4D06-4994-State v. Fraser

State: Florida

Court: Florida Fourth District Court

Docket No: 4D06-4994

Case Date: 12/19/2007

Preview:DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT
July Term 2007

STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellant, v. JOHN D. FRASER, Appellee. No. 4D06-4994 [December 19, 2007] PER CURIAM. In 1999, John Fraser pled guilty to possession of cocaine and was sentenced to two days time served. In 2006, more than seven years later, Fraser, a Canadian citizen, filed a 3.850 motion, wherein he sought to vacate his plea on the ground that the trial court never advised him of the possible deportation consequences of the plea. The motion was not sworn and was not accompanied by any affidavit or other attachments. Nonetheless, the trial court granted Fraser's motion based solely on transcripts of the plea colloquy presented at a hearing on the motion and without taking any additional evidence. The State has appealed. We reverse. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 mandates that motions for postconviction relief be sworn. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(c). Unsworn motions are properly dismissed. See, e.g., Lawson v. State, 754 So. 2d 86 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). Further, to be entitled to postconviction relief as a consequence of the trial court's claimed failure to advise of the possible deportation consequences of a plea, a defendant must demonstrate prejudice, i.e., that he would not have entered into the plea had he been advised of the deportation consequences. See State v. Seraphin, 818 So. 2d 485, 490

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