FANNINGS JOHNSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Fannings Johnson sought habeas corpus relief challenging his parole revocation after being acquitted of the charges that led to revocation. The circuit court denied his petition, apparently on procedural grounds, but the appellate court reversed, finding no abuse of writ where successive petitions for mandamus and habeas corpus involved different issues and sought different relief.
The court reversed the denial of the habeas petition, holding that no abuse of writ occurred because the mandamus and habeas corpus petitions involved different issues and sought different relief. Mandamus was properly used to challenge the score sheet calculation, while habeas corpus was the proper vehicle to challenge the parole revocation itself.
[1] A writ of mandamus is used to compel a public officer to perform a duty, while a writ of habeas corpus seeks immediate release from illegal detention.
[2] A petitioner is not procedurally barred from filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus to challenge a parole revocation when a prior petition for writ of mandamus sough…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Mandamus is a remedy used to compel a public officer to perform a duty, while habeas corpus seeks immediate release from illegal detention.”
Establishes the distinct purposes of the two writs, explaining why successive petitions were not an abuse of writ.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJohnson's parole was revoked after his arrest and charges for robbery with a firearm and dealing in stolen property, despite his acquittal at jury tri…
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PETERSON, Judge.
Fannings Johnson appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. While the circuit court’s order does not state the reason for denial, the response from the Florida Probation and Parole Commission (Commission) in the form of a motion to dismiss gives us reason to believe that the denial was based upon procedural grounds. We reverse and remand.
Johnson’s parole was revoked by the Commission after he was arrested and charged with robbery with a firearm and dealing in stolen property. Although he was acquitted of both charges after a jury trial, he was ordered back to prison, and the Commission established a presumptive parole release date (PPRD) for the year 2002. Johnson was dissatisfied with that date, believing that a mistake had been made in the preparation of his score sheet, and on October 25, 1989, he filed a petition for writ of mandamus with the Marion County Circuit Court to correct the score sheet. The petition was denied on January 31, 1990, and no appeal was taken.
On November 16, 1989, while the petition for mandamus was pending, Johnson filed a “Notice of Intent to File Original Proceedings in the Form of Habeas Corpus” in the Marion County Circuit Court. The clerk of the court assigned a file number to this “Notice,” a number separate from the mandamus proceeding. Johnson challenged the parole revocation in the new habeas proceeding. The Commission responded with its motion to dismiss alleging that Johnson’s challenge of his parole revocation should have been raised in the earlier mandamus action, that Johnson was procedurally barred from later raising it in a separate action, and that successive post-conviction litigation is not permitted under Mobley v. State, 492 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986), reinstatement denied, 497 So. 2d 1217 (Fla.1986).
Johnson alleges that the clerk assigned a file number to his “Notice” that was differ ent from the number of the then pending mandamus action and that this new file number misled him into believing that separate actions were the “proper vehicle” with which to raise the separate issues. He alleges that the Commission also misled him since it responded to Johnson’s “Notice” by indicating that it had not yet been served with a copy of a petition for writ of habeas corpus and since it responded to his motion to compel the Commission to provide a transcript of the revocation proceedings by indicating that it did not transcribe such proceedings.
We do not find an abuse of writ in the successive petitions for writs of mandamus and habeas corpus. Not only were different issues raised in the petitions, but the relief sought and the grounds necessary for relief are different in the two forms of writ. Mandamus is a remedy used to compel a public officer to perform a duty, while habeas corpus seeks immediate release from illegal detention. In the early petition, Johnson properly sought a writ of mandamus to compel the Commission to correct the PPRD score sheet. No direct appeal is available from a PPRD determination, and Johnson properly sought review by way .of mandamus to correct the score sheet used to determine the date. See, e.g., Zatler v. State, 457 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984). He also properly sought a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the parole revocation. Young v. Simmons, 506 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987).
In Mobley, we held that the same issue cannot be litigated in successive petitions. Here, Johnson made successive petitions for extraordinary relief, but the successive petitions did not seek the same relief or involve the same issues. The record before us does not indicate that Johnson even raised or mentioned the habeas issues in the earlier proceedings after filing his petition for mandamus.
We find no merit in the Commission’s arguments that Johnson filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in Leon County and that the dismissal of that petition should bar this action. The record shows that the petition was dismissed because the relief sought was the same sought in the pending Marion County proceedings.
The denial of the writ is reversed, and the matter remanded for further proceedings.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
COWART and DIAMANTIS, JJ., concur.
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Fannings Johnson v. Fla. Parole Comm'n & James V. Crosby, Jr., 841 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)…suant to Sheley v. Florida Parole Commission, 703 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997), approved, 720 So. 2d 216 (Fla.1998). [*617] The circuit court improperly denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus as a successive petition. See Johnson v. State, 589 So. 2d 456 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). In rejecting a similar finding of successive petitions, the court in Johnson stated Not only were different issues raised in the petitions, but the relief sought and the grounds necessary for relief are different in the two for…
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Thomas v. State, 935 So. 2d 91 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)…PER CURIAM. Thomas filed a petition for writ of habe-as corpus on May 5, 2006. He is seeking relief that is not appropriate for a writ of habeas corpus relief. Johnson v. State, 589 So. 2d 456 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). It is [*92] not the purpose of the writ to determine sufficiency of the evidence nor the adequacy of a defense nor the justice of a detention on the merits, but only to determine whether the person is legally imprisoned or restr…
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Wells v. State, 751 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)…PER CURIAM. See Johnson v. State, 589 So. 2d 456 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). [*63] Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus DENIED. W. SHARP, GOSHORN and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.…
Authorities Cited
- Young v. Simmons, 506 So. 2d 434 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)
- Zatler v. State, 457 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)
- Claybourne Mobley v. State, 492 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)