NICHOLAS v. STATE (2024)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Sixth District.

Nick NICHOLAS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

Case No. 6D2023-0681

Decided: October 25, 2024

Wade M. Whidden, of Whidden Johnson, P.L., Tampa, for Appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Cerese Crawford Taylor, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.

Nick Nicholas appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850.¹ We have jurisdiction. See Fla. R. Crim P. 3.850(k); Fla. R. App. P. 9.030(b)(1)(A). The trial court denied Nicholas's claims in an order that alluded to points raised in, and exhibits attached, to a State response hundreds of pages long, but did not attach any records conclusively demonstrating Nicholas was not entitled to relief to its order. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(f)(5). We therefore reverse and remand for the trial court to comply with rule 3.850(f)(4) or (5) if these records exist, or to conduct an evidentiary hearing under rule 3.850(f)(8) if they do not.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

FOOTNOTES

1. This case was transferred from the Second District Court of Appeal to this Court on January 1, 2023.

PER CURIAM.

TRAVER, C.J., and STARGEL and NARDELLA, JJ., concur.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network