Diaz v. State, SC06-2259.

Citation945 So.2d 1136
Decision Date08 December 2006
Docket NumberNo. SC06-2259.,No. SC06-2305.,No. SC06-2313.,No. SC06-2325.,SC06-2259.,SC06-2305.,SC06-2313.,SC06-2325.
PartiesAngel Nieves DIAZ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. Angel Nieves Diaz, Petitioner, v. James McDonough, etc., Respondent. Angel Nieves Diaz, Petitioner, v. State of Florida, Respondent.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Florida

Neal A. Dupree, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel—Southern Region, Suzanne Myers Keffer, and Barbara L. Costa, Assistant CCRC, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Appellant/Petitioner.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, and Sandra S. Jaggard, Assistant Attorney General, Miami, FL, for Appellee/Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

Angel Nieves Diaz, a prisoner under sentence of death and an active death warrant, appeals the circuit court's orders denying his successive motions for postconviction relief and requests for public records. Diaz has also filed petitions with this Court pursuant to our authority to issue writs of habeas corpus and all writs necessary to the complete exercise of our jurisdiction. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (7), (9), Fla. Const. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the trial court's denial of postconviction relief and the denial of the public records request. We also deny the petitions for habeas corpus and all writs.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The execution of Angel Diaz is set for December 13, 2006. The factual background and procedural history of this case are detailed in this Court's opinion on Diaz's direct appeal. See Diaz v. State, 513 So.2d 1045, 1046 (Fla.1987). The case involves a murder that occurred in Miami twenty-seven years ago. Diaz was convicted of first-degree murder, four counts of kidnapping, two counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted robbery, and one count of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony based on his participation in the holdup of a Miami bar in 1979. The majority of the bar patrons and employees were confined to a restroom. The bar manager Joseph Nagy was shot and killed during the holdup by three men.1 No one witnessed who actually shot the victim, but each of the robbers discharged his gun during the robbery.

Diaz conducted his own defense, with standby counsel, from opening statements through conviction. He was represented by counsel during jury selection and the penalty phase. The jury recommended death by a vote of eight to four. The judge followed the jury's recommendation and sentenced Diaz to death. The trial court found five aggravating factors: the defendant was under sentence of imprisonment at the time of the crime; the defendant had previously been convicted of a violent felony; the murder was committed during the commission of a kidnapping; the murder was committed for pecuniary gain; and the defendant knowingly caused great risk of danger to many persons. The trial court found no mitigating circumstances. This Court affirmed Diaz's sentence of death on direct appeal. Id. at 1049.2 The United States Supreme Court denied his petition for writ of certiorari. Diaz v. Florida, 484 U.S. 1079, 108 S.Ct. 1061, 98 L.Ed.2d 1022 (1988).

Diaz sought executive clemency in June 1988, which was denied by the signing of a death warrant in August 1989. Execution was scheduled for October 1989. This Court issued an indefinite stay to give Diaz an opportunity to seek postconviction relief.

Diaz's case has been before the trial court for four separate proceedings and before this Court four times prior to the instant case. Diaz filed his initial postconviction motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 in October 1989, raising twenty-five issues and numerous subissues.3 After conducting an evidentiary hearing on the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel during the penalty phase, the trial court denied relief. This Court affirmed the denial and also denied Diaz's petition for writ of habeas corpus.4 Diaz v. Dugger, 719 So.2d 865 (Fla.1998). Thereafter, Diaz sought federal habeas relief in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The district court denied the petition on January 23, 2004, and Diaz appealed. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's denial of habeas relief. Diaz v. Sec'y for the Dep't of Corr., 402 F.3d 1136 (11th Cir.2005). The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on December 5, 2005. Diaz v. Crosby, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 803, 163 L.Ed.2d 633 (2005).

During the pendency of his federal habeas proceedings, Diaz filed a second petition for writ of habeas corpus with this Court in June 2000. Diaz argued that the Court had applied the wrong standard in reviewing his claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in his previous habeas petition. The Court issued an order denying the petition on the merits. Diaz v. Moore, 828 So.2d 385 (Fla.2001). In February 2003, Diaz filed a third petition for writ of habeas corpus with this Court. Diaz raised a variety of claims to Florida's death penalty sentencing scheme based on the United States Supreme Court's decision in Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002). The Court denied the habeas petition, finding that all of Diaz's claims had already been considered by the Court in other cases and decided adversely to him. Diaz v. Crosby, 869 So.2d 538 (Fla.2003), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 854, 125 S.Ct. 301, 160 L.Ed.2d 90 (2004).

In September 2006, Diaz filed a successive motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, and filed an amended motion and an amendment to the amended motion in November 2006. Diaz challenged Florida's lethal injection statute and lethal injection procedure as unconstitutional. He also claimed that he is exempt from execution because he suffers from severe mental illness. Diaz also filed numerous requests for additional public records from various state agencies pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.852.

During the pendency of Diaz's postconviction proceedings at the trial court, Governor Jeb Bush signed a death warrant setting Diaz's execution for December 13, 2006. In response to the warrant, this Court issued an order setting deadlines for the resolution of any matters pending in the trial court and for the filing of an appeal in this Court.

On November 21, 2006, the trial court issued orders denying Diaz's motion for postconviction relief and denying his public records requests. Diaz filed a notice of appeal on the following day, seeking review of these orders. However, before the parties filed their briefs in this Court, Diaz filed a successive motion for postconviction relief in the trial court, alleging that newly discovered evidence required a new penalty phase proceeding. Diaz also filed a motion asking this Court to relinquish jurisdiction to the trial court for consideration of this postconviction motion. On November 29, 2006, this Court issued an order relinquishing jurisdiction to the circuit court. The circuit court heard argument on Diaz's newly discovered evidence claim and his requests for public records on November 30, 2006. On December 1, 2006, the circuit court issued orders denying postconviction relief on the newly discovered evidence claim and the requests for public records related to that claim. Diaz now appeals the trial court's denial of both postconviction motions and his requests for public records. He has also filed petitions for habeas corpus and all writs relief with this Court.

RULE 3.851 APPEAL

Diaz raises several issues in his appeal of the trial court's denial of postconviction relief. Diaz challenges the constitutionality of Florida's lethal injection statute and the procedures that the state uses for lethal injection. He also contends that his conviction and sentence of death must be vacated in light of newly discovered evidence. He claims that he is exempt from execution because he suffers from severe mental illness. He also argues that the trial court erred in denying his various requests for public records. We consider each of these claims in turn below.

Lethal Injection

Diaz challenges Florida's lethal injection statute, section 922.105, Florida Statutes (2006), on several grounds. He argues that the statute violates the separation of powers doctrine in article II, section 3 of the Florida Constitution because it improperly delegates legislative authority to the Department of Corrections (DOC) to create the lethal injection protocol and exempts these procedures from the procedural safeguards of Florida's Administrative Procedure Act in chapter 120 Florida Statutes (2006). He further argues that the statute violates the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment in article I, section 17 of the Florida Constitution and amendment 8 of the United States Constitution. Additionally, Diaz contends that the current lethal injection protocol inflicts cruel and unusual punishment.

Article II, section 3 of the Florida Constitution, which codifies the constitutional doctrine of the separation of powers, prohibits the members of one branch of government from exercising "any powers appertaining to either of the other branches unless expressly provided herein." This Court has traditionally applied a "strict separation of powers doctrine," State v. Cotton, 769 So.2d 345, 353 (Fla.2000), which "encompasses two fundamental prohibitions." Chiles v. Children A, B, C, D, E, & F, 589 So.2d 260, 264 (Fla.1991). "The first is that no branch may encroach upon the powers of another. The second is that no branch may delegate to another branch its constitutionally assigned power." Id. (citation omitted).

This second prohibition generally precludes the Legislature from delegating "the power to enact a law or the right to exercise unrestricted discretion in applying the law." Sims v. State, 754 So.2d 657, 668 (Fla.2000). Diaz claims that the lethal injection st...

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