Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed February 9, 2016.
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No. 3D16-292
Lower Tribunal No. 16-37
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Dan Simmons,
Petitioner,
vs.
Marydell Guevara, etc., et al.,
Repondents.
A Case of Original Jurisdiction – Habeas Corpus.
Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Natasha Baker-Bradley, Assistant
Public Defender, for petitioner.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Sandra Lipman, Assistant Attorney
General, for respondents.
Before WELLS, LAGOA and SCALES, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Based on the State’s admirable confession of error, we grant the Petitioner’s
emergency petition for writ of habeas corpus, and order the immediate release of
Petitioner on his own recognizance as required by Rule 3.134(1), Fla. Rules of
Crim. Proc.
Petitioner was arrested on January 1, 2016 for burglary of an occupied
dwelling and domestic battery via strangulation. Petitioner was held without bond,
pending the filing of charges.
On February 3, 2016, the 33rd day of Petitioner’s detention, the State moved
for an extension of time to file an information pursuant to Rule 3.134(2). In
response, the trial court amended Petitioner’s “no bond” status to a $10,000 bond
and placed Petitioner on house arrest.
Petitioner objected to those terms, arguing that, since the State had not
articulated good cause for an extension as required by Rule 3.134(2), Rule
3.134(1) required Petitioner to be released on his own recognizance.
While not entirely clear from the record, it seems the trial court believed that
the scheduling of an adversary preliminary hearing pursuant to Rule 3.133 could
relieve the State from its obligation to either file an information within 33 days of
Petitioner’s arrest or show good cause why an extension was required.
On February 8, 2016, Petitioner filed the instant petition seeking emergency
habeas relief. We ordered the State to respond on an expedited basis. In its
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response, the State concedes that, pursuant to Rule 3.134, the trial court erred in
conflating Rule 3.133’s preliminary hearing provisions with Rule 3.134’s
requirements and that the State has not demonstrated good cause for an extension
under Rule 3.134.
Therefore, we grant the petition and order that Petitioner be immediately
released on his own recognizance as required by Rule 3.134.
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