BETTY JEAN HARDY, APPELLANT,
v.
B. A. GREADINGTON, CHAIRMAN, ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 5th DCA | 1981-11-04
No. 81-353
COBB and FRANK D. UPCHURCH, Jr., JJ., concur.
405 So. 2d 768 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1981) Positive Treatment
Cited by 20 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Betty Jean Hardy challenged her parole aggravation by the Parole and Probation Commission on habeas corpus grounds, claiming the Commission improperly used elements of her accessory-after-the-fact conviction as an aggravating factor. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's denial, holding that the Commission's discretionary decision to extend her release date based on the heinous nature of her conduct was not an abuse of discretion.


Holding

The Court held that the Commission did not abuse its discretion. The finding that the offense involved exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indicating wanton cruelty is a distinct aggravating factor not necessarily included within the definition of accessory after the fact, and therefore could lawfully be used to extend Hardy's release date.


Headnotes

[1] Mandamus is the appropriate remedy when a public official is alleged to be not following the law or established guidelines.

[2] The Parole Commission cannot deny parole upon illegal grounds or upon improper considerations and is answerable in mandamus if it does.

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Key Quotes

“The Parole Commission is required, as any other body, to comply with constitutional requirements; it cannot deny parole upon illegal grounds or upon improper considerations. It is answerable in mandamus if it does.”

Establishes that while parole decisions are discretionary, the Commission must follow legal requirements and is subject to mandamus review for violations of law or established guidelines.

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Facts & Procedural History

Hardy was convicted as an accessory after the fact to the murder of her husband, which was committed by her boyfriend. The Parole and Probation Commis…

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Opinion of the Court
ORFINGER, Judge.

ORFINGER, Judge.

In a petition for habeas corpus filed in the trial court, appellant contended that she was being illegally detained because the Parole and Probation Commission (Commission) had improperly aggravated her presumptive parole date by using elements which, by definition, constitute the very offense for which she was convicted. The trial court denied the petition on the ground that appellant’s remedy, if any, was not by habeas corpus, but by application for post-conviction relief or by appeal.1 This appeal followed.

While a petition for writ of habeas corpus was considered and then denied in Smith v. Crockett, 383 So. 2d 1166 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980), where a similar challenge was asserted, it would appear that the more appropriate remedy is mandamus, where as here, it is asserted that the public official is not following the law or established guidelines. While the granting or withholding of parole is discretionary,

[t]he Parole Commission is required, as any other body, to comply with constitutional requirements; it cannot deny parole upon illegal grounds or upon improper considerations. It is answerable in mandamus if it does.

Moore v. Florida Parole and Probation Commission, 289 So. 2d 719, 720 (Fla.1974).

Appellant had been convicted as an accessory after the fact to the murder of her husband. In determining to aggravate her presumptive release date, the Commission found that in attempting to cover up the murder of the husband committed by the boyfriend, appellant had attempted to clear up large amounts of blood and skull fragments2 to prevent detection of the scene of the crime. Appellant says that this finding is part and parcel of the conviction as an accessory after the fact,3 and that under section 23-19.03 of the Rules of the Commission, an aggravating factor cannot be used it it is included within the definition of the crime.

Section 23-19.03(l)(a)(4) of the Commission’s Rules contemplates, as an aggravating factor that “[t]he offense involved exceptionally brutal or heinous behavior indication [sic] of wanton cruelty.” This factor is not necessarily included within the definition of accessory after the fact, any more than “shots fired” is included within the definition of armed burglary4 or use of a firearm is included within second degree murder,5 and we find no abuse of the Commission’s discretion in determining to extend the release date using this factor here.

Since the decision to extend appellant’s release date was within the Commission’s discretion, it is not subject to review in the absence of any violation of a statute or a rule of procedure. The order appealed from is

AFFIRMED.

COBB and FRANK D. UPCHURCH, Jr., JJ., concur. . While not stated, we assume this part of the order to mean “appeal” from the determination of the presumptive release date.

. The murder was apparently committed by sharp blows to the victim’s head, thereby shattering his skull.

. Section 777.03, Florida Statutes (1979) says: Whoever, not standing in the relation of husband or wife, parent or grandparent, child or grandchild, brother or sister, by consanguinity or affinity to the offender, maintains or assists the principal or accessory before the fact, or gives the offender any other aid, knowing that he had committed a felony or been accessory thereto before the fact, with intent that he shall avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial or punishment, shall be deemed an accessory after the fact, and shall be guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in § 775.082, § 775.083, or § 775.084.

. Baker v. Florida Parole & Probation Commission, 384 So. 2d 746 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).

. Smith v. Crockett, 383 So. 2d 1166 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980).


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Pannier v. Louie L. Wainwright, 423 So. 2d 533 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)
    …s right to immediate release. To the extent that Taylor may imply that the proper procedural attack upon the computation of a presumptive parole release date is by habeas corpus, we recede therefrom and reaffirm our holding in Hardy v. Greadington, 405 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), that the appropriate remedy for challenging presumptive parole release dates is by a writ of mandamus directed against the FPPC. See also Moore v. Fla. Parole & Probation Commission, 289 So. 2d 719 (Fla.1974). Habeas corpus woul…
  • Taylor v. Louie L. Wainwright, 418 So. 2d 1095 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)
    …person to be named as a respondent in a habeas corpus action is the person holding custody and who is in a position to produce the petitioner physically. See 28 Fla. Jur. 2d, Habeas Corpus, § 96 and cites cited thereunder. In Hardy v. Greadington, 405 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) this court reviewed on appeal a trial court’s denial of a petition for habeas corpus which contended that the Parole and Probation Commission had improperly computed the petitioner’s presumptive parole release date, and affirmed…
  • Louie L. Wainwright v. Taylor, 476 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 1985)
    …ntial conflict on this issue: To the extent that Taylor may imply that the proper procedural attack upon the computation of a presumptive parole release date is by habeas corpus, we recede therefrom and reaffirm our holding in Hardy v. Greadington, 405 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), that the appropriate remedy for challenging presumptive parole release dates is by a writ of mandamus directed against the FPPC. See also Moore v. Fla. Parole & Probation Commission, 289 So. 2d 719 (Fla. 1974). Habeas corpus wou…

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