IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA
DENNIS T. HUTTO, NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
Petitioner, DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
v. CASE NO. 1D16-1587
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Respondent.
___________________________/
Opinion filed September 13, 2016.
Petition for Writ of Mandamus -- Original Jurisdiction.
Dennis Hutto, pro se, Petitioner.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM.
Pro se petitioner Dennis Hutto seeks a writ of mandamus compelling the circuit
court to complete its ministerial duty of transmitting Hutto’s timely notice of appeal of
an order prohibiting him from further pro se filings to this court. Finding merit to
Hutto’s claim, we grant the petition.
The circuit judge in this case entered an order prohibiting the petitioner from
bringing further pro se filings on December 9, 2015. The petitioner filed a timely
motion for rehearing on December 10, 2015. * The court denied the motion on
December 21, 2015. The petitioner filed a timely notice of appeal on December 28,
2015. Instead of docketing and transmitting the notice of appeal to this court, the court
sent it back to the petitioner with a letter stating that the court refused to accept the
notice of appeal on the basis of the order prohibiting further pro se filings.
The circuit court entered an appealable order and had the ministerial duty to
accept the petitioner’s notice of appeal and transmit a certified copy to this court. See,
e.g., G.W. v. Rushing, 22 So. 3d 819 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). The circuit court could not
use the order prohibiting the petitioner from further pro se filings – the very same
order, in fact, that the petitioner was attempting to appeal – to refuse to accept a timely
notice of appeal of an appealable order that the court rendered.
The petition is granted. The circuit court is directed to transmit to this court a
certified copy of the petitioner’s notice of appeal.
PETITION GRANTED.
WOLF, LEWIS, and OSTERHAUS, JJ., CONCUR.
*
The timely motion for rehearing postponed rendition of the underlying order. See
Fla. R. App. P. 9.020(i).
2