Henderson v. State

• Decision Date: 18 February 1999
• Docket Number: No. 92,885.,92,885.
• Citation: Henderson v. State, 745 So. 2d 319 (Fla. 1999)
• Parties: John Wesley HENDERSON, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

745 So.2d 319

John Wesley HENDERSON, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.

No. 92,885.

Supreme Court of Florida.

February 18, 1999.

Rehearing Denied April 5, 1999.

Rhonda S. Clyatt, Panama City, Florida, for Petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, James W. Rogers, Tallahassee Bureau Chief, Criminal Appeals, and Edward C. Hill, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for Respondent.

Steven G. Mason, Orlando, Florida, for Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Amicus Curiae.

KOGAN, Senior Justice.

We have for review the decision in Henderson v. State, 708 So.2d 642 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998). We accepted jurisdiction to answer the following question certified to be of great public importance:

DOES SECTION 119.07(8), FLORIDA STATUTES (Supp.1996), LIMIT A CRIMINAL DEFENDANT'S PRETRIAL DISCOVERY OF NONEXEMPT PUBLIC RECORDS REGARDING HIS OR HER PENDING PROSECUTION, TO THE DISCOVERY PROVISIONS IN FLORIDA RULE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE 3.220, SUCH THAT RECEIPT OF SUCH RECORDS TRIGGERS A RECIPROCAL DISCOVERY OBLIGATION FOR THAT DEFENDANT?

Henderson, 708 So.2d at 645. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed below, we answer the certified question in the affirmative and approve the decision on review.

MATERIAL FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

In the proceeding below, the First District denied petitioner John Wesley Henderson's (Henderson) petition for writ of certiorari to quash the trial court's protective order, which ruled that Henderson's public records request to the sheriff's office triggered a reciprocal discovery obligation under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220. The following facts are from the court's opinion:

Henderson and Tracy Adams have each been charged by separate indictment in separate criminal cases, for the premeditated murder in the first degree of one Lawrence Pinkard and grand theft of an unspecified amount of Pinkard's money. The State is seeking the death penalty, should Henderson be convicted. In Adams' criminal case, his counsel elected to participate in the discovery process under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220, and therefore full disclosure has been made to him. In Henderson's criminal case, however, his counsel has thus far, chosen not to participate in discovery nor obtain materials from Adam's counsel. Instead, Henderson's counsel obtained from the State exculpatory material pursuant to Brady [v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963)], as well as other information from the court file. However, counsel for Henderson also sent a letter to the local sheriff requesting, pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, (Public Records Act), copies of all reports relating to the death of Pinkard, and/or the subsequent arrest of Henderson and Adams. The letter was on the law firm's letterhead, but did not mention the criminal case number or indicate that counsel was appointed to represent Henderson in the pending prosecution. It is this letter which is the subject of the petition.

Before disclosing such documents, the assistant state attorney, having learned of the request to the sheriff, immediately filed a motion for protective order in Henderson's criminal case to prevent the sheriff from disclosing such information. A hearing took place within hours thereafter, and the assistant state attorney argued that Henderson was attempting to do indirectly, what he could not do by direct means without incurring a reciprocal discovery obligation in his criminal case. The State requested an order preventing disclosure and declaring such letter to constitute participation in a discovery process under rule 3.220.

The trial court agreed, explaining that had Henderson sought the records directly related to his pending criminal case from either the co-perpetrator, Adams, or by demand to the State, the reciprocal discovery obligation would have automatically been triggered. The court found that the public records request by Henderson's counsel to the sheriff is no different than requesting such documents under the discovery rules, and therefore ruled that the public records request constituted participating in such discovery, thereby triggering a reciprocal discovery obligation for Henderson under rule 3.220. Recognizing the novelty of this issue and substantial impact on similarly situated criminal defendants, the court certified this issue as one of great public importance. The documents were allowed to be produced to the court under seal and Henderson's trial has been continued, pending outcome of this appeal.

Henderson, 708 So.2d at 642-43 (footnote omitted).

On appeal, the First District utilized a strict statutory interpretation in finding that section 119.07(8), Florida Statutes (Supp.1996) precludes expanding a criminal defendant's rights to discover public records pertaining to his or her pending criminal prosecution beyond the parameters provided for under rule 3.220. In reasoning that "a criminal defendant cannot utilize the Public Records Act to gain access to records related to that defendant's case to which the defendant could not otherwise gain access pursuant to rule 3.220, without triggering a reciprocal discovery obligation," Henderson, 708 So.2d at 644, the court relied on the following statutory language: "The provisions of this section are not intended to expand or limit the provisions of Rule 3.220, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, regarding the right and extent of discovery by the state or by a defendant in a criminal prosecution. ..." § 119.07(8), Fla. Stat. The First District construed section 119.07(8) as "essentially abrogat[ing] a criminal defendant's ability to use the Public Records Act as an endrun around the reciprocity which has been required since 1989 under rule 3.220." 708 So.2d at 644.

Finally, the First District rejected Henderson's argument that "the mere fact that co-perpetrator Adams has participated in discovery, changes or eliminates Henderson's obligations under rule 3.220." Id. On the contrary, the court explained that:

Instead, we read section 119.011(3)(c)5 in a manner consistent with the apparent purpose behind section 119.07(8), to prevent a defendant from obtaining such nonexempt public records pertaining to his or her pending criminal prosecution, while sidestepping the discovery provisions under rule 3.220. Were we to do otherwise, one perpetrator would be unfairly disadvantaged simply because he or she participated in pre-trial discovery first, while others charged with the same crime could subsequently obtain the same records, but without any reciprocal discovery obligation. We do not believe the drafters of the Public Records Act intended such an absurd result.

Id. Nevertheless, while accordingly denying Henderson's petition for writ of certiorari, the First District certified the question referred to above to this Court as one of great public importance. Id. at 645.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

This case concerns whether a criminal defendant's request of nonexempt public records pursuant to chapter 119, Florida Statutes, triggers the reciprocal discovery obligation contained in Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(a). In the course of our inquiry, we will review the caselaw on this issue, examine the relevant statutes and rules, and explore what public agencies constitute "the State" for criminal discovery purposes. We will also briefly discuss the interaction between the federal analogue of Florida's public records statute, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),¹ and discovery in federal criminal proceedings.

Case Below

The nub of the First District's decision is that section 119.07(8) "essentially abrogates a criminal defendant's ability to use the Public Records Act as an end-run around the reciprocity which has been required since 1989 under rule 3.220." Henderson, 708 So.2d at 644. Central to this reasoning is the First District's reading of section 119.011(3)(c)5, Florida Statutes (Supp.1996), "in a manner consistent with the apparent purpose behind section 119.07(8)," the statute at issue in this case. Id. Section 119.011(3)(c)5 provides that "criminal intelligence information" and "criminal investigative information," which are normally exempted from disclosure under the Public Records Act, "shall not include ... [d]ocuments given or required by law or agency rule to be given to the person arrested. ..." In construing the two statutory provisions together, the First District determined that they "prevent a defendant from obtaining such nonexempt public records pertaining to his or her pending criminal prosecution, while sidestepping the discovery provisions under rule 3.220" 708 So.2d at 644. The court apparently felt that it had no recourse because:

Were we to do otherwise, one perpetrator would be unfairly disadvantaged simply because he or she participated in pre-trial discovery first, while others charged with the same crime could subsequently obtain the same records, but without any reciprocal discovery obligation. We do not believe the drafters of the Public Records act intended such an absurd result.

Id.

Cabral v. State

In Cabral v. State, 699 So.2d 294 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), Carlo Cabral and Jason Thomas were indicted for first-degree murder. Thomas participated in discovery under rule 3.220 and received the State's file. Cabral then made a chapter 119 demand for the same file. Although the State complied, it requested that the trial court compel Cabral to submit to reciprocal discovery per rule 3.220. The trial court agreed and ordered Cabral to submit to reciprocal discovery.

On petition for writ of certiorari, Cabral argued that his public records requests were independent of criminal discovery under rule 3.220 and, therefore, because he proceeded under chapter 119, he should not incur a reciprocal discovery obligation. Id. at 295. The Fifth District denied Cabral's petition, reasoning that:

[B]ut for the release

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