Allen v. Butterworth

• Decision Date: 14 April 2000
• Docket Number: No. SC00-154, No. SC00-410., No. SC00-113
• Parties: Lloyd Chase ALLEN, et al., Petitioners, v. Robert A. BUTTERWORTH, et al., Respondents. Mark James Asay, et al., Petitioners, v. Robert A. Butterworth, et al., Respondents. Jeffrey Allen Farina, et al., Petitioners, v. State of Florida, Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

756 So.2d 52

Lloyd Chase ALLEN, et al., Petitioners, v. Robert A. BUTTERWORTH, et al., Respondents.

Mark James Asay, et al., Petitioners, v. Robert A. Butterworth, et al., Respondents.

Jeffrey Allen Farina, et al., Petitioners, v. State of Florida, Respondent.

Nos. SC00-113, SC00-154 and SC00-410.

Supreme Court of Florida.

April 14, 2000.

Neal A. Dupree, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, Southern Region, and Todd G. Scher, Litigation Director, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Eugene Zenobi and Terence Lenamon, Coral Gables, Florida; John W. Moser, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, Middle Region, and Michael P. Reiter, Chief Assistant CCRC, Middle Region, Tampa, Florida; and J. Rafael Rodriguez, Miami, Florida; Gregory C. Smith, Capital Collateral Counsel, Northern Region, and Andrew Thomas, Chief Assistant CCRC, Northern Region, Tallahassee, Florida; Timothy P. Schardl, Special Assistant CCRC, Northern Region, and Mark E. Olive of the Law Offices of Mark E. Olive, P.A., Tallahassee, Florida; Hilliard E. Moldof, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Larry B. Henderson, Assistant Public Defender, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Daytona Beach, Florida; Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Christina A. Spaulding, Assistant Public Defender, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; and Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and W.C. McLain, Michael J. Minerva and Chet Kaufman, Assistant Public Defenders, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioners.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Richard B. Martell, Chief, Capital Appeals, and Carolyn M. Snurkowski, Division Director, Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for Respondents.

HARDING, C.J.

The petitioners, all inmates under sentence of death, have filed petitions asking this Court to stay the application of the Death Penalty Reform Act of 2000 (DPRA), chapter 2000-3, Laws of Florida (Committee Substitute for House Bill 1A (2000)), to toll the DPRA deadlines, and to declare the DPRA unconstitutional facially or as applied. For the reasons expressed below, we find that the DPRA is an unconstitutional encroachment on this Court's exclusive power to "adopt rules for the practice and procedure in all courts." Art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. Further, although our holding is based on the separation of powers claim, we find that some sections of the DPRA also violate due process and equal protection. The successive motion standard of the DPRA prohibits otherwise meritorious claims from being raised in violation of due process. Additionally, the successive motion standard applies only to capital prisoners in violation of the principles of equal protection. However, as explained in this opinion, we intend to adopt two new rules governing postconviction procedures that are consistent with the Legislature's intent that the postconviction process begin immediately upon imposition of the death sentence. The rules which we propose are intended to substantially reduce the time required for substantive adjudication of these cases.

JURISDICTION

Each of the petitioners in Farina v. State, No. SC00-410, has a direct appeal pending before this Court, while the petitioners in Allen v. Butterworth, No. SC00-113, and Asay v. Butterworth, No. SC00-154, have completed the direct appeal process and are represented by collateral counsel from the offices of Capital Collateral Regional Counsel (CCRC)-South and CCRC-North. The petitioners contend that this Court has jurisdiction over this matter based on its exclusive appellate jurisdiction in death cases and its original jurisdiction to hear ancillary petitions in cases where the death sentence has been imposed. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. (mandatory appellate jurisdiction where death penalty imposed by trial court); id. § 3(b)(7) (prohibition and all writs); id. § 3(b)(8) (mandamus); id. § 3(b)(9) (habeas corpus). The parties also note that this Court has exclusive original jurisdiction to entertain petitions dealing with the regulation of the practice of law in Florida and petitions involving the rules for practice and procedure in the courts of Florida. See art. V, §§ 2(a), 15, Fla. Const.

The State contends that these actions are unauthorized and the petitioners' attorneys lack standing to maintain them. The State further contends that the facts asserted by the petitioners relate to speculative factual circumstances which may never occur, that no named client has been adversely impacted by the DPRA, and that no basis has been demonstrated for the extraordinary relief sought.

This Court has previously addressed the constitutionality of legislative acts through its mandamus authority. See Division of Bond Finance v. Smathers, 337 So.2d 805 (Fla.1976)

. Accordingly, we treat all of the petitions filed here as petitions for writs of mandamus. While this Court has entertained mandamus petitions involving constitutional challenges, "[o]rdinarily the initial challenge to the constitutionality of a statute should be made before a trial court." Id. at 807. However, mandamus is the appropriate vehicle for addressing claims of unconstitutionality "where the functions of government will be adversely affected without an immediate determination." Id.; see also Dickinson v. Stone, 251 So.2d 268, 271 (Fla.1971).

In the instant case, the DPRA drastically changes Florida's postconviction death penalty proceedings, thereby affecting a large number of cases pending in this Court and at various stages in the trial courts throughout the state. The responsibilities of a large number of state-employed attorneys will also be affected by the DPRA. Until the constitutionality challenge is resolved, the status of these proceedings is in limbo. Thus, we conclude that the functions of government will be adversely affected without an immediate determination of the constitutionality of the DPRA and accept jurisdiction pursuant to our mandamus authority under article V, section 3(b)(8) of the Florida Constitution.

DEATH PENALTY REFORM ACT

The Florida Legislature passed the DPRA during a special legislative session in January 2000. Governor Jeb Bush signed the DPRA on January 14, 2000, and it became effective that day. The DPRA significantly changes Florida's capital postconviction procedures. Most notable among these changes is the creation of a "dual-track" capital postconviction process, in which a death-sentenced inmate files postconviction claims almost contemporaneously with his or her direct appeal. The preamble to the DPRA states:

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the administration of justice that a sentence of death ordered by the courts of this state be carried out in a manner that is fair, just, and humane and that conforms to constitutional requirements, and

WHEREAS, in order for capital punishment to be fair, just, and humane for both the family of victims and for offenders, there must be a prompt and efficient administration of justice following any sentence of death ordered by the courts of this state, and

WHEREAS, in order to ensure the fair, just, and humane administration of capital punishment, it is necessary for the Legislature to comprehensively address both the method by which an execution is carried out and the processes by which an offender sentenced to death may pursue postconviction and collateral review of the judgment and the sentence of death....

The following is a brief synopsis of the substance of each section of the DPRA:

Section 1 provides that the act may be cited as the "Death Penalty Reform Act of 2000."

Section 2 amends the statute relating to the duties of capital collateral regional counsel and registry counsel. Under the DPRA, these attorneys may file only postconviction actions authorized by the statute.

Section 3 amends the statute relating to the production of public records in capital postconviction proceedings (section 119.19, Florida Statutes (1999)). In light of the dualtrack system, the DPRA provides for the production of public records during the pendency of a defendant's direct appeal proceeding. It compresses the time frames for agency responses to public records requests and requires agencies to send records claimed to be confidential or exempt directly to the clerk of the court instead of the records repository, in order to facilitate in-camera inspection by the court.

Section 4 provides that a capital defendant must pursue all collateral remedies within the statutory limits set by the DPRA, that any claim outside the limits is barred, and that failure to seek relief within the required time limits constitutes grounds for issuance of a death warrant.

Section 5 states the legislative intent that all appeals and postconviction actions in capital cases be resolved within five years of the imposition of the death sentence and that death-sentenced inmates or their counsel file only one postconviction action in a sentencing court and take only one appeal of that action to this Court.

Section 6 creates a new statutory section governing postconviction actions in all cases where the death sentence is imposed after the effective date of the DPRA. This section implements the dual-track system by providing that postconviction counsel must be appointed within fifteen days of imposition of the death sentence and that postconviction actions are barred unless a fully pled motion is filed within 180 days of the filing of the initial appellate brief. The section also sets a number of restrictions on postconviction procedures, including no extension of time based upon the pendency of public records requests or litigation and no tolling of the time for commencing a postconviction action for any reason or cause. This section also drastically limits the claims that can be raised in a successive motion.

Section 7 creates a new statutory section governing postconviction cases where the death sentence was imposed before the effective date of the DPRA. This section bars all postconviction

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