DAVID ANTHONY SUMLER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2007-05-25
No. 1D05-5242
BROWNING, C.J., POLSTON, and HAWKES, JJ., concur.
958 So. 2d 1001 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2007) Positive Treatment
Cited by 7 cases

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Synopsis

Sumler appeals a circuit court order denying his Motion for Relief from Order and holding he had no right to pursue a direct appeal from the denial of his habeas corpus petition. The court reverses, holding that orders denying habeas petitions are reviewable by direct appeal to the district court, not just by certiorari.


Holding

A final order of the circuit court granting or denying a petition for writ of habeas corpus is reviewable by direct appeal to the appropriate district court of appeal. An original habeas action in the circuit court is not a quasi-judicial appeal subject to the restrictions on belated appeals, but rather an original action challenging the judgment and sentence.


Headnotes

[1] A final order of the circuit court granting or denying a petition for writ of habeas corpus is reviewable by direct appeal to the appropriate district court of appeal.

[2] A petition for writ of habeas corpus filed in the circuit court challenging a judgment and sentence is an original action, not an appeal from a quasi-judicial decision of…

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Key Quotes

“a final order of the circuit court granting or denying a petition for writ of habeas corpus is reviewable by appeal to the appropriate district court of appeal”

Establishes the central holding that habeas denial orders are directly appealable, not limited to certiorari review.

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Facts & Procedural History

Sumler was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 24 years in prison. In January 2005, he filed a Motion for Writ of Ha…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant David A. Sumler appeals a circuit court order denying his Motion for Relief from Order, and holding that appellant has no right to pursue a direct appeal from the court’s previous order denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus. We reverse the circuit court’s order, and remand for further proceedings.

Appellant was originally convicted on one count of aggravated battery with the use of a deadly weapon, and sentenced to twenty-four years in prison. In January 2005, appellant filed a Motion for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the First Judicial Circuit Court for Escambia County. The circuit court denied his motion. Appellant admits he received the order at the jail on February 17, 2005; nonetheless, allegedly for reasons related to his health, appellant neglected to file an appeal within thirty days.

Accordingly, appellant filed a motion for belated appeal in this court.

On August 30, 3005, we denied the motion, citing Powell v. Florida Department of Corrections, 727 So. 2d 1103 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999) (holding that a motion for belated appeal in a criminal proceeding, pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(j) (currently Rule 9.141(c)), was inapplicable to an appeal from an order denying a habeas petition, a civil proceeding, and thus denying the motion without prejudice to appellant’s right to file a Motion for Relief from Judgment, pursuant to Rule 1.540(b).). Appellant then filed the instant Motion for Relief from Order in the circuit court, pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b)(1).

On September 22, 2006, the circuit court denied appellant’s motion, noting, “[t]he defendant may not appeal the court’s denial [of his habeas petition] on the merits, but must instead petition the appellate court for a writ of certiorari.”

Appellant argues that the circuit court erred in denying his motion on these grounds, because an order on a petition for writ of habeas corpus is subject to review through a direct appeal.

We agree. Appellant’s habeas petition was an original action in the circuit court challenging appellant’s judgment and sentence, rather than an appeal from a quasi-judicial decision of an administrative tribunal.

Accordingly, Florida law provides, “[a] final order of the circuit court granting or denying a petition for writ of habeas corpus is reviewable by appeal to the appropriate district court of appeal.” See Philip J. Padovano, Florida Appellate Practice § 28.6 (2002); see also Reniewicz v. State, 734 So. 2d 1115, 1116 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (“The proper vehicle for review of a trial court’s ruling on a petition for habeas corpus in this circumstance is by appeal”).

Therefore, we reverse the circuit court’s order denying appellant’s Motion for Relief from Judgment, and remand the ease to the circuit court for further proceedings.

BROWNING, C.J., POLSTON, and HAWKES, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Padilla v. Jones, 171 So. 3d 226 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)
    …PER CURIAM. DISMISSED. The dismissal is without prejudice to appellant’s right to seek relief in the trial court. Sumler v. State, 958 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). ROBERTS, C. J., BENTON and LEWIS, JJ., concur.…
  • Anderson v. State, 171 So. 3d 804 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)
    …PER CURIAM. DISMISSED. The dismissal is without prejudice to appellant’s right to seek relief in the trial court. Sumler v. State, 958 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). ROBERTS, C. J., BENTON and LEWIS, JJ., concur.…
  • Permenter v. Fla. Dep't OF Corr., 172 So. 3d 572 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)
    …PER CURIAM. DISMISSED. The dismissal is without prejudice to appellant’s right to seek relief in the trial court. Sumter v. State, 958 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). ROBERTS, C. J., WOLF and THOMAS, JJ., concur.…

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