JULIO MANTILLA, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
Mantilla appealed the trial court's dismissal of his petition to expunge or seal a criminal record based on the trial court's interpretation that a certificate of eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement must be filed with the petition itself. The appellate court reversed, holding that the statute merely requires the petition to be "complete" when the certificate is submitted, but does not mandate simultaneous filing.
The statute does not require the certificate of eligibility to be filed simultaneously with the petition, but only that the petition file is deemed "complete" and eligible for consideration on the merits once the certificate is submitted. The statute does not infringe on the Supreme Court's rule-making authority when properly construed.
[1] A petition for expungement or sealing of a criminal history record is not considered complete until accompanied by a certificate of eligibility from the Florida Departmen…
[2] A statute requiring a certificate of eligibility to accompany a petition for expungement or sealing of a criminal history record does not infringe upon the Florida Suprem…
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“We do not interpret the 1992 legislation as attempting to prescribe matters of procedure. Subsections 943.0585(1) and 943.059(1) say only that a petition is "complete" when accompanied by the certificate of eligibility.”
Establishes the court's interpretation that the statute addresses petition completeness, not procedural requirements
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMantilla filed a petition to expunge or seal his criminal record under the new 1992 legislation. The trial court dismissed the petition because Mantil…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Sealing Of Criminal Records cases and more on FLexlaw
COPE, Judge.
Julio Mantilla appeals an order denying his motion to expunge or seal a criminal record. We reverse.
The 1992 legislature enacted new requirements for the expungement of criminal history records, other than judicial records. Ch. 92-73, §§ 3-5, Laws of Fla., creating §§ 943.0585 and 943.059, Fla.Stat. (Supp.1992), and repealing § 943.053, Fla.Stat. (1991). The Florida Supreme Court has acknowledged that in order to implement the new legislation appropriately, revisions will be needed to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.692 and Form 3.989. In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 606 So. 2d 227 (Fla.1992).
The major change accomplished by the 1992 legislation is to require a petitioner for expungement or sealing of a criminal history record to obtain a certificate of eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. §§ 943.0585(1), 943.-059(1), Fla.Stat. (Supp.1992). The certificate will in essence inform the trial court whether the particular criminal history record falls into the statutory category of records eligible for sealing or expungement. Id.
The trial court interpreted the new statute as requiring the certificate of eligibility to be filed with the petition. Since that had not been done, the court dismissed the petition. Mantilla appeals, contending that the statute infringes the Florida Supreme Court’s rule-making authority. See Art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. We do not interpret the 1992 legislation as attempting to prescribe matters of procedure. Subsections 943.0585(1) and 943.059(1) say only that a petition is “complete” when accompanied by the certificate of eligibility. We do not read the statute as requiring the certificate to be filed simultaneously with the petition, but only that the file will not be deemed complete and eligible for consideration on the merits until the certificate of eligibility is submitted. In our view this construction effectuates the legislative intent while avoiding an interpretation which would infringe on the Supreme Court’s rulemaking authority. See Leapai v. Milton, 595 So. 2d 12, 14 (Fla.1992).
In sum, until the Rules are revised, those seeking the expungement or sealing of criminal history records should continue to comply with Rule 3.692 and Form 3.989 by filing the petition and affidavit prescribed therein. Until the Rules are modified to specify otherwise, the certificate of eligibility may accompany the petition or may be filed subsequently.
In our view the trial court should not have dismissed the petition for failure to annex the Department of Law Enforcement certificate to the petition, but should instead have allowed the petitioner an opportunity to obtain and file the certificate. The clerk should have accepted the petition for filing in any event. See Mattson v. Kolhage, 569 So. 2d 1358, 1359 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). Construing the statute as stated here, we concur with the trial court that chapter 92-73, Laws of Florida, does not infringe the Florida Supreme Court’s rule-making authority. See Art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; cf. Johnson v. State, 336 So. 2d 93 (Fla.1976) (constitutional analysis of a previous statute). See generally State v. Pena, 593 So. 2d 282 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (en banc).
The order under review is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Tucker v. Ruvin, 748 So. 2d 376 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…s "clear legal right," our discussion of petitioner's right to access to courts is dispositive. It follows from that conclusion that the Clerk of the Court had a clear legal, ministerial duty to accept the pleading for filing. See Mantilla v. State, 615 So. 2d 809 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Kollin v. Ader, 591 So. 2d 320 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Mattson v. Kolhage, 569 So. 2d 1358 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990).…
Authorities Cited
- Johnson v. State, 336 So. 2d 93 (Fla. 1976)
- Leapai v. Milton, 595 So. 2d 12 (Fla. 1992)
- In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, 606 So. 2d 227 (Fla. 1992)
- Mattson v. Kolhage, 569 So. 2d 1358 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- State v. Pena, 593 So. 2d 282 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)
- Mantilla v. Hon. Stanley Goldstein, 608 So. 2d 828 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)