STATE OF FLORIDA EX REL. WALLACE SMITH, PETITIONER,
v.
H. G. COCHRANE, JR., DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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The Florida District Court of Appeal granted a writ of habeas corpus, vacating a conviction and sentence because the statute under which the petitioner was convicted had been declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court.
Yes, the conviction and sentence are void because they were based on an unconstitutional statute, and the petitioner is entitled to immediate release.
“the Court finding that the petitioner is presently in custody of the respondent serving a sentence of four years imposed by the Circuit Court for Pinellas County consequent upon his conviction on an information charging a violation of the provisions of Section 562.451(4), Florida Statutes, F.S.A., which statute has been held invalid by the Supreme Court in the case of State v. Altman, Fla., 106 So. 2d 401, and the judgment of conviction and sentence imposed upon the petitioner are void”
This quote establishes the factual basis for the court's decision, highlighting the unconstitutional statute and its effect on the petitioner's conviction and sentence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe petitioner, Wallace Smith, was in custody serving a four-year sentence for violating a Florida statute. The Florida Supreme Court had previously d…
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This cause having been considered on the petition for writ of habeas corpus,, the record of the conviction of the petitioner in the Circuit Court, and the return, of the respondent to the writ of habeas, corpus issued on June 2, 1959, and the Court finding that the petitioner is presently in custody of the respondent serving a sentence of four years imposed by the Circuit Court for Pinellas County consequent upon his conviction on an information charging a violation of the provisions of Section 562.451(4), Florida Statutes, F.S.A., which statute has been held invalid by the Supreme Court in the case of State v. Altman, Fla., 106 So.2d 401, and the judgment of conviction and sentence imposed upon the petitioner are void, therefore it is
Ordered and adjudged that the judgment and sentence entered in this cause in the Circuit Court for Pinellas County on January 30, 1957, and recorded among the records of that Court in Minute Book 50, page 332, is hereby vacated and set aside, and the respondent is ordered to forthwith discharge the petitioner from custody.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Saccucci v. State, 546 So. 2d 1154 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)…edy. The scope of this writ has been altered by the addition of rule 3.850. Earlier case law which has not been expressly overruled at least suggests a possible remedy. Bronk v. State, 43 Fla. 461, 31 So. 248 (1901); State ex rel. Smith v. Cochrane, 112 So. 2d 605 (Fla. 2d DCA 1959).…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Altman, 106 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 1958)