Butler v. State, 92-04600
| Decision Date | 12 February 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-04600,92-04600 |
| Citation | 613 So.2d 1348 |
| Parties | 18 Fla. L. Week. D487 Sanford Paul BUTLER, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Sanford Paul Butler appeals a postjudgment order of the circuit court. We affirm.
In his original "motion for return of property" Butler demanded that the Pasco County Sheriff's Department relinquish personal possessions which Butler claimed were seized during his arrest on felony charges. According to Butler none of the items "was ... linked to any criminal activity." Initially the circuit court entered an order commanding the sheriff to return the property. However, the sheriff successfully petitioned for reconsideration of this order, claiming that the property was "lawfully destroyed or otherwise disposed of" in June, 1991, pursuant to section 705.105, Florida Statutes (1991). Butler argued in a motion for rehearing that the sheriff had not complied with the statute in several respects. He also sought money damages in view of the fact the original property could no longer be retrieved. Upon denial of that motion, Butler appealed.
When a trial court has assumed jurisdiction over criminal charges, it is thereafter vested with an inherent power to assist the true owner in the recovery of property held in custodia legis. Garmire v. Red Lake, 265 So.2d 2 (Fla.1972). A separate suit for replevin or conversion is not necessary. Estevez v. Gordon, 386 So.2d 43 (Fla. 3d DCA1980). Upon receipt of a facially sufficient motion the court is obligated to exercise this inherent power, and relief by mandamus may be available in the event it does not. Estevez.
Because the circuit court entertained Butler's motion on its merits, mandamus is not appropriate in this case. In Golding v. Director of Public Safety Department of Metropolitan Dade County, 400 So.2d 990 (Fla. 3d DCA1981), it was suggested that the proper remedy for the aggrieved party is an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(C)(ii). However, since the order in this case is final, we follow the lead of the First District in Coon v. State, 585 So.2d 1079 (Fla. 1st DCA1991), which suggests such appeals should be processed much like postconviction appeals.
In Brown v. State, 613 So.2d 569 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993), the Tampa Police Department disavowed knowledge of some of the items demanded by the movant. We analogized the trial court's order denying relief to...
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Kern v. State, 96-3414
...refuse to return it. Garmire v. Red Lake, 265 So.2d 2 (Fla.1972); Helmy v. Swigert, 662 So.2d 395 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Butler v. State, 613 So.2d 1348 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Brown v. State, 613 So.2d 569 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Coon v. State, 585 So.2d 1079 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Benedetti v. State,......
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Scott v. State, 5D04-3867.
...Scott was not required to commence a separate civil action for replevin or conversion. Helmy, 662 So.2d at 396; Butler v. State, 613 So.2d 1348, 1349 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). A facially sufficient motion for return of property: (1) alleges that the property is the movant's personal property; (2)......
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Almeda v. State
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Bolden v. State, 2D02-4698.
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