Punta Gorda, FL Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

First, as the old saying goes, you appear to be "mixing apples and oranges."   The procedure by which one seeks a modification or mitigation of sentence is via a Motion to Modify or Mitigate.  That is filed in the trial court (i.e., the same court that sentenced him).  A Motion to Modify or Mitigate is to be filed within 60 days of the final judgment/sentence.  If your boyfriend took a plea bargain for five years, he may not have grounds for filing a motion to modify or mitigate sentence.  A plea bargain is similar to a contract in that you get what you bargained for.  If there was some genuine misunderstanding as to the plea and sentence, then it is possible that your boyfriend can have his attorney file a Motion to vacate the sentence and set aside the plea.  If the judge finds there was, indeed, some misunderstanding, the judge should grant the motion.  That, of course, does not get rid of the case.  It just puts the case back to the stage where it was before the plea was entered.  Then your boyfriend will need to work out a new deal (if the State is willing to make any offer at that poing); go to trial (and face whatever sentence the judge imposes if the defendant is convicted); or plead straight up, as charged, to the judge -- and be subject to any legal sentence allowed by law (i.e., if the maximum sentence allowed by law is greater than 5 years deal to which the defendant previously pled, then he could by law get the max).       Important -- a Notice of  Appeal must be filed within 30 days of the final judgment/sentence.  The appellate court is not the place to seek a modification or mitigation of sentence.  However, if the Defendant's sentence was illegal or incorrect in some way, then the appellate court might be the proper place to seek relief.  However, if the legal error involves an illegal or wrong sentence, the appellate court wants the Defendant to seek to correct (by filing a motion to correct illegal sentence) the sentence in the trial court before seeking to correct it on appeal.  If the trial court refuses to correct an illegal sentence, then that can be appealed  to the appellate court.  Remember, you only have 30 days within which to file an appeal from a final judgment.  If there is a genuine appellate issue in your boyfriend's case, but for some reason the Notice of Appeal did not get filed within the requisite 30 day period following the final judgment, there is a motion that can be filed with the appellate court, explaining why the deadline was missed, and seeking an extended period of time in which to file the Notice of Appeal.   

A criminal driving infraction like DWLS is a violation of probation. You need to get an attorney. You could be sentenced to the original amount of time you were facing on the felony charge.