Watts v. Buck
| Decision Date | 05 September 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 84-873,84-873 |
| Citation | 454 So.2d 1079 |
| Parties | Nathaniel WATTS, Petitioner, v. The Honorable Morison BUCK, Circuit Judge, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County, Florida, Respondent. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Nathaniel Watts, pro se.
Carolyn J. House, Tampa, for respondent.
By petition for writ of certiorari, Nathaniel Watts, a convicted felon presently incarcerated at Dade Correctional Institute, seeks review of the trial court's orders 1) suspending prosecution of Watts' legal malpractice action against his criminal defense attorney until restoration of Watts' civil rights and 2) denying Watts' subsequent motion for appointment of counsel in that civil proceeding. We deny the petition.
As to the first point, we find no clear departure from the essential requirements of law in the trial court's ruling that petitioner's right to maintain this particular action constitutes one of the civil rights suspended under section 944.292, Florida Statutes (1983). 1 See Annot., 74 A.L.R.3d 680, 697 (1976). We find petitioner's reliance on In re Advisory Opinion of the Governor Civil Rights, 306 So.2d 520 (Fla.1975), misplaced to the extent that the cited opinion addresses a statutory predecessor to the current provision which specifically provided that the "only civil rights which shall be suspended by conviction are the right to vote, hold public office, and serve on a jury." See § 944.292, Fla.Stat. (1975). 2 Significantly, the current statute contains no such limitation.
As to the second point, we find no error in the trial court's order denying petitioner's motion for appointment of counsel. See In the Interest of D.B., 385 So.2d 83, 89 (Fla.1980); McKay v. Jenkins, 405 So.2d 287, 288 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).
Accordingly, the petition for writ of certiorari is DENIED.
1 Section 944.292, Florida Statutes (1983), provides:
Suspension of civil rights.--Upon conviction of a felony as defined in s. 10, Art. X of the State Constitution, the civil rights of the person convicted shall be suspended in Florida until such rights are restored by a full pardon, conditional pardon, or restoration of civil rights granted pursuant to s. 8, Art. IV of the State Constitution.
2 Section 944.292, Florida Statutes (1975), provides:
Suspension of civil rights.--Effective July 1, 1974, upon conviction for a felony, the civil rights of the person convicted shall be...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
McCuiston v. Wanicka
...maintained, McCuiston had been divested of his civil rights by virtue of section 944.292, Florida Statutes (1983). In Watts v. Buck, 454 So.2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984), we interpreted this statute as including the right to maintain a civil Statutes such as section 944.292 are commonly known ......
-
Lloyd v. Farkash, BE-447
...malpractice against Farkash, his former defense counsel. The trial court dismissed the complaint on authority of Watts v. Buck, 454 So.2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). The facts in Watts are virtually identical to those in the instant case and the district court found there that the plaintiff's ......
-
Aiani v. Boore, 85-2075
...to maintain a civil action in Florida's courts was suspended pursuant to section 944.292, Florida Statutes (1983), and Watts v. Buck, 454 So.2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). The court acknowledged that it was following precedent and certified a question to this court concerning the constitutiona......
-
Dinkens v. Circuit Court of Tenth Judicial Circuit.
...an order abating the petition until appellant's civil rights were restored. The court entered its order on the basis of Watts v. Buck, 454 So.2d 1079 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984), in which we held that section 944.292, Florida Statutes (1983), prevents a convicted felon from maintaining a civil actio......