JIMMY KIMBROUGH
v.
STATE
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Where a mandamus petition sets forth a prima facie case that record documents were prepared at public expense on behalf of an indigent defendant, the trial court must order the respondent public defender to file a response before denying the petition.
[1] Mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel a public defender to provide to a former client copies of record documents prepared at public expense.
[2] Record documents prepared at public expense on behalf of an indigent defendant must be provided to that defendant without charge for copying.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Mandamus is a common law remedy used to enforce an established legal right by compelling a person in an official capacity to perform an indisputable ministerial duty required by law.”
Definition of mandamus established as appropriate remedy for compelling public defenders.
Kimbrough, an indigent criminal defendant represented by the Public Defender's Office of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, requested free copies of cer…
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED JIMMY KIMBROUGH, Appellant,
v. Case No. 5D18-608 STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. ________________________________/ Opinion filed August 17, 2018 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Brevard County, Morgan Laur Reinman, Judge.
Jimmy L. Kimbrough, Arcadia, pro se.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Robin A. Compton, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM. Jimmy Kimbrough appeals the denial of his petition for writ of mandamus.
Kimbrough was an indigent defendant in a criminal prosecution who was represented by the Public Defender’s Office of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit. Kimbrough requested that the Public Defender’s Office provide to him free copies of certain CDs and DVDs that he alleged were previously prepared at public expense. The trial court summarily denied
Kimbrough’s petition, concluding that he had no “pending” prosecution and “the records of the Public Defender’s Office are not part of the judicial branch record, and are therefore not subject to release by [the circuit] court.” We reverse.
“Mandamus is a common law remedy used to enforce an established legal right by compelling a person in an official capacity to perform an indisputable ministerial duty required by law.” Wharen v. State, 170 So. 3d 942, 943 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015) (quoting
Poole v. City of Port Orange, 33 So. 3d 739, 741 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)). Because a public defender is an “official,” mandamus is an appropriate remedy to compel the public defender to provide to a former client copies of record documents prepared at public expense. Id. (quoting Brown v. State, 93 So. 3d 1194, 1196 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)).
Moreover, record documents that were prepared at public expense on behalf of an indigent defendant must be provided to him or her without charge for copying. Id. at 943-
Where, as here, a petition for writ of mandamus sets forth a prima facie case for relief, the trial court is required to order the respondent to file a response. Id. at 944 (citing
Brown, 93 So. 3d at 1196). In the present case, and as properly conceded by the State,
the trial court erred in summarily denying Kimbrough’s petition without first ordering a response from the Public Defender’s Office.
Accordingly, we reverse the order under review with directions to the trial court to order the Public Defender’s Office to file a response as to whether the requested CDs and DVDs were obtained or prepared on Kimbrough’s behalf at public expense. If so,
then, as to those specific CDs and DVDs, the court shall order that they be copied for
Kimbrough without charge. See id.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
ORFINGER, BERGER, and LAMBERT, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Poole v. City OF Port Orange & MHK of Volusia, 33 So. 3d 739 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)
- Rosado v. State, 1 So. 3d 1147 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Brown v. State, 93 So. 3d 1194 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
- Wharen v. State, 170 So. 3d 942 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015)