EVELYN HAYS, PETITIONER,
v.
MICHAEL W. JOHNSON, ETC., ET AL., RESPONDENTS

Fla. 5th DCA | 1990-04-26
No. 89-2123
COBB, W. SHARP and HARRIS, JJ., concur.
566 So. 2d 260 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1990) Positive Treatment
Cited by 10 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

A natural mother sought habeas corpus relief to obtain custody of her minor child from an attorney appointed as temporary custodian. The court denied the petition as meritless but used the occasion to sanction the mother's counsel for omitting material facts from the petition, including the mother's prior written consent to the custodian arrangement and her incarceration for contempt of court.


Holding

The court denied the habeas corpus petition as without merit and imposed sanctions against petitioner's counsel for omitting material facts. Counsel was admonished and assessed attorney's fees to be paid by the attorney personally, not by the petitioner, with the amount to be determined by the trial court.


Headnotes

[1] A petition for writ of habeas corpus is without merit when it fails to disclose material facts, including the petitioner's written consent to a custody order and the circ…

[2] Attorneys appearing before a court must be truthful and fair in their petitions, with complete candor being vital when urgent relief is sought and response time is limite…

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“all counsel who appear before this court must be truthful and fair in their petitions”

Establishes the fundamental duty of candor and fairness required of all attorneys appearing before the appellate court.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

The petitioner (natural mother) filed a habeas corpus petition seeking release of her child from temporary custody held by attorney Michael Johnson. T…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The natural mother of a minor child filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus with this court seeking release of the child to her custody. The petition alleged that an order was entered granting temporary custody to respondent Michael Johnson, an attorney, and argued that the child was being held “in shelter care” beyond the period allowed by law. After reviewing the responses filed by respondent Johnson and Jolene Cazzola, the Circuit Director for the guardian ad litem program in Marion County, Florida, we find that the petition is without merit and deny the requested relief.

Normally, this would end the matter before the court.

However, in this case, after receiving the responses to the petition for writ of habeas corpus, this court issued a rule to show cause, pursuant to Rule 9.410, Florida Rules of Appellate Proce dure, why sanctions should not be imposed against petitioner’s counsel, James A. Shook, for omitting material facts in the petition filed with this court.1 Specifically, the petition failed to reveal that petitioner had consented in writing to the appointment of attorney Johnson as custodian of the child, with the discretion to place the child as he saw fit, until further order of the court.

Furthermore, the petition did not disclose that the temporary custody order was entered as a result of petitioner’s incarceration for contempt of court for violating an order allowing the child’s father visitation rights and for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the child to the court and that petitioner’s counsel had sought numerous continuances of the proceedings himself. The responses also revealed that petitioner had allegedly waived all the time limits set forth in the juvenile rules.

Again, we must emphasize that all counsel who appear before this court must be truthful and fair in their petitions. See Hutchins v. Hutchins, 501 So. 2d 722 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987). Complete candor is especially vital where relief is urgently sought and the time for a response from the opposing party limited. See, e.g., Addison v. Brown, 413 So. 2d 1240 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982), affirmed, 428 So. 2d 663 (Fla.1983). Such full disclosure is clearly mandated by the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar.2 As this court pointed out in Ramey v. Thomas, 382 So. 2d 78, 81 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980), an attorney is first an officer of the court, bound to serve the ends of justice with openness, candor and fairness to all. See also State ex rel. Florida Bar v. Murrell, 74 So. 2d 221, 226 (Fla.1954).

Petitioner’s counsel in this case responded to the show cause order by attempting to reargue the merits of the petition, rather than explaining the material omissions in his pleading. This court will not tolerate the actions of any attorney who misleads the court in material matters.

Accordingly, counsel for petitioner is admonished and assessed and directed to pay the attorney’s fees incurred by the respondents in preparing responses to the petition for writ of habeas corpus.3 Such fees shall be paid by counsel, and are not chargeable to petitioner. This case is remanded to the Circuit Court of the Fifth Judicial Circuit in and for Marion County and Circuit Court Judge Victor J. Musleh is appointed Commissioner of this court for the purpose of determining the reasonable amount of attorney’s fees to be paid, after conducting a hearing.

WRIT DENIED; REMANDED with instructions.

COBB, W. SHARP and HARRIS, JJ., concur. .Rule 9.410, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, provides that after ten days' notice, the court may impose sanctions for any violation of the rules or for the filing of any proceeding which is frivolous or in bad faith.

. Rule 4-3.3(a), and Rule 4-3.3(d), 'Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. \

. Respondent Johnson is entitled to recover attorney’s fees in this matter even though he filed a response on his own behalf.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Kaye Scholer LLP v. Zalis, 878 So. 2d 447 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
    …production of documents. This type of conduct clearly results in a waiver under Rule 1.280(b)(5). We remind counsel that all attorneys have a professional responsibility of candor toward the court. See R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-3.3; Hays v. Johnson, 566 So. 2d 260 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990), review denied, 576 So. 2d 287 (Fla.1991). Just because the respondents have now agreed to produce all responsive documents, does not mean they are absolved from then-professional responsibility. Part of this professional respons…
  • Long v. AvMED, Inc., 14 So. 3d 1264 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)
    …an option Long or her attorney possessed. This conduct is sanctionable as it violates an appellate counsel’s “ethical obligation to present [] the facts [] accurately and forthrightly.” Boca Burger, Inc., 912 So. 2d at 571; see also Hays v. Johnson, 566 So. 2d 260, 261 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990) (finding the omission of a material fact sanctionable as “all counsel who appear before this court must be truthful and fair in their petitions”). We grant AvMed’s motion and find appellate attorneys’ fees should be paid in…
  • Brown v. State, 958 So. 2d 1029 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
    …and sentences. Moreover, we take this opportunity to remind parties and counsel who appear before us to present the facts and law in an accurate and forthright manner. See Boca Burger, Inc. v. Forum, 912 So. 2d 561, 571 (Fla.2005); Hays v. Johnson, 566 So. 2d 260, 261 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). Affirmed. ALTENBERND and NORTHCUTT, JJ., Concur.…

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw