JOHNSON v. STATE OF FLORIDA

• Court: District Court, N.D. Florida
• Decided: August 10, 2020
• Docket: 5:20-cv-00131
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA PANAMA CITY DIVISION JAMES RUSSELL JOHNSON, Petitioner, v. Case No. 5:20cv131-TKW-EMT STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent.

/ ORDER This case is before the Court based upon the magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation (Doc. 10) and Petitioner’s objections (Doc. 11). Based on my de novo review of the issues raised in the objections, I agree with the magistrate judge’s

determination that the amended habeas petition should be dismissed because there are no special circumstances that would warrant this Court’s intervention in Petitioner’s pending criminal case in state court.1 I also agree with the magistrate judge’s determination that a certificate of appealability should be denied because

Petitioner has not made a substantial showing of a violation of a constitutional right.

1 The documents attached to the objections (which were not filed with the amended habeas petition) do not undermine this conclusion. Indeed, although those documents show that Petitioner was pro se (with standby counsel) when he filed his original demand for speedy trial in September 2019, they also show that Petitioner had court-appointed counsel when he filed his pro se notice of expiration of speedy trial in March 2020. As a result, the notice was a nullity under Florida law, see Burke v. State, 732 So.2d 1194 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), in addition to being ineffective as a result of the COVID-19 administrative order issued by the Florida Supreme Court. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that: 1. The magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation is adopted and

incorporated by reference in this Order. 2. This amended habeas petition DISMISSED, and a certificate of appealability is DENIED.

3. The Clerk shall close the case file. DONE and ORDERED this 10th day of August, 2020. T. Kent Wetherell, II T. KENT WETHERELL, II UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE