Amendment to Florida Criminal Procedure 3.850

In Wood v. State, 750 So. 2d 592, 595-97 (Fla. 1999), the Court adopted an amendment to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, deleting the "in custody" requirement of the former rule. The court also asked the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee of the Florida Bar to consider the amendment and invited interested parties to submit comments on the amendment. The Committee and an assistant state attorney filed comments. First, an assistant state attorney submitted a comment stating: It would be my suggestion that the term "convicted" and "sentenced" in newly amended Rule 3.850(a) be defined to reflect whether an adjudication withheld and probationary term imposed by the trial court would be covered by the newly amended rule. Second, the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee commented that it was concerned with the definition of the terms "convicted" and "judgment" within rule 3.850. Specifically, does the term "convicted" mean one who has been adjudicated guilty, or simply one who has been sentenced regardless of adjudication. Accordingly, these terms should be defined.