Sullivan v. Askew
Citation | 348 So.2d 312 |
Decision Date | 30 June 1977 |
Docket Number | No. 51276,51276 |
Parties | Robert A. SULLIVAN, Gary E. Alvord and Learie L. Alford, Appellants, v. Reubin O'D. ASKEW, etc., et al., Appellees. |
Court | United States State Supreme Court of Florida |
Andrew A. Graham of the Law Offices of Charles M. Holcomb, Cocoa, and Tobias Simon and Elizabeth Du Fresne, Miami, for appellants.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., James D. Whisenand, Deputy Atty. Gen., Raymond L. Marky, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Eleanor A. Mitchell, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Tallahassee, for appellees.
We have for review by direct appeal an order of the Circuit Court, in and for Leon County, granting appellees' motion to dismiss and deny appellants' petition for temporary injunctive relief, in which the court construes provisions of the Constitution of Florida, thereby vesting jurisdiction in this Court pursuant to Article V, Section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution.
Sullivan, Alford and Alvord, all convicted of capital felonies and sentenced to death (which convictions and sentences have been affirmed on appeal), filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief and alleged that the Governor, along with three concurring members of the Cabinet, has the authority under Article IV, Section 8, Florida Constitution, to commute the death sentences by granting clemency; that a hearing is required; that minimal due process, including a fair and impartial tribunal, the right to be heard in person and by counsel, and written standards or guidelines setting forth factors to be considered in granting clemency, is required; and that the scheduled hearings deny due process. The trial court granted appellees' motion to dismiss the complaint on the basis that it lacked jurisdiction over appellees pursuant to Article II, Section 3, and Article IV, Section 8, Florida Constitution, and lacked jurisdiction of the cause, pursuant to the same constitutional provisions, and that the complaint failed to state a cause of action.
The Parole and Probation Commission conducted investigations into each of appellants' cases and made a negative recommendation relative to commutation.
Preliminarily, we consider the decision of the trial judge expressly finding that the court lacks jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter. Article V, Section 5, of the Florida Constitution vests the circuit courts with plenary power and the jurisdiction to construe all sections of the Constitution. Cf. Curtis et al. v. Albritton, 101 Fla. 853, 132 So. 677 (1931). It is a judicial responsibility to interpret and construe provisions of the Constitution when there are ambiguities or conflicts. The court may determine constitutional intent to assist in the decision of whether a given responsibility lies exclusively with one branch, whether that branch has been granted restricted or unrestricted power to perform such duties and whether the constitutional provision fixing the responsibility is self-executing. Moreover, the Court may determine whether any constitutional grant of power is being exercised according to the specific grant and in a manner that does not violate any other provision of the Constitution. The trial judge was in error when he held that the court was without jurisdiction, but because, as explained below, the clemency power is exclusively in the executive branch, he was correct in determining that the complaint fails to state a cause of action.
The clemency power, which is the power to suspend collection of fines and forfeitures, to grant reprieves, to grant full or conditional pardons, restore civil rights, commute punishments, and to remit fines and forfeitures for offenses, reposes exclusively in the Chief Executive.
Historically, the pardoning power was a part of the royal prerogative in England. Defining a pardon, Chief Justice Marshall, in United States v. Wilson, 7 Pet. 150, 8 L.Ed. 640, stated:
This power flows from the Constitution and not from any legislative enactment, Advisory Opinion of the Governor, In Re: Administrative Procedure Act: Executive Clemency, 334 So.2d 561 (Fla.1976). The United States Supreme Court, in Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256, 95 S.Ct. 379, 42 L.Ed.2d 430 (1974), concluded:
Article IV, Section 8, Florida Constitution, provides:
By this self-executing constitutional provision, the people of this state chose to vest sole, unrestricted, unlimited discretion exclusively in the executive in exercising this act of grace. This Court, in In Re Advisory Opinion of the Governor Civil Rights, 306 So.2d 520 (Fla.1975), explained:
Article II, Section 3, Florida Constitution, divides government into three separate and distinct branches of government and provides that "(n)o person belonging to one branch shall exercise any powers...
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