WALLACE J. PORTER, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA PAROLE & PROBATION COMMISSION, APPELLEE
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Wallace Porter appealed the summary denial of his mandamus petition challenging his presumptive parole release date (PPRD). The court reversed, holding that Porter stated a prima facie case for relief and that the circuit court erred by summarily denying the petition without requiring the Parole Commission to respond to an alternative writ.
The circuit court erred in summarily denying the petition. Because Porter's petition states a prima facie case for relief, Rule of Civil Procedure 1.630(d)(3) required the circuit court to issue an alternative writ in mandamus. Meaningful appellate review can only occur after the Commission responds to the writ on the record.
[1] A petition for a writ of mandamus is the appropriate procedure to challenge a presumptive parole release date.
[2] When petitioning for an extraordinary remedy in circuit court, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.630 applies.
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“A petition for writ of mandamus directed against the Commission is the appropriate procedure to challenge a PPRD.”
Establishes that mandamus is the correct remedy for challenging parole release date calculations.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePorter was convicted of kidnapping and manslaughter in October 1982 and received consecutive sentences of life and fifteen years. In September 1987, h…
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SHIVERS, Judge.
This appeal is from the summary denial of a petition for a writ of mandamus. We reverse and remand with instructions to issue an alternative writ in mandamus.
In October 1982 Wallace Porter was convicted of kidnapping and manslaughter. He received consecutive sentences of life and fifteen years.
On September 23, 1987, Porter was interviewed by a hearing examiner to establish his presumptive parole release date (PPRD). Porter’s PPRD was set for June 22,1994, based in part on a calculation that Porter had three or more prior convictions and two or more prior incarcerations. See Fla.Admin.Code Rules 23-21.077(1) and (2). In 1988, following disciplinary confinement for possession of narcotics, Porter’s PPRD was extended one year. The PPRD was based on the same number of prior convictions and incarcerations as in 1987.
On September 21, 1990, Porter filed a “writ of mandamus” in the circuit court pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.100. He argued the PPRD was incorrectly calculated because he had no prior convictions and only one prior incarceration. Porter’s petition was summarily denied. The circuit court’s order was sent to the Florida Parole and Probation Commission, which was unaware of Porter’s petition and had filed no response. Porter filed a notice of appeal and an initial brief. The Commission filed an answer brief along with a motion to supplement the record with the documents it used to calculate Porter’s PPRD. The motion to supplement the record was denied.
A petition for writ of mandamus directed against the Commission is the appropriate procedure to challenge a PPRD. Florida Parole and Probation Comm’n v. Fuller, 491 So. 2d 275 (Fla.1986). However, when petitioning for an extraordinary remedy in the circuit court, Rule of Civil Procedure 1.630 applies instead of Appellate Rule 9.100. Rule 1.630(d)(3) requires that the circuit court issue an alternative writ in mandamus if the initial pleading shows a prima facie case for relief. Rule 1.630(e) requires that the defendant respond.
Porter’s petition states a prima fa-cie case for relief. If he has no prior convictions, for example, the Commission must recalculate his PPRD. However, there is no way to know from the record whether Porter has prior convictions or incarcerations. Meaningful appellate review can only occur after the Commission has addressed Porter’s petition on the record by means of a response to an alternative writ.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand with instructions for the trial court to issue an alternative writ in mandamus directing the Commission to show cause why Porter’s petition should not be granted.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
MINER and ALLEN, JJ., concur.
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Lewis v. Fla. Parole Comm'n, 697 So. 2d 965 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)…the prisoner is incarcerated. On the other hand, the proper method of challenging a presumptive parole release date is by a petition for a writ of mandamus, filed in the Circuit Court of Leon County. See Porter v. Florida Parole & Probation Comm’n, 603 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). The Parole Commission argues that the issue of venue is moot because appellant did not appeal the change of venue to the Second Judicial Circuit in the Second District Court of Appeal. Even were we to accept this argument, howe…
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- Parole & Prob. Comm'n v. Fuller, 491 So. 2d 275 (Fla. 1986)