SIDNEY HOWARD, PETITIONER,
v.
FLORIDA PAROLE COMMISSION, RESPONDENT
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Sidney Howard sought certiorari review of a circuit court's denial of his habeas corpus petition challenging the revocation of his conditional release supervision based on a positive marijuana test. The court granted the petition, finding that Howard's drug use occurred before he was placed on conditional release and therefore could not constitute a violation of its terms, and remanded for reconsideration in light of Tedder v. Florida Parole Commission.
The court held that Howard's admitted misconduct occurred prior to his placement on conditional release supervision and therefore cannot lawfully serve as a basis for revocation. The Parole Commission was not at liberty to reject the parole examiner's factual finding or interpret the evidence to fit its desired conclusion.
[1] A Parole Commission cannot revoke conditional release supervision based on misconduct that occurred prior to the defendant's placement on supervision.
[2] A Parole Commission may not reject a parole examiner's factual finding that misconduct occurred prior to placement on conditional release supervision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the Parole Commission was not at liberty to reject the parole examiner's factual finding that Howard's misconduct occurred prior to his placement on conditional release supervision, or to otherwise interpret the evidence to fit its desired conclusion”
Establishes that the Commission cannot override an examiner's factual findings or manipulate evidence to support a predetermined outcome
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHoward was tested three days after his release from prison and tested positive for marijuana. He admitted at the revocation hearing that he had smoked…
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PER CURIAM.
Sidney Howard seeks certiorari review of the circuit court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus, in which he challenged the revocation of his conditional release supervision. We grant the petition, quash the circuit court’s order, and remand for reconsideration in light of Tedder v. Florida Parole Commission, 842 So. 2d 1022 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).
Howard was charged with violating the terms of his conditional release supervision when a urinalysis test conducted three days after his release from prison yielded a positive result for the presence of marijuana. He admitted at the revocation hearing that he had smoked marijuana approximately one week before his release from prison, unaware at the time that he would be “on parole” following his release. The parole examiner accepted Howard’s testimony that his drug use occurred before he was placed on conditional release supervision, and thus found him not guilty of the alleged violation. Notwithstanding the examiner’s factual determination, the Parole Commission revoked Howard’s conditional release, finding that he had admitted his violation at the revocation hearing.
We conclude that the record presented to the circuit court does not support the conclusion that Howard admitted violating the terms of his conditional release supervision. Although the parole examiner’s written summary of the revocation hearing reflects that Howard entered a plea of “guilty” to the alleged violation, it is apparent from the substance of the summary that Howard was admitting only that he had used marijuana while still in prison and before being placed on conditional release. While the circuit court did not have the benefit of our decision in Tedder at the time it ruled, that decision makes it clear that the Parole Commission was not at liberty to reject the parole examiner’s factual finding that Howard’s misconduct occurred prior to his placement on conditional release supervision, or to otherwise interpret the evidence to fit its desired conclusion. Moreover, because Howard’s admitted misconduct occurred prior to entry of the order placing him on conditional release supervision, we reject the Parole Commission’s assertion that it may lawfully serve as a basis for revocation. Cf. Hinton v. State, 462 So. 2d 583 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); compare Stafford v. State, 455 So. 2d 385 (Fla.1984).
Accordingly, the order denying Howard’s petition for writ of habeas corpus is quashed, and as in Tedder, we remand the matter to the circuit court for reconsideration. We further direct the circuit court to expedite its reconsideration of Howard’s petition.
VAN NORTWICK, PADOVANO and HAWKES, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Tedder v. Fla. Parole Comm'n, 842 So. 2d 1022 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)
- Vendul Oliver Stafford v. State, 455 So. 2d 385 (Fla. 1984)
- Hinton v. State, 462 So. 2d 583 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)