Tuesday, October 4, 1999
State of Florida v. John Warner

No. 94,842

Place of Origin: Broward County


Facts
Warner was involved in a traffic accident while driving on State Road 5 in Fort Lauderdale in June 1996, leading to his arrest for DUI. At trial, the judge told Warner the sentence he would receive if he pled to the charge, and Warner accepted. The plea was lower than the sentencing guidelines suggested. The State appealed, and the Fourth District reversed the lower sentence for lack of record support but concluded that it was permissible for a judge to tell what sentence would be imposed if the defendants pleads to the offense. In a separate case, the Fifth District Court held that judges cannot tell defendants this information. The Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction to resolve the conflict.