MELISSA NOLET, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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.
Melissa Nolet petitioned for a writ of prohibition to bar her prosecution on speedy trial grounds, claiming she did not effectively waive her speedy trial rights. The First District Court of Appeal denied the petition, holding that a prohibition proceeding is not the appropriate remedy to resolve disputed factual issues regarding the validity of a speedy trial waiver.
A writ of prohibition is not an appropriate remedy to address disputed factual questions regarding the validity of a speedy trial waiver. The appropriateness of prohibition is limited to reviewing the legal sufficiency of the order denying discharge, not resolving factual disputes or evidentiary sufficiency.
[1] A writ of prohibition is not an appropriate remedy to review the legal sufficiency of an order denying discharge when the validity of a speedy trial waiver presents a con…
[2] A prohibition proceeding is not designed to determine disputed issues of fact or to review the sufficiency of evidence supporting a trial court's findings.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[QUOTE REDACTED — failed verbatim audit (paraphrase, not verbatim). See original_text for the text as originally displayed.]”
Establishes the court's core holding that factual disputes regarding speedy trial waivers are not appropriately resolved in prohibition proceedings.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA one-count information charging Nolet with a felony was filed on August 31, 2005. On October 27, 2005, Nolet signed a notice for a case management co…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Disputed Issues Of Material Fact cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Melissa Nolet petitions this court for a writ of prohibition, contending that her prosecution on certain criminal charges is barred by operation of the speedy trial rule. Because we find that the issue is not one which is appropriately addressed in a prohibition petition, we deny the petition without prejudice.
A one-count information was filed on August 31, 2005, charging petitioner with a felony. On October 27, 2005, the defendant signed a notice for case management conference which included language that “agreement to the trial date above may constitute a waiver of speedy trial.” The document itself, however, has no entry on the line reserved for the trial date. The information was amended and the defense filed a notice of expiration of speedy trial time and moved for a discharge. After a timely hearing under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(p)(3) on December 12, 2005, the request for discharge was denied and the case was set for trial.
Although petitioner makes several arguments, it is apparent to this court that the trial court denied relief because it found that petitioner waived her speedy trial rights when the October 27, 2005, notice was signed by Nolet. Petitioner contends there was no effective waiver. We conclude that the validity of the waiver is a controlling question of disputed fact and therefore, under the rationale of McKinney v. Yawn, 625 So. 2d 885 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993), petitioner’s claim cannot be addressed in this prohibition proceeding:
It is evident that this prohibition proceeding is only appropriate to review the legal sufficiency of the order denying discharge; it is not an appropriate proceeding for determining disputed issues of fact or to review the sufficiency of the evidence to support the trial court’s findings on which the order denying discharge is based.
Id. at 886. Our conclusion regarding the inappropriateness of the prohibition remedy is reinforced by petitioner’s inability to obtain a transcript of the December 12, 2005, hearing until several weeks after the petition was filed with this court and the trial was scheduled to commence.
The petition for writ of prohibition is denied in accordance with McKinney v. Yawn. This disposition, of course, is without prejudice to petitioner’s right to raise the speedy trial issue on appeal if she is convicted and an appeal is taken for review of the judgment and sentence.
PETITION DENIED.
ALLEN and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur. BENTON, J., dissents with opinion.
BENTON, J.,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. If the trial court concluded that the “petitioner waived her speedy trial rights when [she signed] the October 27, 2005, notice,” it did so in error, in my opinion, since the form reflects no agreement to any trial date.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Joseph v. State, 103 So. 3d 227 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)…; Laverde v. State, 933 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (statute of limitations). Speedy trial claims, on the other hand, may be reviewed by prohibition before trial, but only where the claim does not turn on disputed issues of fact. Nolet v. State, 920 So. 2d 1214 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006). In Tsavaris v. Scruggs, 360 So. 2d 745 (Fla.1977), the Florida Supreme Court determined that prohibition was available to review before trial whether a defendant was immune from prosecution under the investigative subpoena stat…
-
Sarasota Cnty. v. Venice Hma, LLC (Fla. 2d DCA 2021)
Authorities Cited
- McKINNEY v. Honorable Theron A. Yawn, Jr., 625 So. 2d 885 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)