JOHN W. STOUTAMIRE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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In this procedural order, the First District Court of Appeal grants John Stoutamire's motion for an extension of time to file his initial brief in his appeal of a summary denial of postconviction relief, but uses the opportunity to clarify that extensions filed after the deadline are disfavored and pro se litigants must comply with appellate rules.
The court grants the motion and allows Stoutamire 30 days from the date of the order to file his initial brief, but cautions that such late motions for extension are normally disfavored and will not typically be granted in future cases.
[1] Motions for extensions of time to file a brief, when filed after the time for filing the brief has expired, are generally not granted.
[2] Pro se litigants are not excused from complying with procedural rules.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“no briefs ... shall be required, but any appellant's brief shall be filed within 15 days of the filing of the notice of appeal”
Establishes the time requirement for filing initial briefs in postconviction relief appeals under amended Rule 9.140(i)
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceStoutamire filed a notice of appeal on March 5, 1997, making his initial brief due on March 20, 1997 under the amended Florida Rule of Appellate Proce…
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ORDER ON MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME
PER CURIAM.
Appellant, John W. Stoutamire, has filed a motion for extension of time to file his initial brief in this matter. We grant the motion. Appellant shall have 30 days from the date of this order to file his initial brief. Further briefing shall be in accordance with the Rules of Appellate Procedure. We write only to explain a change in the Rules of Appellate Procedure concerning briefs in such cases.
This is an appeal of an order which summarily denied appellant’s motion for posteon-viction relief. Effective January 1, 1997, Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(g), which governed such appeals, was changed. The amended rule, now Rule 9.140(i), provides in pertinent part: “no briefs ... shall be required, but any appellant’s brief shall be filed within 15 days of the filing of the notice of appeal.” In this case appellant’s notice of appeal was filed on March 5, 1997, and thus his initial brief was due under the new rule on March 20,1997. It was not until May 14, 1997, that appellant filed his motion for extension of time. There has been no objection by the State to that motion. Although we are granting the motion in this case, we remind litigants that normally motions for extensions of time to file a brief filed after the time for filing the brief has expired, will not be granted. We will not hesitate to apply that rule to this type of case. Most of these proceedings are handled by litigants pro se. The fact that they are not represented by a lawyer does not excuse them from complying with the procedural rules. Steele v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 596 So. 2d 1190, 1192 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). Litigants should be on notice that in appeals pursuant to Rule 9.140(i), the initial brief is due within 15 days from filing the notice of appeal.
MINER, LAWRENCE and PADOVANO, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Gillis v. State, 807 So. 2d 204 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…ate, 709 So. 2d 135 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) ("Briefs in summary appeals are now governed by rule 9.140(i) and must be filed with the appellate court within fifteen days of the filing of the notice of appeal.”). The First District, in Stoutamire v. State, 703 So. 2d 1065 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997), has ruled that briefs in a 3.850 appeal must be filed in fifteen days of filing of notice of appeal, and normally an extension will not be granted when the motion is filed after the time for filing the brief has expired. This co…
Authorities Cited
- Steele v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 596 So. 2d 1190 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)