JERRY THOMAS BAKER, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2014-12-31
No. 3D14-1110
Before SUAREZ, LAGOA and SCALES, JJ.
155 So. 3d 422 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2014)

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Synopsis

Baker appeals a venue transfer order for his habeas corpus petition challenging the charging document from his 1996 armed robbery conviction. The appellate court vacates the transfer and remands with instructions to dismiss the petition as an unauthorized habeas corpus action.


Holding

The Monroe County Circuit Court has jurisdiction over the habeas petition because it challenges the validity of the conviction. However, the petition must be dismissed as an unauthorized habeas corpus action because the grounds raise issues that could have been raised on direct appeal, would be time-barred if filed as a Rule 3.850 motion, and constitute collateral post-conviction relief.


Headnotes

[1] A petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the sufficiency of a charging document, which amounts to a collateral attack on a conviction, should be filed in the circ…

[2] A habeas corpus petition seeking post-conviction relief that raises claims which could have been raised on direct appeal or are time-barred under rule 3.850 should be dis…

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Key Quotes

“the court of conviction, has jurisdiction over Baker's habeas petition because the petition challenges the sufficiency of the charging document which amounts to a collateral attack on Baker's 1996 conviction”

Establishes that the trial court has jurisdiction when a habeas petition attacks conviction validity

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Facts & Procedural History

Baker was convicted of armed robbery in Monroe County in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He has filed multiple unsuccessful appeals and post-…

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Opinion of the Court
SCALES, J.

SCALES, J.

Jerry Thomas Baker (Baker), appeals from an order of the Monroe County Circuit Court that transferred his petition for writ of habeas corpus to the Leon County Circuit Court. We vacate the order transferring venue and remand with instructions that the Monroe County Circuit Court dismiss Baker’s petition.

In 1995, Baker was charged in Monroe County with, inter alia, armed robbery. After a jury trial, in 1996, Baker was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. At all times pertinent to this appeal, Baker has been incarcerated at the Apalachee Correctional Institution East located in Jackson County.

Since his conviction, Baker has filed a direct appeal of his conviction and a multitude of post-conviction motions and habeas petitions — all of which were affirmed, denied, or dismissed without published opinion.1

On December 11, 2013 — more than fifteen years after a mandate was issued upon Baker’s unsuccessful direct appeal— Baker filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Monroe County Circuit Court challenging the charging document associated with his 1996 conviction. There is no allegation of newly discovered evidence in the petition.

Without ruling on the merits of Baker’s petition, on January 24, 2014, the Monroe County Circuit Court transferred Baker’s petition to the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County.2

The Leon County Circuit Court reviewed Baker’s petition, determined that Baker was actually attempting to collaterally attack the underlying conviction, and, on February 11, 2014, dismissed Baker’s petition. In its order of dismissal, the Leon County Circuit Court determined that it lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate Baker’s claims seeking post-conviction relief.

Baker then filed the instant appeal seeking review of the Monroe County Circuit Court’s January 24, 2014 order transferring venue.

In his appeal, Baker seems to concede that his petition seeks post-conviction, rather than habeas corpus, relief. Baker argues: (1) the Monroe County Circuit Court has jurisdiction over his habeas peti*424tion; and (2) the Monroe County Circuit Court should have construed his habeas petition as a motion for post-conviction relief and adjudicated same.

Baker’s first argument is correct. The Monroe County Circuit Court, the court of conviction, has jurisdiction over Baker’s habeas petition because the petition challenges the sufficiency of the charging document which amounts to a collateral attack on Baker’s 1996 conviction. See Richardson v. State, 918 So.2d 999, 1001 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (“[T]he general rule [is] that a petition for writ of habeas corpus should be filed in the circuit court where the defendant is detained.... But there is an exception ... ‘[w]hen a petitioner attacks the validity of the conviction ... jurisdiction in- habeas proceedings lies with the trial court that imposed the sentence and rendered the judgment of conviction.’ ”) (citation omitted).

Baker’s second argument, however, is incorrect. The Monroe County Circuit Court did not err by failing to construe the habeas petition as a motion for post-conviction relief. The grounds raised by Baker are inappropriate for a habeas petition because they could have and should have been raised on direct appeal. See Price v. State, 937 So.2d 702, 702-03 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006); Moore v. State, 817 So.2d 1072 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). Additionally, if these grounds were asserted pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, they are time-barred. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(b).

Generally, “[i]f a party seeks an improper remedy, the cause shall be treated as if the proper remedy had been sought; provided that it shall not be the responsibility of the court to seek the proper remedy.” See Fla. R. App. P. 9.040(c) (applicable to the circuit court in this case, Fla. R. App. P. 9.010 & 9.030(c)(3)); Zuluaga v. State, Dep’t. of Corrs., 32 So.3d 674, 677 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010).

In certain instances, however, dismissal rather than treatment as a Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion, is the appropriate remedy when a habeas petition challenges the judgment and sentence. See Baker v. State, 878 So.2d 1236, 1245-46 (Fla.2004) (“Accordingly, from now on, we will dismiss as unauthorized, habeas corpus petitions filed by noncapital defendants that seek the kind of collateral postconviction relief available through a motion filed in the sentencing court, and which (1) would be untimely if considered as a motion for postconviction relief under rule 3.850, (2) raise claims that could have been raised at trial or, if properly preserved, on direct appeal of the judgment and sentence, or (3) would be considered a second or successive motion under rule 3.850 that either fails to allege new or different grounds for relief, or alleges new or different grounds for relief that were known or should have been known at the time the first motion was filed.”); Richardson, 918 So.2d at 1004 (“[W]e emphasize that when a habeas, petition is filed raising inappropriate issues that fall within one of the three categories enumerated in Baker, the appropriate disposition is dismissal. Treating the petition as a rule 3.850 motion and deciding the issues on the merits based on attendant hearings before the trial court is indeed a waste of valuable judicial resources.”).

Accordingly, we vacate the trial court’s January 24, 2014 order transferring venue, and remand with instructions that the Monroe County Circuit Court dismiss Baker’s petition.

Remanded with instructions.


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