JIMMY KIMBROUGH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.
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Jimmy Kimbrough, an indigent defendant represented by the Public Defender's Office, petitioned for a writ of mandamus seeking free copies of CDs and DVDs prepared at public expense. The Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District, reversed the trial court's summary denial and held that mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel public defenders to provide record documents prepared at public expense without charge.
Mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel a public defender to provide former clients with copies of record documents prepared at public expense without charge. The trial court erred in summarily denying the petition without first ordering the Public Defender's Office to file a response, as required when a mandamus petition sets forth a prima facie case for relief.
[1] Mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel a public defender to provide to a former client copies of record documents prepared at public expense.
[2] Record documents prepared at public expense on behalf of an indigent defendant must be provided to the defendant without charge for copying.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Mandamus is a common law remedy used to enforce an established legal right by compelling a person in an official capacity to perform an indisputable ministerial duty required by law.”
Establishes the legal standard for mandamus as a remedy and justifies its application against public defenders.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKimbrough was an indigent defendant in a criminal prosecution represented by the Public Defender's Office of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit. He reque…
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Jimmy Kimbrough appeals the denial of his petition for writ of mandamus. Kimbrough was an indigent defendant in a criminal prosecution who was represented by the Public Defender's Office of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit. Kimbrough requested that the Public Defender's Office provide to him free copies of certain CDs and DVDs that he alleged were previously prepared at public expense. The trial court summarily denied Kimbrough's petition, concluding that he had no "pending" prosecution and "the records of the Public Defender's Office are not part of the judicial branch record, and are therefore not subject to release by [the circuit] court." We reverse.
"Mandamus is a common law remedy used to enforce an established legal right by compelling a person in an official capacity to perform an indisputable ministerial duty required by law."
*220Wharen v. State , 170 So.3d 942, 943 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015) (quoting Poole v. City of Port Orange , 33 So.3d 739, 741 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010) ). Because a public defender is an "official," mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel the public defender to provide to a former client copies of record documents prepared at public expense. Id. (quoting Brown v. State , 93 So.3d 1194, 1196 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) ). Moreover, record documents that were prepared at public expense on behalf of an indigent defendant must be provided to him or her without charge for copying. Id. at 943-44 (citing Rosado v. State , 1 So.3d 1147, 1148 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) ).
Where, as here, a petition for writ of mandamus sets forth a prima facie case for relief, the trial court is required to order the respondent to file a response. Id. at 944 (citing Brown , 93 So.3d at 1196 ). In the present case, and as properly conceded by the State, the trial court erred in summarily denying Kimbrough's petition without first ordering a response from the Public Defender's Office.
Accordingly, we reverse the order under review with directions to the trial court to order the Public Defender's Office to file a response as to whether the requested CDs and DVDs were obtained or prepared on Kimbrough's behalf at public expense. If so, then, as to those specific CDs and DVDs, the court shall order that they be copied for Kimbrough without charge. See id.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
ORFINGER, BERGER, and LAMBERT, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Floyd v. Laramore (Fla. 1st DCA 2021)…n attached letter in which Floyd asks his attorney for the deposition transcripts or “the disc.” Because he also seeks a disc that may contain recordings of the depositions, Floyd has submitted a facially sufficient petition. See Kimbrough v. State, 256 So. 3d 219, 220 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018) (holding that CDs and DVDs should be furnished to the defendant at no charge if they were prepared for him at public expense). Accordingly, we reverse the trial court’s order and remand the matter with instructions to the t…
Authorities Cited
- Poole v. City OF Port Orange & MHK of Volusia, 33 So. 3d 739 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)
- Rosado v. State, 1 So. 3d 1147 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Brown v. State, 93 So. 3d 1194 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
- Marcelo A. Gamarra v. State, 93 So. 3d 1194 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)
- Wharen v. State, 170 So. 3d 942 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)