Willacy v. State
After Governor DeSantis signed Willacy's death warrant, Willacy sought public records from FDOC and other agencies under Rule 3.852 without ever filing a successive Rule 3.851 postconviction motion. The Florida Supreme Court treated his appeal as a Rule 9.142(c) certiorari petition, held the circuit court did not depart from the essential requirements of law in denying the records requests because Willacy failed to show any nexus to a colorable postconviction claim (rather than a speculative 'fishing expedition'), and denied his companion habeas petition since public-records denials are not cognizable in habeas. Justice Tanenbaum concurred in the habeas denial but dissented on jurisdiction, arguing the Court lacks constitutional authority to review a discovery order in a closed criminal case with no pending 3.851 motion.
Key facts
- Willacy, a death row inmate with a signed death warrant from Governor DeSantis, sought public records from FDOC and other state agencies under Rule 3.852 without filing a successive Rule 3.851 postconviction motion.
- The circuit court denied Willacy's public records requests, and he appealed and filed a companion habeas petition challenging the denials.
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Why it matters
This opinion reaffirms and applies the long-standing 'colorable claim' nexus requirement for capital public records requests under Rule 3.852, making clear it applies equally to pre-warrant and post-warrant requests and… — full analysis with a trial
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