BERNT MEYER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
Meyer, a former attorney convicted of tampering with a witness and conspiracy to tamper with a witness in 1987, challenged his convictions via habeas corpus and a rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief, arguing the statute under which he was convicted had been held unconstitutional by lower appellate courts. The court affirmed the denial of both petitions, holding that a change in law by lower courts does not warrant postconviction relief absent a ruling from the Florida Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court.
The court affirmed the denial of the habeas corpus petition because postconviction relief must be sought first. While erring in holding that work-release prisoners cannot file rule 3.850 motions (work-release prisoners are similarly situated to probationers and can file such motions), the court affirmed the striking of the motion because the allegations were legally insufficient: a change in law from district courts does not constitute grounds for rule 3.850 relief unless the Florida Supreme Court or United States Supreme Court rules the statute unconstitutional and determines such ruling represents a development of fundamental significance.
[1] A petition for writ of habeas corpus is properly denied when the petitioner has not first sought postconviction relief by filing a motion for postconviction relief.
[2] A probationer is considered "in custody under sentence" for the purposes of filing a motion for postconviction relief.
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 intelligence“We affirm the trial court's denial of Mr. Meyer's petition for writ of habeas corpus because at the time he filed the petition, he had not filed a motion for postconviction relief.”
Establishes that habeas corpus relief requires prior exhaustion of postconviction remedies.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMeyer was convicted in October 1987 of tampering with a witness and conspiracy to tamper with a witness under section 914.22(1)(a), Florida Statutes (…
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 Change In Law cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
In these consolidated appeals, Mr. Meyer challenges the trial court’s denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus (Case No. 89-01999) and an order striking his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 (Case No. 90-02075). We affirm.
In October 1987 Mr. Meyer, a former attorney,1 was convicted of tampering with a witness and conspiracy to tamper with a witness, in violation of sections 914.22(1)(a) and 777.04(3), Florida Statutes (1985). His appeal from the convictions was dismissed for nonprosecution in September 1988. Meyer v. State, 531 So. 2d 718 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). In May 1989 he filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus which the trial court denied because Mr. Meyer had not first sought postconviction relief by filing a rule 3.850 motion. Mr. Meyer then filed a motion for postconviction relief in October 1989. The trial court struck that motion on the basis that Mr. Meyer was not a “prisoner in custody under sentence.” These timely appeals followed.
In both the petition for writ of habeas corpus and the motion for postconviction relief, Mr. Meyer contends that his convictions and sentences for tampering with a witness and conspiracy to tamper with a witness should be set aside because .the statute under which he was convicted in 1987, section 914.22(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1985), has been held unconstitutional recently by this court and by the Fourth District Court of Appeal. See State v. Chapman, 562 So. 2d 355 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); State v. Cohen, 545 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989).
We affirm the trial court’s denial of Mr. Meyer’s petition for writ of habeas corpus because at the time he filed the petition, he had not filed a motion for postconviction relief. Finley v. State, 394 So. 2d 215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).
It appears that the trial court struck Mr. Meyer’s motion for postconviction relief on the basis that he was on work release at the time the motion was filed, and thus, he was not “in custody under sentence,” pursuant to rule 3.850. We conclude that this ruling was in error. In State v. Bolyea, 520 So. 2d 562 (Fla.1988), our supreme court held that a probationer is “in custody under sentence” for pur poses of filing a motion pursuant to rule 3.850. We can find no meaningful distinction between a probationer and a prisoner on work release. Accordingly, Mr. Meyer could file a motion pursuant to rule 3.850 while he was on work release.
Nevertheless, we conclude that at the time Mr. Meyer filed his motion, the allegations for postconviction relief were legally insufficient. Mr. Meyer was convicted of the charges in October 1987. Although this court and the Fourth District have held that the statute under which Mr. Meyer was convicted is unconstitutional, this “change in the law” did not come from the Florida Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Meyer’s claim is not appropriate under rule 3.850 unless and until either our supreme court or the United States Supreme Court rules that the statute is unconstitutional and determines that such ruling is a development of fundamental significance.2 Witt v. State, 387 So. 2d 922 (Fla.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1067, 101 S.Ct. 796, 66 L.Ed.2d 612 (1980); Lodson v. State, 478 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). Therefore, we treat the order striking the motion as a summary denial of the motion, and affirm.
Affirmed.
RYDER, A.C.J., and DANAHY and ALTENBERND, JJ., concur. . In November 1987, Mr. Meyer was suspended from the practice of law because of the convictions. The supreme court permitted him to resign from The Florida Bar in August 1988, subject to the usual readmission procedures if his convictions were reversed on appeal. The Florida Bar v. Meyer, 529 So. 2d 1098 (Fla.1988).
. We do note that State v. Chapman, No. 73,758 (Fla. filed Feb. 24, 1989) and State v. Cohen, No. 76,340 (Fla. filed July 17, 1990), are presently pending in our supreme court.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Delancy v. Tucker, 88 So. 3d 1036 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)…See Earls v. State, 958 So. 2d 1153 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007). Thus, Appellant missed the two-year filing deadline in rule 3.850(b), which is a bar that generally cannot be waived. Jamison v. State, 73 So. 3d 317, 318 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011); Meyer v. State, 570 So. 2d 1001, 1003 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). A petitioner cannot circumvent the two-year filing limitation by seeking habeas corpus relief. Jamison, 73 So. 3d at 318; Finley v. State, 394 So. 2d 215, 216 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). Although rule 3.850(b) contemplates narrow…
-
Trueblood v. Dixon (N.D. Fla. 2021)…lly cannot be waived.”); see also Jamison v. State, 73 So. 3d 317, 318 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011); Knowles v. State, 41 So. 3d 332, 333 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010); Lawson v. State, 35 So. 3d 112, 112 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010); Meyer v. Case No.: 4:21cv19/MW/EMT State, 570 So. 2d 1001, 1003 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); Mullins v. State, 974 So. 2d 1135, 1137 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008); Ghent v. State, 27 So. 3d 121, 123 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). Even where a state court has ruled in the alternative, addressing both the independent state procedural gro…
Authorities Cited
- Witt v. State, 387 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 1980)
- Adams v. Peat, 449 U.S. 1067 (U.S. 1980)
- Jarrett v. Jarrett, 449 U.S. 1067 (U.S. 1980)
- State v. Bolyea, 520 So. 2d 562 (Fla. 1988)
- Earnest James Finley v. State, 394 So. 2d 215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)
- State v. Cohen, 545 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
- Lodson v. State, 478 So. 2d 477 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)
- THE Florida BAR v. Bernt Meyer, 529 So. 2d 1098 (Fla. 1988)
- State v. Chapman, 562 So. 2d 355 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)