Tonda Ihetu Royal v. State
The trial court denied a rule 3.850 motion as untimely, calculating the two-year period from the date of the Fifth DCA's affirmance rather than the mandate. The Fifth DCA reversed, reaffirming that the two-year filing window under rule 3.850(b) begins upon issuance of the appellate mandate, not the date of the decision itself, making the motion timely.
Key facts
- Appellant sought post-conviction relief under rule 3.850 after the Fifth DCA affirmed a conviction on April 20, 2021, with the appellate mandate issuing on July 13, 2021.
- The trial court denied the rule 3.850 motion as untimely, calculating the two-year filing deadline from the April 20, 2021 decision date rather than the July 13, 2021 mandate date.
- +1 more key fact with a free trial
Why it matters
This is a useful, citable reminder for postconviction practitioners calculating filing deadlines: courts sometimes conflate the date of a per curiam affirmance with the date of mandate, and this error can wrongly bar a… — full analysis with a trial
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