ROY LEE EPPS, PETITIONER,
v.
LOUIE L. WAINWRIGHT, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS, STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court granted the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, allowing the petitioner to proceed with a delayed appeal.
[1] A public defender does not act under color of state law when performing a lawyer's traditional functions as counsel to a defendant in a criminal proceeding.
[2] A petition for writ of habeas corpus may be granted to allow delayed appellate review when a public defender fails to file a timely notice of appeal.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe petitioner sought a writ of habeas corpus because their public defender failed to file a timely notice of appeal. This court had previously dismis…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Polk County V. Dodson cases and more on FLexlaw
GLICKSTEIN, Judge.
Petitioner seeks a writ of habeas corpus to obtain delayed appellate review. The circumstances are identical to those in Potts v. Wainwright, 413 So. 2d 156 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982) (on motion for rehearing). In both cases the public defender failed to file a timely notice of appeal; and by unpublished order, this court dismissed the appeal as untimely.1 In Potts, we granted the petition for writ of habeas corpus and permitted the matter to proceed as a delayed appeal; and we do the same herein.
We take note, however, that in Polk County v. Dodson, - U.S. -, 102 S.Ct. 445, 70 L.Ed.2d 509 (1981), the court held:
With respect to Dodson’s § 1983 claims against Shepard, we decide only that a public defender does not act under color of state law when performing a lawyer’s traditional functions as counsel to a defendant in a criminal proceeding.
Id. at 453 (footnote omitted). As a result, our sister court, in Meyer v. State, 415 So. 2d 70 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982), while granting a like petition under similar circumstances, certified the following questions to the supreme court as being of great public importance:
A. IN THE LIGHT OF THE DECISION IN POLK COUNTY v. DODSON, - U.S.-, 102 S.Ct. 445, 72 [sic] L. Ed.2d 509 (1981), IS STATE ACTION INVOLVED IN THE FAILURE OF A PUBLICLY APPOINTED LAWYER TO FILE A TIMELY NOTICE OF APPEAL ON BEHALF OF THE CONVICTED DEFENDANT, SO AS TO ENTITLE THE DEFENDANT TO BELATED APPELLATE REVIEW BY PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS?
B. IN THE LIGHT OF THE DECISION IN POLK COUNTY v. DODSON, - U.S.-, 102 S.Ct. 445, 72 [sic] L. Ed.2d 509 (1981), IS STATE ACTION INVOLVED IN THE FAILURE OF A PRIVATELY RETAINED LAWYER TO FILE A TIMELY NOTICE OF APPEAL ON BEHALF OF THE CONVICTED DEFENDANT, SO AS TO ENTITLE THE DEFENDANT TO BELATED APPELLATE REVIEW BY PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS?
Deeming the two questions to be of the same significance as did our sister court, we herewith certify them as well.
DELL and WALDEN, JJ., concur,
. In this case, Epps v. State, No. 82-82 (Fla. 4th DCA Feb. 10, 1982) (order dismissing appeal as untimely).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Meyer, 430 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 1983)…. 5th DCA 1982); Silvera v. State, 416 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Levesque v. State, 416 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Smith v. State, 416 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Avera v. State, 417 So. 2d 804 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Epps v. Wainwright, 420 So. 2d 659 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). . The second certified question is not apposite to the facts before us. Nonetheless, because of the reasoning underlying the negative answer to the first question, the answer to the second would of necessity also be negative.…
-
Davidson v. Louie L. Wainwright, 436 So. 2d 134 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)…E ACTION INVOLVED IN THE FAILURE OF A PRIVATELY RETAINED LAWYER TO FILE A TIMELY NOTICE OF APPEAL ON BEHALF OF THE CONVICTED DEFENDANT, SO AS TO ENTITLE THE DEFENDANT TO BELATED APPELLATE REVIEW BY PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS? In Epps v. Wainwright, 420 So. 2d 659 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), we deemed the two questions to be of the same significance and certified them as well. We do so again and further note the following comments of the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Meyer: The ethical obligation of an attorney…
Authorities Cited
- Polk Cnty. v. Dodson, 454 U.S. 312 (U.S. 1981)
- Potts v. Louie Wainwright, 413 So. 2d 156 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- Meyer v. State, 415 So. 2d 70 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982)