Knight v. Gee
Knight v. Gee
Opinion of the Court
Timothy Vann Knight petitioned this court for a writ of habeas corpus, contending that he was being illegally held on an excessive amount of bail after the circuit court sua sponte modified his bond. We granted relief in a previous order and directed the trial court to reinstate the bond in the amount originally set. This opinion now follows.
In ease number 14-CF-1366, Mr. Knight was arrested and originally charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure (count one), third-degree grand theft (count two), obstructing an officer without violence (count three), and possession of cannabis (count four). He posted a $5000 bond and was released. Mr. Knight was subsequently charged in case number 14-CF-1796 with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling (count one) and third-degree grand theft (count two), both of which occurred prior to Mr. Knight’s arrest and release in case number 1366, and he turned himself over to law enforcement. The trial court, noting Mr. Knight had neither committed new offenses nor violated conditions of his release' and had been “cooperative,” set his bond at $500 for counts one and two in case number 1796. Two days later, the trial court reset bond in case number 1366 at $2000 for counts one and two and at $500 for counts three and four. Mr. Knight posted $6000 bond for both cases and was released.
At the conclusion of the April 9 hearing, the court ordered the State to produce the law enforcement officer to testify about the failed cooperation agreement at an eviden-tiary hearing to be held on April 14. Mr. Knight then filed this petition for writ of habeas corpus.
At the April 14 hearing, the law enforcement officer verified that the prosecutor and the original trial judge had reached an off-the-record agreement to set Mr. Knight’s bond at a low amount so that Mr. Knight could assist the law enforcement officer, but Mr. Knight failed to cooperate. After hearing this testimony, the trial court acknowledged it lacked authority to sua sponte increase Mr. Knight’s bond at the April 9 hearing. However, the court expressed doubts about its jurisdiction to amend the bond while Mr. Knight’s petition was pending in this court, so it refused to enter further orders modifying the bond.
After the April 14 hearing, Mr. Knight remained detained under a bond that was unlawfully increased by the court at the April 9 hearing, and to our knowledge the State had not filed a motion to modify his bond. For this reason, we granted the petition and remanded for the trial court to reinstate the original bond amounts in
Petition granted.
. The circuit court had jurisdiction to modify its bond order. The purpose of a habeas petition is to test the legality of detention or restraint, Henry v. Santana, 62 So.3d 1122, 1124-25 (Fla. 2011), not to review the merits of a trial court order. Although the court’s entry of an order favorably modifying the petitioner’s bond might have rendered this petition moot, the circuit court nevertheless retained the power to reconsider its order during the pendency of this original proceeding in this court. Cf. Greenwood v. State, 51 So.3d 1278, 1279-80 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) (“Even though both defendants subsequently filed successful motions to reduce bond, the petition is not moot
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.