NEDOR HYACINTHE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Nedor Hyacinthe appealed the summary denial of his Rule 3.850 post-conviction motion. The trial court dismissed it as a successive and abusive motion, but the appellate court reversed, holding that the abuse of process doctrine does not apply when prior motions were not decided on the merits.
The abuse of process doctrine under Rule 3.850(f) does not apply when the trial court has not previously ruled on the merits of a post-conviction claim and the movant seeks to raise new claims in a different motion. A movant has the right to amend or supplement a motion at any time within the two-year time limit as long as the trial court has not yet ruled on the merits.
[1] A successive post-conviction motion may be dismissed if the prior determination was on the merits and the new motion fails to allege new or different grounds for relief.
[2] A post-conviction movant may amend or supplement a motion at any time within the statutory limit, provided the trial court has not yet ruled on the merits of the motion.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The abuse of process doctrine does not apply where the trial court has not previously ruled on the merits of a post-conviction claim in the case and the movant seeks to raise new claims in a different motion.”
This establishes the key legal principle that the abuse of process doctrine requires a prior ruling on the merits to apply.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHyacinthe filed three Rule 3.850 motions. His first motion was stricken because the court lacked jurisdiction while a direct appeal was pending. His s…
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PER CURIAM.
Nedor Hyacinthe appeals the summary denial of his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion. The trial court ruled that Hyacinthe’s motion was successive and an abuse of procedure. Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(f). The court noted that Hya-cinthe had filed two prior motions, neither one of which was considered on the merits. Hyacinthe’s first motion was stricken because the court lacked jurisdiction while a direct appeal was pending, and the second motion was found to be legally insufficient where it failed to allege facts to support the claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(c)(6) (requiring movant to state the facts supporting the motion). The trial court did not reach the merits of this second motion because it found that the motion merely stated conclusions of law without any factual explanation.
Rule 3.850(f) provides:
A second or successive motion may be dismissed if the judge finds that it fails to allege new or different grounds for relief and the prior determination was on the merits or, if new and different grounds are alleged, the judge finds that the failure of the movant or the attorney to assert those grounds in a prior motion constituted an abuse of the procedure governed by these rules.
The instant motion alleged new grounds for ineffective assistance of counsel. The state argues that the trial court properly determined that Hyacinthe abused the post-conviction process by raising new claims, even though none of Hyacinthe’s prior motions were determined on the merits. We disagree.
The abuse of process doctrine does not apply where the trial court has not previously ruled on the merits of a post-conviction claim in the case and the movant seeks to raise new claims in a different motion. See Christopher v. State, 489 So. 2d 22, 24 (Fla.1986) (discussing the abuse of process doctrine and the adoption of rule 3.850(f)). As noted by Hyacinthe in his response to this court, a 3.850 movant has the right to amend or supplement a motion at any time within the two-year time limit as long as the trial court has not yet ruled on the merits of the motion. Gaskin v. State, 737 So. 2d 509 (Fla.1999), receded from on other grounds, Nelson v. State, 875 So. 2d 579 (Fla.2004); Harris v. State, 826 So. 2d 340 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002). Hyacinthe’s motion was not successive because the prior motions were not determined on the merits. See also Mancebo v. State, 931 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006).
We reverse the summary denial of the motion for post-conviction relief and remand for the trial court to consider the motion on its merits.
STONE, POLEN and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Spera v. State, 971 So. 2d 754 (Fla. 2007)…court ruled on the original motion and before the two-year time limit expired, but finding the error harmless because the new claims were procedurally barred), receded from on other grounds by Nelson, 875 So. 2d at 583; see also Hyacinthe v. State, 940 So. 2d 1280, 1281 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (“[A] 3.850 movant has the right to amend or supplement a motion at any time within the two-year time limit as long as the trial court has not yet ruled on the merits of the motion.”). Again, however, the amended motion mus…
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Frew v. State, 947 So. 2d 1275 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)…etionary ability does not apply when the previous motion was summarily denied or dismissed for legal insufficiency. See McCrae v. State, 437 So. 2d 1388, 1390 (Fla.1983); Wright v. State, 741 So. 2d 1146, 1147 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); Hyacinthe v. State, 940 So. 2d 1280, 1281 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). Moreover, nothing in the record before this court suggests that Mr. Frew abused judicial procedures by adding grounds to his motion when he made a second attempt to allege a facially sufficient claim. See Mancebo v. State,…
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Samuels v. State, 973 So. 2d 662 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)…urt to permit the filing of an amended motion. A rule 3.850 movant has the right to amend or supplement a motion at any time within the two-year time limit as long as the trial court has not yet ruled on the merits of the motion. Hyacinthe v. State, 940 So. 2d 1280 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (citing Gaskin v. State, 737 So. 2d 509 (Fla.1999), receded, from, on other grounds, Nelson v. State, 875 So. 2d 579 (Fla.2004)). Reversed and Remanded. SHAHOOD, C.J., POLEN and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Nelson v. State, 875 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 2004)
- Gaskin v. State, 737 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 1999)
- Tortoise Island Cmtys., Inc. v. The Moorings Ass'n, Inc., 489 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 1986)
- Mancebo v. State, 931 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)
- Damien Harris v. State, 826 So. 2d 340 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)