Ruiz v. State

Appellant Peter Ruiz appeals the order denying his postconviction motion without evidentiary hearing. Ruiz pled guilty to the charge of trafficking in excess of 400 grams cocaine, in violation of Florida Statutes section 893.135 (1997), in exchange for a negotiated sentence of ten years, later mitigated to nine. Ruiz claimed that his attorney had misadvised him about length of the sentence he was facing under the guidelines if he rejected the state’s plea offer in favor of going to trial, telling him that he faced a maximum guidelines sentence of 132 months. According to Ruiz, the guidelines…