Robinson v. State
Robinson v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant, Tony Robinson, appeals the summary denial of his Petition for Extraordinary Writ on the ground that it was successive. Robinson had alleged in his petition that his three convictions for resisting an officer with violence were illegal, because his offenses occurred during one criminal episode, and that his six five-year sentences as a habitual felony offender (HFO) for battery on a law-enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence should run concurrently rather than consecutively, also because the offenses occurred during a single episode. The trial court did not address Robinson’s first issue, and denied die second, because he has filed four previous motions raising the same issue. We affirm the summary denial of Robinson’s first issue, because it is time barred. We reverse the denial of the second issue and remand with directions for the trial court to consider the merits of Robinson’s claim.
Robinson’s convictions became final on March 24, 1992. If the record were to show that his offenses occurred during a single incident, his first claim — that he should have been convicted of only one count of resisting an officer with violence rather than three — would be correct under Wallace v. State, 724 So.2d 1176 (Fla. 1998).
Turning to Robinson’s second issue, we direct the trial court to examine the record below to determine whether Robinson has raised a meritorious issue that has been overlooked. In Hale v. State, 630 So.2d 521 (Fla. 1993), the supreme court held that the HFO statute does not permit consecutive sentences for multiple crimes committed during one criminal episode. In State v. Callaway, 658 So.2d 983 (Fla. 1995), the court held that Hale would apply retroactively, and gave defendants a two-year window in which to challenge their sentences. Because the resulting window was insufficient, the court decided in Dixon v. State, 730 So.2d 265 (Fla. 1999), that the two-year window should extend from the date Callaway was decided (August 16, 1995), rather than from the date Hale was issued (October 14, 1993), or from the date the court denied rehearing in Hale (February 9, 1994). Some of Robinson’s files from this court show that his Hale claims were denied because they were not filed within the initial Callaway window, although they may have been filed within the window approved in Dixon, and that succeeding claims were denied as successive.
We therefore direct the trial court to examine the record to determine whether Robinson filed a timely Hale challenge, and, if so, whether relief is available and appropriate by writ of habeas corpus.
. “The courts have the authority to treat prisoner petitions as if the proper remedy were sought if it would be in the interest of justice to do so.” Hall v. State, 643 So.2d 635, 636 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Tony B. ROBINSON v. STATE of Florida
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published