c)(1); Ashley v. State, 614 So.2d 486, 488 (Fla.1993). However, a trial court is required to inform a defendant only of the direct consequences of the plea, and is under no duty to advise the defendant of any collateral consequences. See State v. Ginebra, 511 So.2d 960, 961 (Fla.1987); State v. Fox, 659 So.2d 1324, 1327 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995), rev. den., Fox v. State, 668 So.2d 602 (Fla.1996). In Zambuto v. State, 413 So.2d 461, 462 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), this court adopted the fourth circuit's definition of a "direct consequence" of a plea:
"The distinction between 'direct' and 'collateral' consequences of a plea, while sometimes shaded in the relevant decisions, turns on whether the result represents a definite, immediate and largely automatic effect on the range of the defendant's punishment." Cuthrell v. Director, Patuxent
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