MICHAEL SCHUBERT, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. 1st DCA | 1998-06-03
No. 97-3964
WOLF, WEBSTER and DAVIS, JJ., concur.
737 So. 2d 1102 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1998) Positive Treatment
Cited by 38 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

Schubert sought a belated appeal, claiming his trial counsel failed to timely file a notice of appeal despite his instructions. The court withdrew its initial opinion and remanded to the circuit court for an evidentiary hearing before a special master after the State presented a good faith factual dispute, including counsel's affidavit denying the request.


Holding

When a petition for belated appeal contains factual allegations that are not disputed, the court may grant the petition without an evidentiary hearing. However, when the State makes good faith factual allegations that dispute the petitioner's claims, the court must relinquish jurisdiction to the circuit court for appointment of a special master to conduct an evidentiary hearing to resolve the disputed facts.


Headnotes

[1] A petition for belated appeal is facially sufficient to justify relief if its allegations are not disputed.

[2] A state must allege a good faith basis for disputing factual allegations in a petition for belated appeal before an appellate court will order an evidentiary hearing.

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Key Quotes

“the state must allege a good faith basis for disputing the factual allegations in the petition for belated appeal before this court will order an evidentiary hearing”

Establishes the legal standard for when an evidentiary hearing is required in belated appeal cases

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Facts & Procedural History

Michael Schubert filed a sworn petition for belated appeal alleging that he timely instructed his trial counsel to file a notice of appeal, but counse…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Upon consideration of the motion for rehearing filed by the State of Florida, we grant rehearing and withdraw the opinion filed March 31, 1998, and substitute this opinion. Because there are disputed issues of fact concerning whether petitioner made a timely request to his trial counsel to file a notice of appeal, by unpublished order rendered this date, we relinquish jurisdiction to the circuit court for appointment of a special master to serve as a commissioner for this court to make findings of fact to resolve this issue.

In his sworn petition for belated appeal and supplemental affidavit, petitioner Michael Schubert stated that he timely instructed his trial counsel to file a notice of appeal, but his trial counsel failed to file the notice. The allegations of that petition were facially sufficient to justify the grant of a belated appeal, if not disputed. This court issued an order to show cause. In response to that order, the state argued that an evidentiary hearing is necessary to determine whether trial counsel was ineffective in failing to timely file a notice of appeal. The state failed to present a good faith factual basis for opposing the relief requested by petitioner, and we therefore issued our original opinion explaining that when the petitioner’s entitlement to a belated appeal does not depend on a determination of disputed, facts, it is unnecessary for this court to appoint a commissioner to make a report and recommendation. See Hammond v. State, 706 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998); Dubois v. State, 705 So. 2d 713 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998).1 Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(j), created a new procedure for filing original petitions for belated appeal directly in this court. That procedure has been inconsistently applied, as our sister court noted in Denson v. State, 710 So. 2d 144 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998).

Some petitioners were granted belated appeals based solely upon the fact that there were no disputed issues of fact, while others have been required to establish entitlement to the belated appeal in evidentiary proceedings. Id. We explained in Dubois, supra, and Hammond v. State, supra, as well as our original opinion in this case, that the state must allege a good faith basis for disputing the factual allegations in the petition for belated appeal before this court will order an evidentiary hearing.

However, the state’s response to the order to show cause was required to be filed before those opinions were filed.

The State’s motion for rehearing does contain the necessary allegations to set forth a good faith basis for disputing the petitioner’s allegations that he asked his trial counsel to file a timely notice of appeal. The state represents to this court that an investigation disclosed that Schubert’s trial counsel denies having been asked by petitioner to file a notice of appeal. Indeed, the state has gone further than required, and has produced evidence to conflict with the representations of Schubert’s petition, in the form of an affidavit from Schubert’s trial counsel to support the state’s representations.

Accordingly, we elect to treat the state’s motion for rehearing as a supplemental response to the order to show cause. See Denson v. State, supra. The state having now made sufficient allegations to raise a disputed question of fact concerning whether petitioner instructed his trial counsel to file a notice of appeal, by unpublished order issued on this date, we relinquish jurisdiction to the circuit court for appointment of a special master to serve as commissioner for this court to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the petitioner’s entitlement to a belated appeal.

WOLF, WEBSTER and DAVIS, JJ., concur. . Although it may appear that we have suggested in earlier opinions that the state is required to come forward with evidence to refute petitioner's sworn petition, it is sufficient for the state to set forth a good faith basis for its opposition to the relief requested.


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Citator

Cited By (19 total)

  • Brooks v. State, 816 So. 2d 199 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)
    …lead a request on petitioner’s part, regardless of other circumstances, in order to be entitled to a belated appeal; Thereafter, petitioner filed an amended petition alleging this theory. By order entered October 18, 2000, citing Schubert v. State, 737 So. 2d 1102 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), this court asked the chief judge of the eighth judicial circuit to appoint a special master to serve as commissioner, conduct a hearing and make findings and conclusions “regarding petitioner’s entitlement to a belated appeal.”…
    1 / 2
  • Elwood Staley v. State, 12 So. 3d 778 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)
    …are facially sufficient to demonstrate an entitlement to relief, the state is obligated to show the existence of a good-faith basis for disputing petitioner’s factual allegations before an evidentiary hearing will be ordered. See Schubert v. State, 737 So. 2d 1102 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998). Thus, the process we have employed to date required the Attorney General’s staff to contact defense counsel who might be distantly situated and with whom it has little or no prior professional relationship. These obstacles of di…
  • Turner v. State, 745 So. 2d 535 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
    …ss theory as to that portion of the petition is without merit. The respondent’s opposition to the petition is limited to its timeliness argument and we find accordingly that petitioner is entitled to the belated appeal he seeks. Schubert v. State, 737 So. 2d 1102 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998). The petition for belated appeal from judgment and sentence in Oka-loosa County case number 95-961 CFA is granted. Upon issuance of mandate in this cause, a copy of this opinion shall be provided to the clerk of the lower tribuna…

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