MACK REED TEDDER, II, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Affirmed dismissal of a declaratory judgment action attempting to collaterally attack a 38-year-old murder conviction, holding that a defendant cannot circumvent Rule 3.850's time bar by filing a civil action for declaratory relief.
A defendant cannot use a civil declaratory judgment action to circumvent the time limitations of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 for collateral attacks on criminal convictions.
[1] A civil declaratory judgment action cannot be used to circumvent the time limitations of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 for collateral attacks on criminal convi…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The 'declaratory decree statute is no substitute for established procedure for review of final judgments or decrees. Nor is it a device for collateral attack upon them.'”
Court explaining that civil declaratory judgment procedures cannot circumvent criminal procedure rules and time limitations.
Mack Reed Tedder, II filed a declaratory judgment action alleging defects in the information charging him with first degree murder, seeking to collate…
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In an attempt to collaterally attack his 38-year-old first degree murder conviction, Mack Reed Tedder, II, filed a declaratory judgment action alleging defects in the underlying information charging him with murder. The trial court dismissed the complaint, and we affirm. Tedder’s collateral attack is time-barred under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, and a defendant cannot circumvent that rule by filing a civil action for declaratory judgment. See, e.g., Hollywood Lakes Section Civic Ass’n, Inc. v. City of Hollywood, 676 So.2d 500 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (“The ‘declaratory decree statute is no substitute for established procedure for review of final judgments or decrees. Nor is it a device for collateral attack upon them.’”) (quoting deMarigny v. deMarigny, 43 So.2d 442, 445 (Fla.1949)); Stahl v. Wilson, 121 So.2d 662, 663 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960) (“[T]he declaratory decree proceeding is not a substitute for established procedure for review of final judgments and decrees. Nor is it a device for collateral attack upon them.”); see also State ex rel. Butterworth v. Kenny, 714 So.2d 404, 409-10 (Fla.1998) (explaining that “postconviction relief proceedings, while technically classified as civil actions, are actually quasi-criminal in nature because they are heard and disposed of by courts with criminal jurisdiction,” and indicating that a purely civil action cannot be used to test the legality of a criminal conviction or sentence).
AFFIRMED.
TORPY, J., and PLEUS, JR., R., Senior Judge, concur.
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Cheatham v. Fla. Comm'n on Offender Review, 172 So. 3d 556 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. Tedder v. State, 12 So. 3d 265 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (declaratory action not available to test legality of final order or judgment); X Corp. v. Y Person, 622 So. 2d 1098, 1100 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993) (failure to allege doubt or uncertainty of rights, responsibilities, or status fatal to…
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Vasquez v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)…n); State v. Vasquez, 918 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006); King v. State, 911 So. 2d 229 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (en banc); Sheppard v. State, 907 So. 2d 1259 (Fla. - 2 - 2d DCA 2005); Haynes v. State, 106 So. 3d 481 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013); Tedder v. State, 12 So. 3d 265 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009). NORTHCUTT, MORRIS, and BLACK, JJ., Concur.…
Authorities Cited
- State of Fla. ex rel. Robert A. Butterworth v. Kenny, 714 So. 2d 404 (Fla. 1998)
- Demarigny v. Demarigny, 43 So. 2d 442 (Fla. 1949)
- Hollywood Lakes Section Civic Ass'n, Inc. v. City OF Hollywood, 676 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- Malcolm Stahl and wife v. Wilson, 121 So. 2d 662 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)