Florida Department of Corrections v. Holt
The Department of Corrections sought a writ of quo warranto to stop the Thirteenth Circuit Public Defender from representing an inmate in a section 960.293 civil restitution lien proceeding. The Second District held the Department's secretary had standing as a citizen/taxpayer to seek quo warranto enforcing a public right, and on the merits held that civil restitution lien proceedings are civil, do not implicate liberty interests or postconviction due process, and therefore fall outside the public defender's statutory authority under section 27.51.
Key facts
- Florida Department of Corrections sought a writ of quo warranto to prevent the Thirteenth Circuit Public Defender from representing an inmate in a civil restitution lien proceeding under section 960.293.
- The trial court (implicitly) allowed the Public Defender to represent the inmate in the restitution lien proceeding; the Department appealed by seeking quo warranto in the Second District Court of Appeal.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
The opinion is a useful standing precedent: it confirms that a state agency head, as a citizen and taxpayer, may invoke quo warranto to police another public officer's exercise of statutory authority without showing… — full analysis with a trial
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