VINCENT JOSEPH CLARK, PETITIONER,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. 3d DCA | 1997-08-13
No. 97-1533
Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., SORONDO, J., and BARKDULL, Senior Judge.
698 So. 2d 1274 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1997) Positive Treatment
Cited by 14 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

Clark filed a motion for discharge after the 175-day speedy trial period expired, but he was only entitled to file a notice of expiration of speedy trial time to trigger a 15-day recapture period. The court held that Clark's failure to use the correct procedural mechanism—a notice rather than a motion—prevented him from properly asserting his speedy trial rights, and prohibition was denied.


Holding

Prohibition is denied. A defendant must file the notice of expiration of speedy trial time, not a motion for discharge, to properly invoke the 15-day recapture period following expiration of the 175-day speedy trial period. Clark cannot rely on the substance of his request when he failed to comply with the required procedural form.


Headnotes

[1] A "notice of expiration of speedy trial time" under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(h) must be filed after the speedy trial period has expired to be valid.

[2] A "motion for discharge" under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(j) may not be granted unless it is well-taken when filed, and thus does not necessitate immediate…

Previewing 2 of 6 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

“In accordance with the precise purpose a "notice" is designed to serve under the scheme carefully crafted by rule 3.191(p), the filing of a document which is so designated alerts the clerk and the prosecution that the ease must immediately be brought to the attention of the court by placing it on its calendar within a day or two so that the recapture period may be complied with.”

Explains the functional distinction between a notice of expiration and a motion for discharge, establishing why procedural form matters

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

Clark was charged with a crime and the 175-day speedy trial period under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a) expired. Instead of filing the re…

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
SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

After the 175-day speedy trial time provided by Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(a), had expired, Clark sought to take advantage of that fact by filing a “motion for discharge” from the prosecution against him. Admittedly, he was not at the time eligible for that relief; rather, he was entitled only to a trial within a fifteen-day recapture period, the right to which would have been triggered by a “notice of expiration of speedy trial time” as provided by Rule 3.191(h), (p)(2),(p)(3)1; compare Fla. R.Crim.P. 3.191(j) (referring to “motion for discharge”).2 See State v. Reaves, 609 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992), review denied, 623 So. 2d 494 (Fla.1993). Although no such “notice” was filed, he now seeks prohibition on the ground that he was not tried within fifteen days after the motion for discharge. Because, in effect, he never asked for that “speedy trial” below by filing the requisite notice, and sought instead only a “speedy dismissal,” see State v. Guzman, 697 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997), which was not justified, the petition cannot be granted.

For very practical reasons which played themselves out in this very case, we reject the petitioner’s contention that such a holding improperly elevates the “form” of the motion over its “substance” which he now says was simply to invoke whatever speedy trial rights were then available. In accordance with the precise purpose a “notice” is designed to serve under the scheme carefully crafted by rule 3.191(p), the filing of a document which is so designated alerts the clerk and the prosecution that the ease must immediately be brought to the attention of the court by placing it on its calendar within a day or two so that the recapture period may be complied with. See generally Salzero v. State, 697 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). On the other hand, since a “motion to discharge” may not be granted unless it is well taken when filed, see Sarrain v. State, 632 So. 2d 1063 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); see also Fla. R.Crim.P. 3.191(h), there is no necessity for scheduling it at any particular time. As defense counsel may well have anticipated, see Reaves, 609 So. 2d at 701, that is exactly what, as a direct result of the fact that a “motion” and not a “notice” was filed, occurred below. It was in fact not placed on the court’s calendar by anyone, including the defendant, until it was noticed by his attorney only, no doubt by coincidence, after more than fifteen days had elapsed — at which point, it was properly denied as prematurely filed. Sarrain, 632 So. 2d at 1063. Having thus attempted, as it were, to entrap the clerk, the prosecution and the court into depriving him of rights which he did not appropriately assert, the defendant cannot now argue that it does not matter that he did not claim them in the way required by the rule itself.

Looking at the matter from another legal direction, an application of the parol evidence rule,3 that one is bound by his unambiguous written word, see Hamilton Constr. Co. v. Board of Public Instruction, 65 So. 2d 729 (Fla.1953); 24 Fla.Jur.2d Evidence & Witnesses § 444 (1995), precludes accepting the notion that the “motion for discharge” should be read instead as a demand for a subsequent speedy trial. Indeed, after the other actors in the case had detrimentally relied upon his representations to the contrary, Clark is, to use still another legalism, “estopped” from even making that contention. See Macina v. Magumo, 100 So. 2d 369 (Fla.1958); Irby v. State, 450 So. 2d 1133 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); 22 Fla.Jur.2d Estoppel & Waiver § 55 (1980).

Prohibition denied.

BARKDULL, Sr. J., concurs.

SORONDO, J., specially concurs.

. (h) Notice of Expiration of Time for Speedy Trial; When Timely. A notice of expiration of speedy trial time shall be timely if filed and served on or after the expiration of the periods of time for trial provided for herein; however, a notice of expiration of speedy trial time filed before expiration of the period of time for trial is invalid and shall be stricken on motion of the prosecuting attorney.

* * * * H=

(p) Remedy for Failure to Try Defendant Within the Specified Time.

* * * * * *

(2) The defendant may, at any time after the expiration of the prescribed time period, file a notice of expiration of speedy trial time.

(3) No later than 5 days from the date of the filing of a notice of expiration of speedy trial time, the court shall hold a hearing on the notice and, unless the court finds that one of the reasons set forth in subdivision (j) exists, shall order that the defendant be brought to trial within 10 days. A defendant not brought to trial within the 10-day period through no fault of the defendant, on motion of the defendant or the court, shall be forever discharged from the crime, [emphasis supplied]

. (j) Delay and Continuances; Effect on Motion.

If trial of the accused does not commence within the periods of time established by this rule, a pending motion for discharge shall be granted by the court unless it is shown that:

(1) a time extension has been ordered under (i) and that extension has not expired;

(2) the failure to hold trial is attributable to the accused, a codefendant in the same trial, or their counsel;

(3) the accused was unavailable for trial under subdivision (k); or

(4) the demand referred to in subdivision (g) is invalid.

. This is not the first time contract principles have been deemed relevant, even controlling, in a criminal law context. See Novaton v. State, 634 So. 2d 607 (Fla.1994); State v. Frazier, 697 So. 2d 944 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997).

Concurrence
SORONDO, Judge

SORONDO, Judge

(specially concurring).

I concur -with all but the last paragraph and footnote 3 of the majority opinion.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • State v. Gibson, 783 So. 2d 1155 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)
    …(Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (holding that a defendant who filed a motion for discharge rather than a notice of expiration was not entitled to dismissal of the charges against him; defendant is entitled to speedy trial, not speedy dismissal); Clark v. State, 698 So. 2d 1274 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (same). Based upon the above analysis, we conclude that the trial court erred in ordering the discharge of the defendants from Counts I and III. We, therefore, reverse that order and remand this case for further proceedings. REV…
  • Dabkowski v. State, 711 So. 2d 1219 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)
    …ce for robbery with a deadly weapon.1 The primary issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred in not granting Dabkowski’s motion to dismiss and motion for discharge for violation of his speedy trial rights. We affirm, relying on Clark v. State, 698 So. 2d 1274 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). In Clark, .Judge Schwartz ruled in a similar ease that a defendant who filed a motion for discharge rather than a notice of expiration of speedy trial time as provided by Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(h), [*1220] (p)(…
  • State v. Hall, 903 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
    …xpiration of the speedy trial time. The State's argument that reversal is therefore required on this basis is meritless. The notice required by rule 3.191(p)(3) alerts the trial court's attention to the need for a prompt hearing. See Clark v. State, 698 So. 2d 1274, 1275 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). Here, the trial court held a hearing within five days of the filing of the motion.…

Previewing 3 of 7 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