SEWARD v. STATE (2026)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

William Fitzgerald SEWARD, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

Case No. 5D2025-3057

Decided: July 24, 2026

William Fitzgerald Seward, Perry, pro se. James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Alyssa M. Williams, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

William Fitzgerald Seward appeals the denial of his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) motion alleging that the twenty-year sentence he received for manslaughter with a firearm is illegal. The postconviction court denied the motion, reasoning that Seward's scoresheet authorized a twenty-year sentence. While the lowest permissible sentence must be imposed when it exceeds the statutory maximum, section 921.0024(2), Florida Statutes (2017), Seward's scoresheet reflects that his lowest permissible sentence falls well below the statutory maximum for manslaughter with a firearm.¹

We express no opinion concerning the merits of the motion. But our record in this case does not conclusively show that Seward is “entitled to no relief.” Fla. R. App. P. 9.141(b)(2)(D). We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Reversed and Remanded.

FOOTNOTES

1. The order attaches two seemingly conflicting versions of the scoresheet. Both versions, however, fail to support the postconviction court's denial.

Per Curiam.

Jay, C.J., and Eisnaugle and MacIver, JJ., concur.

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