Lancaster v. Department of Corrections
Lancaster v. Department of Corrections
Opinion of the Court
We grant Marvin Lancaster's motion for rehearing or clarification, withdraw our prior opinion, and substitute the following corrected opinion.
Marvin Lancaster seeks certiorari review of the order summarily denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus. He argues *212that the circuit court did not apply the correct law. We agree and reverse.
Lancaster was charged and convicted of robbery with a firearm. He was released on parole after serving twenty-three years of his fifty-year sentence. While on parole, Lancaster tested positive for cocaine and THC and was arrested for violating his parole. Lancaster claimed that he was diagnosed with cancer and utilized the drugs to relieve the pain resulting from his chemotherapy treatment. Following a hearing, the examiner recommended reinstating Lancaster's parole; however, the Florida Commission on Offender Review ("FCOR") disagreed and revoked Lancaster's parole.
Several years later, Lancaster filed an emergency petition for writ of habeas corpus in the circuit court seeking an order compelling FCOR to restore the original conditions of his parole. Lancaster alleged that FCOR failed to make statutory findings that his parole violation was willful and substantial. The circuit court summarily denied his petition.
A defendant may seek review of an FCOR order by filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus or a writ of mandamus in the circuit court, depending on the nature of the claim. E.g., Mabrey v. Fla. Parole Comm'n,
Only a willful violation of a substantial condition of parole will justify revocation, and the examiner must make these factual findings in its revocation order. E.g., Mathis v. Fla. Parole Comm'n,
Here, although the examiner found that Lancaster violated the terms of his parole by using illegal drugs, it is not clear from the examiner's findings, the record, or FCOR's revocation order whether the violation was found to be willful and substantial. E.g., Harris v. Fla. Parole Comm'n,
*213Here, the circuit court concluded that FCOR's findings were consistent with the examiner's findings, which is true; however, the circuit court did not address Lancaster's claim that both the examiner and FCOR failed to find that the violation was willful.
We are sympathetic to FCOR's argument that Lancaster did not timely raise this issue. However, FCOR needed to raise this defense below before arguing it to this Court. Although there is no time limit to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the finding of a parole violation, the timeliness may be raised as an affirmative defense of laches. See McCray v. State,
Thus, we grant the petition for writ of certiorari, quash the order summarily denying the petition for writ of habeas corpus, and remand for consideration of Lancaster's claim.
PETITION GRANTED.
COHEN, EISNAUGLE and HARRIS, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.