CARLOS PAGAN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Carlos Pagan appeals the summary denial of his postconviction relief motion on timeliness grounds. The court reverses because a factual question exists regarding when Pagan delivered his motion to prison officials, requiring an evidentiary hearing to apply the mailbox rule.
The court reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing because Pagan's allegation that he timely entrusted the motion to prison officials is a facially sufficient claim requiring fact-finding. If Pagan establishes timely entrustment and the State challenges the claim, there is a rebuttable presumption the document was timely filed based on the date reflected in the certificate of service.
[1] Under the mailbox rule, a pro se inmate's filing is deemed effective at the time the document is entrusted to prison officials for mailing.
[2] An amended postconviction motion may be considered even if filed outside the statutory time limit if it enlarges upon grounds raised in a timely filed original motion.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“under the mailbox rule, a pro se inmate's document is deemed filed when the inmate entrusts the document to prison officials for further delivery or processing”
Establishes the governing legal standard for determining when postconviction documents by incarcerated litigants are considered filed.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePagan filed a motion to refile his postconviction relief motion on March 26, 2004. He claimed he originally delivered the motion to prison officials o…
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SILBERMAN, Judge.
Carlos Pagan appeals the trial court’s summary denial of his motion for posteon-viction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. The trial court denied relief on the basis that the motion was untimely. Because a factual question exists as to whether Pagan’s motion was timely filed, we reverse.and remand for the trial court to hold an evidentiary hearing.
On March 26, 2004, Pagan filed a motion to “refile” his motion for postconviction relief. He alleged that he originally filed the motion for relief by delivering it to prison officials on December 7, 2002. However, he attached a copy of his original motion, which shows the date of September 7, 2002, as the date that it was signed and delivered to prison authorities for mailing. The trial court noted the discrepancy in dates, and Pagan asserts that the reference to December 7 is a typographical error. The date is significant because under the mailbox rule, a pro se inmate’s document is deemed filed when the inmate entrusts the document to prison officials for further delivery or processing. See Haag v. State, 591 So. 2d 614, 617 (Fla.1992); see also Bulley v. State, 857 So. 2d 237, 239 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (stating that under the mailbox rule, “the date reflected on the certificate of service is presumed to be the date on which the document is filed”).
Pagan alleged that after he gave the original motion to prison officials, he sent two letters to the trial court inquiring as to the motion’s status. He asserted that in January 2004 the clerk of the court notified him that it had no record of his motion. He then filed his motion to refile the original motion.
The trial court correctly noted that Pagan’s motion for postconviction relief had to be filed within two years of the date that the judgment and sentence became final. Based on the date shown by the mandate issued by this court following Pagan’s direct appeal, the motion for postcon-viction relief had to be filed by December 4, 2002. The trial court stated that it was not convinced that Pagan had submitted the original motion to prison officials on December 7, 2002, and treated Pagan’s motion for refiling and the original motion as filed when they were received by the court on March 26, 2004. On that basis, the court concluded that the motion for postconviction relief was untimely.
The trial court did not comment regarding the September 7, 2002, date actually shown on Pagan’s original motion. If the motion had, in fact, been entrusted to prison authorities on September 7, 2002, then it appears the motion was timely filed under the mailbox rule. Under these circumstances, we conclude that Pagan’s allegation that he timely filed the original motion by delivering it to prison officials is a facially sufficient claim requiring an evidentiary hearing. See Jones v. State, 785 So. 2d 561, 561 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (remanding for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the defendant timely created the postconviction document and entrusted it to prison officials). If Pagan establishes the timely entrustment of his motion, and if the State challenges Pagan’s assertion that the motion was timely filed, “there is a rebuttable presumption that the document was timely filed based on the date reflected in the certificate of service.” Id. at 562.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing to resolve this issue.
Reversed and remanded.
VILLANTI and WALLACE, JJ„ Concur.
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Lawson v. State, 107 So. 3d 1228 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)…er been physically filed with the clerk of the circuit court. However, “under the mailbox rule, a pro se inmate’s document is deemed filed when the inmate entrusts the document to prison officials for further delivery or processing.” Pagan v. State, 899 So. 2d 1203, 1204 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005); see Griffin v. Sistuenck, 816 So. 2d 600, 601 (Fla.2002) (“Under the mailbox rule, a notice is deemed filed when it is delivered to prison authorities for mailing.”). Mr. Lawson presented the postconviction court "with a mo…
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Reashod Rosier v. State, 144 So. 3d 604 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)…ment was untimely, and we must reverse. Where such a presumption arises, the burden shifts “to the State to prove that the document was not timely placed in prison officials’ hands for mailing.” Thompson, 761 So. 2d at 326; see also Pagan v. State, 899 So. 2d 1203, 1205 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (reversing and remanding for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the defendant timely created the motion and entrusted it to prison officials). Thus, on remand, the posteonviction court should allow the State an oppo…
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Dubose v. State, 906 So. 2d 1230 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…R, C.J., and CASANUEVA and KELLY, JJ., Concur. . The trial court’s order states that Dubose filed his motion for rehearing on August 31, 2004. However, his motion was delivered-to prison officials for mailing on August 24, 2004. See Pagan v. State, 899 So. 2d 1203 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005).…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Thurston McCLAIN, 591 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 1992)
- Haag v. State, 591 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 1992)
- Bulley v. State, 857 So. 2d 237 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
- Jones v. State, 785 So. 2d 561 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)