RICHARD FREEMAN BROWN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Richard Freeman Brown appealed the dismissal of his postconviction relief motions filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. The circuit court dismissed the motions as untimely and as raising issues that should have been addressed on direct appeal. The appellate court reversed, holding that jurisdictional issues raised in rule 3.850 motions are not subject to the two-year filing limitation and must be addressed on the merits.
The two-year limitation period for rule 3.850 motions does not apply to challenges based on lack of jurisdiction. Jurisdictional defects may be raised at any time in a rule 3.850 motion, and the circuit court must address the merits of such claims. If the jurisdictional issues were previously raised, the court must demonstrate that the current motions are successive; if not previously raised, they must be considered on the merits.
[1] A postconviction relief motion raising jurisdictional issues may be considered even if filed beyond the rule's time limitation period.
[2] A void judgment may be collaterally attacked at any time.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Postconviction relief is available if the trial court did not have jurisdiction to enter the judgment under attack. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(a). A void judgment may be collaterally attacked at any time.”
Establishes the foundational rule that jurisdictional defects are not subject to time limitations in rule 3.850 proceedings.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBrown was convicted in two separate cases (93-388 and 95-1660) in Volusia County circuit court. In case 93-388, he was convicted of racketeering and r…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Richard Freeman Brown, appeals the order dismissing his motions for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Brown submitted two rule 3.850 motions in May 2005 regarding Volusia County circuit case numbers 93-388 and 95-1660. The circuit court dismissed the rule 3.850 motions as untimely, as they were filed beyond the rule’s two-year limitation period. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(b). The circuit court also stated that the issues raised therein either were, or should have been, raised on direct appeal.
There is no question that the current rule 3.850 motions were filed more than two years after the judgments and sentences in the two cases became final. Moreover, the rule 3.850 motions are successive, as Brown had submitted prior rule 3.850motions regarding the same cases. However, both of the current rule 3.850 motions raise jurisdictional issues, and it is unclear whether these issues were raised previously.
In case number 93-388, Brown was convicted of, and sentenced for, racketeering and numerous counts of uttering a forged document, grand theft, and petit theft. The Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed Brown’s racketeering conviction and the petit theft conviction. See Brown v. State, 652 So. 2d 877 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). The case was remanded for resentencing on Brown’s remaining convictions. After resentencing, the State took an appeal. Brown alleges that while the State’s appeal was pending, the circuit court granted the rule 3.850 motion he had submitted and ordered a new trial. At his second trial, Brown was found guilty of all offenses as charged. In the current rule 3.850motion referencing case number 93-388, Brown claims that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to rule on his prior 3.850motion during the pendency of the State’s appeal. Brown argues that the order granting his rule 3.850 motion was a nullity, and the subsequent trial and judgment were also null and void.
In case number 95-1660, Brown was convicted of multiple counts of uttering a forgery and one count of organized fraud. His judgment and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. See Brown v. State, 722 So. 2d 204 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). In the rule 3.850 motion referencing case number 95-1660, Brown claims that the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor lacked jurisdiction to prosecute the case as all of the offenses occurred in Volusia County, Florida.
Postconviction relief is available if the trial court did not have jurisdiction to enter the judgment under attack. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(a). A void judgment may be collaterally attacked at any time. See Harrell v. State, 721 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 5th DCA), review dismissed, 728 So. 2d 205 (Fla.1998); Booker v. State, 497 So. 2d 957 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). If the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor files an information but lacks jurisdiction to prosecute a case, then the trial court’s jurisdiction is not properly invoked. See Winter v. State, 781 So. 2d 1111 (Fla. 1st DCA), review denied, 799 So. 2d 219 (Fla.2001).
As Brown raised jurisdictional issues in both of his rule 3.850 motions, the circuit court should have addressed them. Instead, the circuit court erroneously concluded that these issues were untimely presented and either were, or should have been, raised on direct appeal. If these jurisdictional issues were raised on appeal or in a previous 3.850 motion, the court should have attached portions of the record to show that the instant rule 3.850 motions are successive and constitute an abuse of procedure. If these jurisdictional issues were not previously raised, then the circuit court should consider them on the merits. The order dismissing the rule 3.850motions is reversed, and the case is remanded for further consideration of the claims raised therein.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
SHARP, W., GRIFFIN, and SAWAYA, JJ., concur.
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Carbajal v. State, 75 So. 3d 258 (Fla. 2011)…or sentence was barred by the time limits of rule 3.850. The Second District certified that its decision on this issue expressly and directly conflicts with the following decisions: Gunn v. State, 947 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); Brown v. State, 917 So. 2d 272 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005); Harris v. State, 854 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003); and Harrell v. State, 721 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. Although the Second District’s ruling was based on its hold…
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Luger v. State, 983 So. 2d 49 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…waiver. In a subsequent appeal by the same defendant, Winter v. State, 865 So. 2d 555 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003), the court held that if the statewide prosecutor did not have jurisdiction everything filed thereafter was a nullity. See also Brown v. State, 917 So. 2d 272 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) (conviction based on an information which did not reflect jurisdiction in the statewide prosecutor is void and subject to collateral attack at any time). We are persuaded by these cases that the issue appellant raises is one of…
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Gunn v. State, 947 So. 2d 551 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)…f, but not its dismissal. We agree with the defendant that a trial court should review the merits of a postconviction motion, even if untimely, which raises a jurisdictional issue that was not previously considered on the merits. See Brown v. State, 917 So. 2d 272 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) (reversing summary denial of rule 3.850 motion, and holding that the trial court was required to address the merits of defendant’s motions for postconviction relief where they raised jurisdictional issues that were not previously…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Winter v. State, 781 So. 2d 1111 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
- Brown v. State, 652 So. 2d 877 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Gainey v. State, 721 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)
- Booker v. State, 497 So. 2d 957 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)