Case About Constitutional Guarantee Not to Be Twice Placed In Jeopardy

In Troupe v. Rowe, 283 So.2d 857 (Fla. 1973), the defendant was charged with breaking and entering and grand larceny. During plea negotiations, the defendant and the State agreed upon a sentence of thirty days in jail followed by two years' probation, but the parties disagreed regarding whether there should be a "finding of guilt" or an adjudication. The trial court agreed with the defendant and entered a finding only, thereby allowing the defendant to return to military duty after his release. The defendant was sentenced accordingly, and the court took a recess. Shortly thereafter, a new assistant state attorney reiterated the State's objection to a "finding" rather than an adjudication. After a lengthy discussion, the court eventually set aside the earlier plea and sentence and ordered that the case proceed to trial. The defendant sought a writ of prohibition in the district court, and upon its denial, filed a petition for writ of certiorari with this Court. This Court ultimately held that "jeopardy had attached in petitioners case and the sentence which had been imposed could not thereafter be increased (as the second assistant state attorney's position would do) in violation of defendant's constitutional guaranty not to be twice placed in jeopardy." Id. at 860.