Ragland v. State
| Decision Date | 14 May 1908 |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
| Parties | RAGLAND v. STATE. |
Rehearing Denied June 20, 1908.
Error to Circuit Court, Polk County; Joseph B. Wall, Judge.
Petition by Charles A. Ragland, alias Fisher, for a writ of certiorari to review a judgment and sentence of the county court. From an order denying the writ, petitioner brings error. Affirmed.
Syllabus by the Court
On certiorari the court issuing the writ considers only the face of the record of the inferior court. Matters in pais are not within the purview of the writ.
A petition for a writ of certiorari to review the proceedings and judgment of a court should make it appear that an illegal proceeding appears by the face of the record complained of.
Where a petition for a writ of certiorari shows that the petitioner pleaded guilty to an information charging a crime of which the court had jurisdiction, and that the sentence imposed is authorized by law, the writ of certiorari is properly denied where no illegality is shown to appear upon the face of the record of the inferior court.
Where a court upon a plea of guilty enters a judgment that the defendant 'be confined in the county jail at hard labor for one year,' and 'that, on payment of $250 and costs, sentence stands suspended as long as defendant keeps from dealing in intoxicating liquors or from doing business where such liquors are sold,' and the judgment and sentence as to imprisonment is valid, and the entry as to the suspension of the sentence is void, the valid sentence of imprisonment is not thereby invalidated.
A writ of certiorari requires the production of a copy of the record of the inferior court, not the person of a defendant convicted in the inferior court. It is not the province of a writ of certiorari to act directly upon a commitment and to discharge a prisoner, but to act upon the record proceedings and judgment of the court alleged to be illegal and void.
If a person upon whom a lawful sentence of imprisonment has been imposed can be heard to state that he had an agreement with the prosecuting officer as to the character of the sentence to be imposed by the court upon a plea of guilty, and that he believed the judgment and sentence had been satisfied by the payment of a fine, he cannot do so on certiorari, since, if such matters can be considered at all, they are not of record to be reached by certiorari.
Where a judgment imposes a sentence of imprisonment, and contains a void provision that upon the payment of a fine and the performance of certain conditions the sentence stands suspended, the payment of the fine and the observance of the conditions do not relieve the defendant from the imprisonment lawfully imposed.
J. W. Brady, for plaintiff in error.
This writ of error was taken to an order of the circuit court denying a writ of certiorari.
The plaintiff in error, Chas. A. Ragland, alias Fisher, presented to the judge of the circuit court a petition for a writ of certiorari to review a judgment of the county court of Polk county. In substance, the petition alleges: That in the county court on April 17, 1906, the petitioner pleaded guilty to an information charging him with the offense of selling intoxicating liquors in violation of law. That in entering the plea of guilty the petitioner was 'actuated thereto by the fact that he was advised that he was technically guilty of said offense.' That the entry of the plea of guilty was upon a special agreement then and there made between petitioner and the county prosecuting attorney of said court, wherein it was previously agreed and distinctly understood that, on the entry of said plea of guilty by petitioner, the court should and would impose a sentence upon petitioner of $250 fine and costs of said suit. That upon this understanding and agreement on the part of petitioner and upon this alone petitioner so entered his plea of guilty to said charge. That said $250 and costs were paid by petitioner. That, instead of the sentence being entered as aforesaid, for said fine and costs, the court without petitioner's knowledge and consent entered the following judgment: 'That petitioner did not know till long after the adjournment of said court at which said judgment was rendered that such a sentence had been rendered against him.' That petitioner 'was not represented by an attorney in the court, was not formally arraigned on said charge, and that he looked up the state's attorney to enter said plea of guilty in vacation.' That, notwithstanding the facts above stated, petitioner 'has nevertheless been arrested at this late date, to wit, the 8th day of February, 1908, by the sheriff of said Polk county, in pursuance of said sentence, and is in danger of being carried to the convict camp of said county to serve out the term of 12 months' imprisonment at hard labor mentioned in the first part of said sentence.' That the whole of said sentence was and is illegal. That 'petitioner would not have so entered his plea of guilty had he not been fully assured, and firmly believed, that the payment of the sum of $250 and the costs of the case as specified in said sentence would be a full satisfaction of said judgment and said sentence.'
The prayer is for a writ of certiorari requiring the county court to send to the circuit court the entire record for review, and that the court 'shall quash the judgment and sentence in said cause so rendered by said court, and that your petitioner be permitted to withdraw his said plea of guilty, and be given his day in court, and a full, fair, and impartial trial in said cause.'
...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State ex rel. Sonner v. Shearin
...Ziegler v. District of Columbia, 71 A.2d 618, 619 (D.C.Mun.App.1950); McMahon v. Mayo, 92 So.2d 806, 810 (Fla.1957); Ragland v. State, 55 Fla. 157, 163, 46 So. 724 (1908); Tanner v. Wiggins, 54 Fla. 203, 45 So. 459 (1907); People ex rel. Hanrahan v. Wilson, 48 Ill.2d 30, 35, 268 N.E.2d 23 (......
-
Kilgore v. Bird
... ... Do you know ... whether your son Chester W. Kilgore did marry without having ... obtained a divorce? ... [149 Fla. 575] 6 ... State what knowledge you have prior to your son's Chester ... W. Kilgore leaving Pinellas County, State of Florida, that he ... intended to remarry? ... Fla. 504, 16 So. 398, 43 Am.St.Rep. 214]; Benton v. State, ... supra; Harrison v. Frink [75 Fla. 22] , 77 ... So. 663. See, also, Ragland v. State, 55 Fla. 157, ... 46 So. 724; Halliday v. [Jacksonville & A.] Plank Road ... Co., 6 Fla. 304 ... 'A judgment on ... writ of ... ...
-
Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Florida Fine Fruit Co.
... ... 214; Seaboard Air Line R. Co. v. Ray, 52 Fla. 634, ... 42 So. 714; Louisville & N. R. Co. v. Sutton, 54 ... Fla. 247, 44 So. 964; Ragland v. State, 55 Fla. 157, ... 46 So. 724; Malone v. City of Quincy, 66 Fla. 52, 62 ... So. 922, Ann. Cas. 1916D, 208; State v. Live Oak, P. & G ... ...
-
Janet Realty Corp. v. Hoffman's, Inc.
...Live Oak, P. & G. R. Co., 70 Fla. 564, 70 So. 550; Malone v. City of Quincy, 66 Fla. 52, 62 So. 922, Ann.Cas. 1916D, 208; Ragland v. State, 55 Fla. 157, 46 So. 724; Louisville & N. R. Co. v. Sutton, 54 Fla. 247, 44 946; Seaboard Air Line R. Co. v. Ray, 52 Fla. 634, 42 So. 714; Hunt v. City ......