JORGE CARRILLO v. THE STATE OF FLORIDA ( 2023 )


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  •       Third District Court of Appeal
    State of Florida
    Opinion filed January 18, 2023.
    Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
    ________________
    No. 3D21-1133
    Lower Tribunal No. F17-19914
    ________________
    Jorge Carrillo,
    Appellant,
    vs.
    The State of Florida,
    Appellee.
    An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Cristina
    Miranda, Judge.
    Law Offices of Kawass, P.A., and Kristen A. Kawass, for appellant.
    Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and David Llanes, Assistant Attorney
    General, for appellee.
    Before EMAS, LINDSEY and GORDO, JJ.
    PER CURIAM.
    Affirmed. See Coutts v. Sabadell United Bank, N.A., 
    199 So. 3d 1099
    ,
    1100 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) (appellant maintains “that the trial court erred
    because it failed to afford the appellant an evidentiary hearing. This
    argument is without merit, as [appellant’s trial] counsel affirmatively advised
    the court that no evidentiary hearing was necessary and that the issue could
    be decided as a matter of law. See Pope v. State, 
    441 So. 2d 1073
    , 1076
    (Fla.1983) (holding that “[a] party may not invite error and then be heard to
    complain of that error on appeal”)); Long v. State, 
    183 So. 3d 342
    , 236 (Fla.
    2016) (in order to prevail on a postconviction motion seeking to vacate a
    judgment and sentence following a plea based upon newly discovered
    evidence, the defendant must satisfy two requirements: First, the evidence
    must not have been known by the trial court, the party, or counsel at the time
    of the plea, and it must appear that the defendant or defense counsel could
    not have known of it by the use of diligence. Second, the defendant must
    demonstrate a reasonable probability that, but for the newly discovered
    evidence, the defendant would not have pleaded guilty and would have
    insisted on going to trial”); Grosvenor v. State, 
    874 So. 2d 1176
    , 1181 (Fla.
    2004) (“[I]n determining whether a reasonable probability exists that the
    defendant would have insisted on going to trial, a court should consider the
    totality of the circumstances surrounding the plea, including such factors as
    2
    whether a particular defense was likely to succeed at trial, the colloquy
    between the defendant and the trial court at the time of the plea, and the
    difference between the sentence imposed under the plea and the maximum
    possible sentence the defendant faced at a trial”); McDade v. State, 
    336 So. 3d 1268
     (Fla. 3d DCA 2022) (“Following an evidentiary hearing, we review
    the denial of a motion for postconviction relief to determine whether
    competent, substantial evidence supports the postconviction court's findings
    of fact”) (quoting Forbes v. State, 
    269 So. 3d 677
    , 679 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019)).
    See also R.O. v. State, 
    46 So. 3d 124
    , 126 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (“Questioning
    may be necessary, in the court's discretion, to ascertain the truth, or to clarify
    an issue”); Perry v. State, 
    776 So. 2d 1102
    , 1103 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)
    (“Section 90.615(2), Florida Statutes, provides that a court may interrogate
    a witness, whether called by the court or a party, when required in the
    interests of justice. The purpose is to allow the court to ascertain the truth
    and clarify uncertainties. Error is committed only if it appears that the court
    has departed from neutrality or has expressed bias or prejudice.”)
    3