STEVEN MERCER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The appellate court reversed the trial court's denial of a Rule 3.850 postconviction motion as untimely, holding that when the filing deadline falls on a weekend and the prison law library is closed, the deadline extends to the next business day when the inmate can deliver the motion to prison officials.
When a postconviction motion deadline falls on a weekend and the prison law library is closed, the deadline extends to the next business day when the inmate delivers the motion to prison officials.
[1] When a postconviction motion deadline falls on a weekend and the prison law library is closed, the deadline extends to the next business day when the inmate can deliver t…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMercer's case became final on July 5, 2006, making his Rule 3.850 motion due by July 5, 2008. July 5, 2008, was a Saturday, and the prison law library…
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The appellant appeals the trial court’s order denying his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion as untimely filed. The appellant’s case became final on July 5, 2006, and thus the motion was due to be filed, in accordance with the rule’s two-year filing deadline, by July 5, 2008. However, July 5, 2008, was a Saturday. The appellant placed the motion into the hands of prison officials on Monday, July 7, 2008. The lower court denied the motion as untimely filed.
The State, in response to this Court’s show cause order issued pursuant to Toler v. State, 493 So.2d 489 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), responded that the prison law library, which it asserts is responsible for accepting and mailing to the court postcon-viction motions, was closed July 4 through July 6, 2008. Thus, the State concedes that the appellant had until July 7, 2008, to place his motion into the hands of prison officials in order for the motion to be considered timely filed. As the appellant did just that, the motion was timely filed. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.040; Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(b); Haag v. State, 591 So.2d 614 (FIa.1992) (analyzing and discussing the “mailbox rule”).
We therefore reverse and remand the order for the trial court to address the merits of the appellant’s motion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
WEBSTER, DAVIS, and PADOVANO, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Toler v. State, 493 So. 2d 489 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- State v. Thurston McCLAIN, 591 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 1992)
- Haag v. State, 591 So. 2d 614 (Fla. 1992)