Sanchez v. StateSanchez v. State
We review Sanchez v. State, 524 So.2d 704 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988), because of conflict with Thompson v. State, 485 So.2d 42 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), on “whether an adjudication of guilt, imposed in conjunction with a probation sentence, may be vacated after 60 days inсident to the authority of the sentencing court regarding the probation supervision.” 524 So.2d at 704. We have jurisdiction pursuant to
After Sanchez entered a guilty plea, the trial court adjudicated him guilty of trafficking in cannabis and placed him on three years’ probation. Two years later Sanchez moved to mitigate the term of probation and to vacate the adjudicatiоn. The trial judge granted early termination of the probation but, believing he had no authority to do so, refused to vacate the adjudication.
The fourth district, relying on State v. Beardsley, 464 So.2d 188 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985), affirmed the trial court‘s order and certified conflict with Thompson. In Beardsley the district court reversed the withdrawal of Beardsley‘s adjudication оf guilt because it found no authority for the trial court‘s action.1 The first district in Thompson, on the other hand, reached the opposite result from Beardsley and Sanchez, finding support for its holding in
The purpose behind allowing a court to withhold adjudication of guilt is similar to that behind probation itself, i.e., the hope that a defendant can be rehabilitated. See Holland v. Florida Real Estate Commission, 352 So.2d 914 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977); Pickman v. State, 155 So.2d 646 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963), cert. denied, 164 So.2d 805 (Fla. 1964). Withholding adjudication can be a powerful tool bеcause, by withholding adjudication of guilt, the court can avoid creating a criminal reсord for someone with good prospects for rehabilitation. Holland. Imposing or withholding adjudication of guilt in conjunction with probation is discretionary with a trial court.
Sanchez contends that because the trial judge can adjudicate him guilty if he fаils to meet the requirements of probation, he can likewise vacate an adjudication if Sanchez complies with probation. As intriguing as the argument is, there is no rule, statute, or decision of this Court authorizing such action beyond the sixty-day limitation of
Therefore, we agree with the first district‘s conclusion in Thompson that trial courts may, in their discrеtion, reduce an adjudication of guilt to a withholding of adjudication when considering a
It is so ordered.
EHRLICH, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur.
BARKETT, J., concurs in рart and dissents in part with an opinion.
BARKETT, Justice, concurring in part, dissenting in part.
I agree that a judge has authority to vacate аn adjudication within sixty days. I would, however, also grant relief in this case. Once it has been determined that there is no legal impediment against vacating an adjudication within sixty days, then it should bе equally permissible during the period of probation. If the trial judge can adjudicate a defendant when he fails to meet the requirements of probation, he also should be аble to vacate an adjudication when a defendant complies with probation. This authority comports with the purposes of probation and the punitive use of adjudiсations and is not inconsistent with any statute or court rule.