BRADFORD v. STATE (2020)

Petitioner, John Bradford, petitions this Court for relief alleging appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance. His direct appeal to this Court from judgment and sentence of the Circuit Court for Leon County resulted in an affirmance. Bradford v. State, 232 So. 3d 978 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017). Petitioner claims appellate counsel was deficient for failing to file a motion challenging the sentence, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b), and for failing to challenge the sentence in his direct appeal. We agree.

The trial court sentenced Petitioner as a habitual felony offender to a term of imprisonment of twenty years for a second-degree felony and a third-degree felony. This general sentence imposed for multiple offenses is an illegal sentence. See Parks v. State, 765 So. 2d 35, 36 (Fla. 2000); Munoz v. State, 218 So. 3d 459 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017). The imposition of a twenty-year sentence on the third-degree felony is also illegal because it exceeds the maximum sentence authorized by section 775.084(4)(a), Florida Statutes (2015), for the offense. Accordingly, we grant the petition, vacate Bradford's sentence, and remand for resentencing.

Per Curiam.

Lewis and Bilbrey, JJ., concur; B.L. Thomas, J., dissents without opinion.