Hallman v. State

• Decision Date: 15 March 1979
• Docket Number: No. 51633,51633
• Parties: Clifford HALLMAN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 482

371 So.2d 482

Clifford HALLMAN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.

No. 51633.

Supreme Court of Florida.

March 15, 1979.

Rehearing Denied June 21, 1979.

Jack O. Johnson, Public Defender, and Robert H. Grizzard, II, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for petitioner.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Charles Corces, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for respondent.

ALDERMAN, Justice.

Clifford Hallman, by petition for writ of certiorari, seeks review of the decision of the district court in Hallman v. State, 343 So.2d 912 (Fla.2d DCA 1977). We originally granted certiorari because of an apparent conflict between that decision and Fast v. State, 221 So.2d 203 (Fla.3d DCA 1969), but we have now determined that no direct conflict exists and that certiorari is not the appropriate remedy. However, pursuant to article V, section 2(a), Florida Constitution, which provides that no cause shall be dismissed because an improper remedy is sought, we treat Hallman's petition as a request for permission to apply to the trial court for writ of error coram nobis addressed to his conviction of first degree murder and his sentence of death. Having considered his request, we find that it is legally insufficient.

Hallman was indicted for the first degree murder of Eleanor Groves, it being alleged that Hallman, with premeditated design, caused Groves' death by inflicting fatal cuts on her throat and neck. Hallman was tried, convicted, and then sentenced to death. On December 11, 1974, this Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. Hallman v. State 305 So.2d 180 (Fla.1974), Cert. denied, 428 U.S. 911, 96 S.Ct. 3226, 49 L.Ed.2d 1220 (1976).

Approximately two years later, Hallman filed a three-part motion with the sentencing circuit judge. The motion alleged that in 1975 the administrator of the estate of Eleanor Groves filed suit against Tampa General Hospital contending that Mrs. Groves died as a result of the negligence of the hospital; that the hospital had settled the lawsuit in favor of Mrs. Groves' estate; that Hallman's wrongful acts were not the cause of death of Mrs. Groves; and that if in a new trial the jury found that the hospital's negligence was an intervening cause of death, the jury could find him not guilty of homicide. Hallman requested the following relief: that the trial judge reduce the sentence of death; or that the trial court set aside the sentence of death and grant a new trial on the grounds of newly discovered material evidence; or that the trial court issue a writ of error coram nobis. The trial court denied all three requests.

Hallman appealed to the district court which held that it was without jurisdiction to review the trial court's refusal to reduce the sentence because that portion of the order was nonappealable. ¹ It also held that Hallman's motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, to set aside the judgment and grant a new trial, was improper because newly discovered evidence cannot be a basis for relief under that rule. It further held that Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.600(a)(3) could not support the grant of a new trial because Hallman's motion was untimely under that rule. Finally, it held that a writ of error coram nobis can be issued only by "the appellate court which had previously entertained an appeal from the final judgment in the case and affirmed it by its mandate," in this case the Supreme Court of Florida. See Hallman v. State, 343 So.2d 912, 913 (Fla.2d DCA 1977).

We approve the decision of the Second District in all respects and agree that it correctly found that the trial court was without jurisdiction to entertain Hallman's petition for writ of error coram nobis because permission to seek such relief must first be obtained from this Court.

The writ of error coram nobis was available at common law in both civil and criminal cases. This Court long ago recognized that coram nobis was applicable to both civil and criminal cases in this state. As we explained in Lamb v. State, 91 Fla. 396, 107 So. 535 (1926):

Common-law writs of procedure that have not been abrogated or superseded by the Constitution or by statutory regulations are available in this state, but the use of such judicial writs may be regulated by statute or by rules of court duly promulgated under statutory authority. . . . 107 So. at p. 537.

Although writs of error coram nobis have now been abolished in civil cases by rule 1.540(b), Rules of Civil Procedure, this remedy remains viable in criminal cases because it has not been expressly abrogated or superseded. Our recent decision in Ohio Casualty Co. v. Parrish, 350 So.2d 466 (Fla.1977), where the issue was whether rule 1.540, Rules of Civil Procedure, allows the trial court to entertain a timely motion to modify a civil judgment without first obtaining permission of the appellate court, is not applicable in this case where coram nobis is sought in a criminal case. ²

The requirements of a writ of error coram nobis have been set out in numerous cases from this Court. A petition for this writ addressed to the appellate court must disclose fully the alleged facts relied on; mere conclusory statements are insufficient. The appellate court must be afforded a full opportunity to evaluate the alleged facts for itself and to determine whether they establish prima facie grounds. Lamb v. State, supra; Washington v. State, 92 Fla. 740, 110 So. 259 (1926); Urga v. State, 157 Fla. 794, 26 So.2d 786 (1946). Furthermore, the petition should assert the evidence upon which the alleged facts can be proved and the source of such evidence. Russ v. State, 95 So.2d 594 (Fla.1957). The function of a writ of error coram nobis is to correct errors of fact, not errors of law. Leavitt v. State, 116 Fla. 738, 156 So. 904 (1934). The facts upon which the petition is based must have been unknown by the trial court, by the party, or by counsel at the time of trial, and it must appear that defendant or his counsel could not have known them by the use of diligence. Kinsey v. State, 155 Fla. 159, 19 So.2d 706 (1944).

In considering a petition for writ of error coram nobis, the appellate court has the responsibility to determine the legal effect of the facts alleged upon the previously entered judgment. When the appellate court finds that the facts are sufficient in legal effect, the next step is for the trial court to determine the truth of the allegations in an appropriate evidentiary hearing. Chambers v. State, 117 Fla. 642, 158 So. 153 (1934).

The general rule repeatedly employed by this Court to establish the sufficiency of an application for writ of error coram nobis is that the alleged facts must be of such a vital nature that had they been known to the trial court, they Conclusively would have prevented the entry of the judgment. Williams v. Yelvington, 103 Fla. 145, 137 So. 156 (1931); House v. State, 130 Fla. 400, 177 So. 705 (1937); Baker v. State, 150 Fla. 446, 7 So.2d 792 (1942); Cayson v. State, 139 So.2d 719 (Fla.1st DCA), Appeal dismissed, 146 So.2d 749 (Fla.1962). In Russ v. State, this Court expressly stated: "The showing must be such that if the matters shown had been before the trial court when judgment was entered, the court Would have been precluded from entering the judgment." 95 So.2d at 597 (emphasis added). This traditional "conclusiveness test" in error coram nobis proceedings is predicated on the need for finality in judicial proceedings. This is a sound principle, for litigants and courts alike must be able to determine with certainty a time when a dispute has come to an end.

Turning now to the specific allegations in the present case, we find that Hallman failed to meet the prerequisites which would warrant granting the writ of error coram nobis. He alleged the ultimate conclusion of negligence on the part of the hospital without disclosing fully the specific facts upon which he relies for this conclusion. In addition, the alleged medical malpractice of the hospital could have been known to Hallman or his counsel at the time of trial through use of due diligence. The fact that the hospital, subsequent to Hallman's trial settled a wrongful death claim made by Mrs. Groves' estate is irrelevant. This negotiated settlement in no way establishes that the hospital caused her death. If the hospital is guilty of medical malpractice, this fact could have been established by medical records and the medical witnesses that were available, and could have been discovered through use of due diligence at the time of Hallman's trial.

More importantly, even if the hospital's alleged medical malpractice could not have been known at the time of Hallman's trial, the writ of error coram nobis would not lie because the fact of the hospital's negligence would not have precluded Hallman's conviction. As this Court explained in Johnson v. State, 64 Fla. 321, 323, 59 So. 894, 895 (1912):

A defendant cannot escape the penalties for an act which in point of fact produces death, which death might possibly have been averted by some possible mode of treatment. The true doctrine is that, where the wound is in itself dangerous to life, mere erroneous treatment of it or of the wounded man suffering from it will afford the defendant no protection against the charge of unlawful homicide. . . .

And as the district court stated in Tunsil v. State, 338 So.2d 874, 875 (Fla.3d DCA 1976):

Appellant seeks a reversal of his conviction for manslaughter on the grounds that the victim's death could have been avoided through affirmative medical treatment. Appellant argues that the lack of affirmative medical treatment constituted an intervening cause relieving him of any criminal responsibility for the victim's death.

In support of his argument, appellant attempts to distinguish those Florida cases holding that affirmative medical treatment will not break the chain of causation between a perpetrator's act and his criminal responsibility for the victim's death. See, e. g., ...