JOSEPH O'CONNER v. JAMES R. McDONOUGH, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL FIRST DISTRICT, STATE OF FLORIDA JOSEPH O'CONNER, Petitioner, v. NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED CASE NO. 1D06-1044 JAMES R. McDONOUGH, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, Respondent. ___________________________/ Opinion filed October 5, 2006. Petition for Writ of Certiorari - Original Jurisdiction. Joseph O'Conner, pro se, Petitioner. Chris Korn, Assistant General Counsel, Florida Department of Corrections, Tallahassee, for Respondent. PER CURIAM. Petitioner, a disabled prisoner, filed a petition for writ of mandamus, in which he claimed that he is entitled to a gain time award equal to the maximum amount that he might have earned had he been able to perform the activities for which gain time is normally awarded. For this filing, a lien was imposed against petitioner s trust account pursuant to section 57.085, Florida Statutes. The trial court denied mandamus, reasoning that petitioner has not established a clear legal right to the requested gain time. The trial court also upheld the order imposing the fee lien on the basis that petitioner is not challenging administrative disciplinary action which resulted in his loss of previously earned gain-time. By way of amended notice of appeal, which this Court treated as a petition for writ of certiorari, petitioner seeks review of the trial court order denying mandamus and denying relief on the fee issue. To the extent petitioner seeks certiorari review of the trial court s denial of mandamus, this petition is denied on the merits because petitioner has not established that he was deprived of due process or that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law. However, because the length of time that petitioner will spend in prison would have been directly affected had petitioner s argument been successful, the March 11, 2005, order imposing the lien on petitioner s trust account is VACATED. This cause is REMANDED for entry of an order directing the reimbursement to petitioner of those funds withdrawn from his account pursuant to the lien. See Cox v. Crosby, __ So. 2d __, 31 Fla. L. Weekly D310 (Fla. 1st DCA Jan. 26, 2006). KAHN, DAVIS, and BROWNING, JJ., CONCUR. 2
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
