Fla. Parole Com'n v. Spaziano

• Decision Date: 14 October 2010
• Docket Number: No. SC06-1252.,SC06-1252.
• Citation: 48 So.3d 714
• Parties: FLORIDA PAROLE COMMISSION, Petitioner, v. Joseph Robert SPAZIANO, Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

48 So.3d 714

FLORIDA PAROLE COMMISSION, Petitioner,

v.Joseph Robert SPAZIANO, Respondent.

No. SC06-1252.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Oct. 14, 2010.

Sarah J. Rumph, General Counsel and Susan Schwartz, Assistant General Counsel, The Florida Parole Commission, Tallahassee, FL, for Petitioner.

James M. Russ and Terrence E. Kehoe, Orlando, FL, for Respondent.

LABARGA, J.

This case is before the Court for review of the decision of the First District Court of Appeal in Spaziano v. Florida Parole Commission, 46 So.3d 576 (1st DCA 2006). In its decision, the district court certified a question of great public importance, which we have rephrased as follows:

DOES THE EXEMPTION IN SECTION 57.085(10), FLORIDA STATUTES, APPLY TO ANY INMATE ACTIONS CHALLENGING THE FLORIDA PAROLE COMMISSION'S DETERMINATION OF THE INMATE'S PRESUMPTIVE PAROLE RELEASE DATE, THEREBY PRECLUDING IMPOSITION OF A LIEN ON THE INMATE'S TRUST ACCOUNT TO RECOVER APPLICABLE COURT FILING FEES?

See 46 So.3d at 582.¹ We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. We answer the certified question in the affirmative and approve the decision of the district court. As we explain below, an action challenging the Florida Parole Commission's determination of an inmate's presumptive parole release date is a collateral criminal proceeding for the purposes of section 57.085(10), Florida Statutes (2009),which exempts such proceedings from the fee and lien provisions of section 57.085.

BACKGROUND

Joseph Spaziano, an inmate currently incarcerated at the Taylor Correctional Institution, is serving a life sentence for "forcible carnal knowledge," a sexual offense, committed in 1975. Under the law in effect when he was sentenced, he is eligible to be considered for parole. In October of 2004, Spaziano filed a petition for writ of mandamus in the circuit court of the Second Judicial Circuit challenging the correctness of the Florida Parole Commission's determination of his presumptive parole release date (PPRD). The Florida Parole Commission ("the Commission") determined that Spaziano's PPRD is April 28, 2060.

Spaziano's PPRD of April 28, 2060, was originally determined in 1999. After a hearing before the Commission in 2004, that date was confirmed by the Commission in an order dated February 27, 2004.² Spaziano filed his mandamus petition in the circuit court, alleging errors in the factors upon which his PPRD was based, but the circuit court denied the writ.³ After determining that Spaziano was indigent and could not prepay court fees, the circuit court entered an order pursuant to section 57.085, Florida Statutes (2004), requiring that a lien be placed upon Spaziano's inmate trust account to provide payment for the court filing fee and partial setup fee. Spaziano filed a motion in the circuit court to vacate that order, citing the exemption provided in section 57.085(10), Florida Statutes, for collateral criminal proceedings. The circuit court denied the motion, concluding that an action challenging the Commission's determination of an inmate's PPRD is not a collateral criminal proceeding for the purposes of section 57.085(10), Florida Statutes, and is therefore not exempt from the payment and lien provisions of that statute.

Spaziano appealed the circuit court's denial of the writ and the order requiring imposition of a lien on his inmate trust account to the First District Court of Appeal. In its decision, the district court affirmed the denial of the writ, but reversed the circuit court's order imposing a lien on Spaziano's inmate trust account. The district court explained its reasoning for concluding that a challenge to an inmate's PPRD was exempt from the inmate lien requirements of section 57.085 in part as follows:

We do, however, agree that the lower court departed from the essential requirements of law by denying petitioner's motion for relief from the order imposing a lien on his prison trust accountfor the purpose of covering his appellate costs. In our judgment, a petition for writ of mandamus challenging a PPRD is a "collateral criminal proceeding." In Schmidt v. Crusoe, 878 So.2d 361, 367 (Fla.2003), the supreme court concluded "that a gain time challenge is analogous to a collateral challenge to a sentence in a criminal proceeding because the end result is the same-the inmate's time in prison is directly affected." Under such circumstances, the general indigency statute, section 57.01, Florida Statutes, applies.

....

The test adopted in Schmidt for treatment of an action as a collateral criminal proceeding for the purpose of the exemption from the prisoner indigency lien provision is whether the action affects the length of time an inmate will actually serve in prison. In our judgment, a mandamus petition seeking the correct calculation of a prisoner's PPRD is analogous to an action raising a gain time issue, because a PPRD imposed outside the maximum matrix time range for a specific offense clearly affects the length of time an inmate will spend in prison. Accordingly, we conclude the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law in denying petitioner's motion to vacate the lien on his inmate trust account.

46 So.3d at 582.

The question of whether section 57.085(10) exempts judicial challenges to the Commission's determination of an inmate's PPRD is a pure question of law; thus, our review is de novo. See D'Angelo v. Fitzmaurice, 863 So.2d 311, 314 (Fla.2003) ("The standard of review for the pure questions of law before us is de novo."); Borden v. East-European Ins. Co., 921 So.2d 587, 591 (Fla.2006) (holding that a question of statutory interpretation is subject to de novo review). Where, as here, the question of law turns on the provisions of a statute, we must first and foremost endeavor to give effect to the legislative intent underlying that statute, which is the polestar that guides us. See, e.g., Knowles v. Beverly Enterprises-Florida, Inc., 898 So.2d 1, 5 (Fla.2004). In determining the Legislature's intent in enacting the statute, we look first to the text of the provision. See id. Thus, we turn next to an examination of the pertinent provisions of section 57.085. We also review other pertinent provisions of the Florida statutes, as well as our judicial precedent, all of which inform our analysis of the question presented in this case.

THE APPLICABLE LAW

A. Section 57.085, Florida Statutes, the Prisoner Indigency Statute

Prison inmates are not completely exempt from the payment of court costs and fees for certain legal actions in Florida. The general indigency statute, section 57.081, Florida Statutes (2009), provides a general waiver of prepayment of court costs and fees for persons who are determined to be indigent, but expressly does not apply to prisoners who file or intervene in civil proceedings. See § 57.081(1), Fla. Stat. (2009). Under section 57.085, known as the "Prisoner Indigency Statute," prepayment of court costs is deferred rather than waived, meaning that an indigent prisoner, if he or she is able, must make an initial partial payment of court costs and fees. A lien is then placed on that inmate's trust account for payment of the remaining costs and fees in monthly installments. See § 57.085(4)-(5), Fla. Stat. Importantly, the act expressly exempts criminal proceedings and collateral criminal proceedings from application of the payment and lien provisions of thestatute. See § 57.085(10), Fla. Stat. (2009).⁴

Section 57.085 was enacted in 1996 in an effort to discourage frivolous civil suits by prison inmates. See ch. 96-106, § 2, at 93-95, Laws of Florida. The "Whereas" clauses in the preamble to chapter 96-106 focus on "frivolous" inmate lawsuits and the fact that they "congest civil court dockets and delay the administration of justice for all litigants." The preamble provides in pertinent part:

WHEREAS, frivolous inmate lawsuits congest civil court dockets and delay the administration of justice for all litigants, and

WHEREAS, each year self-represented indigent inmates in Florida's jails and prisons file an ever-increasing number of frivolous lawsuits at public expense against public officers and employees, and

WHEREAS, state and local governments spend millions of dollars each year processing, serving, and defending frivolous lawsuits filed by self-represented indigent inmates, and

WHEREAS, the overwhelming majority of civil lawsuits filed by self-represented indigent inmates are frivolous and malicious actions intended to embarrass or harass public officers and employees, and

WHEREAS, under current law frivolous inmate lawsuits are dismissable by the courts only after considerable expenditure of precious taxpayer and judicial resources....

Ch. 96-106, preamble, Laws of Fla.

To effectuate the intent set forth in the preamble, section 57.085 calls upon the circuit court to screen inmate court filings to determine whether the prisoner's action is "frivolous" or falls within the category of civil litigation that the Legislature seeks to discourage by implementation of this law. See § 57.085(9), Fla. Stat. (2009). Those inmate actions found by the circuit court to be frivolous, malicious, or intended to harass may be dismissed. See § 57.085(6), Fla. Stat. (2009).⁵ As we explained in McNeil v. Cox, 997 So.2d 343 (Fla.2008), the Florida prisoner indigency statute "was enacted to discourage filing of frivolous civil lawsuits involving challenges to prison conditions, such as [complaints about] 'peanut butter,' 'pancake[s],' 'dinner roll[s],' 'salad,' 'fine china,' 'satellite television,' and 'shoe brand[s].' " Id. at 346 (footnotes omitted).

Actions not found to be frivolous or malicious or otherwise subject to dismissal under the act will proceed, but with the requirement that the prisoner prepay filing fees and related costs or be subject to a lien on his or her inmate trust account.However, the Legislature has expressly determined in section 57.085(10) that any criminal proceeding or collateral criminal proceeding brought...