State Ex Rel. Carter v. Wigginton

221 So. 2d 409
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMarch 19, 1969
Docket37712
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 221 So. 2d 409 (State Ex Rel. Carter v. Wigginton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Carter v. Wigginton, 221 So. 2d 409 (Fla. 1969).

Opinion

221 So.2d 409 (1969)

STATE of Florida ex rel., Willie A. CARTER, Relator,
v.
Honorable John T. WIGGINTON, Chief Judge, and the Other Honorable Judges of the District Court of Appeal, First District, et al., Respondents.

No. 37712.

Supreme Court of Florida.

March 19, 1969.
Rehearing Denied May 5, 1969.

Donald Feldman, of Feldman & Abramson, Miami, for relator.

Earl Faircloth, Atty. Gen., Robert A. Chastain, Asst. Atty. Gen., Wicker, Smith, Pyszka, Blomqvist & Davant, Miami, and Patrick H. Mears, Tallahassee, for respondents.

PER CURIAM.

This cause is here on suggestion for writ of prohibition.

Relator filed suggestion for writ of prohibition in the Circuit Court alleging the Florida Industrial Commission "as it is presently constituted, is improperly constituted and as such does not have proper jurisdiction" of a matter then on review by the Commission. The Respondents moved to dismiss on the ground the Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction to issue the writ for the reason it did not have appellate jurisdiction to review Workmen's Compensation orders. The Circuit Court denied the motion and Respondents filed in this Court a suggestion for writ of prohibition, alleging the Chancellor was exceeding his jurisdiction. This Court denied the suggestion and, subsequently, after a return to the Circuit Court's order to show cause had been filed and on motions by Relator and Respondents for summary judgment, the Chancellor held, in substance, the Commission was illegally constituted and entered its peremptory writ of prohibition.

Respondents appealed to the District Court of Appeal, First District, and the cause was duly argued. Pending disposition *410 of the appeal, Relator filed and the District Court denied a suggestion of lack of jurisdiction. The District Court then filed its order and opinion on the merits of the cause, reversing and remanding, holding the Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction to issue prohibition to the full Commission for the reason it was not a court of appellate jurisdiction over the orders of the full Commission dealing with Workmen's Compensation matters.

Relator petitioned for rehearing in the District Court and filed with this Court its suggestion for writ of prohibition directed to the District Court. The District Court denied rehearing.

This Court entered its rule nisi in prohibition. The returns and briefs have been filed and argument heard. We think it implicit in our order of April 4, 1967, denying the suggestion for writ of prohibition to the Circuit Court, that, on the law and facts involved, the Circuit Court had jurisdiction of the cause and, in that respect, the law of the case was established.

It is our view the Circuit Court, as to the subject matter of the suit, did no more than apply Florida Statutes § 440.44 (2), F.S.A. and, in consequence, the District Court was the proper forum on appeal. The District Court's decision left relator's relief, if any, by way of review here. The writ of prohibition is denied on procedural grounds without adjudicating the merits of the basic question regarding the validity of the organization of the current Florida Industrial Commission. That will have to await presentation in an orderly fashion.

It is so ordered.

ROBERTS, DREW, THORNAL, CARLTON ADKINS and CALDWELL (Retired), JJ., concur.

ERVIN, C.J., dissents with opinion.

ERVIN, Chief Justice (dissenting):

It is noted the District Court in its opinion reported in Johnston v. State ex rel. Carter, 213 So.2d at 435 holds:

(1) Prohibition to determine the validity of the composition of the members of the Florida Industrial Commission pursuant to F.S. Section 440.44(2), F.S.A., does not lie in the Circuit Court because it has no supervisory or appellate jurisdiction to review orders of the Industrial Commission.

(2) The Circuit Court did not construe a controlling provision of the Florida Constitution in determining it had jurisdiction to issue its writ of prohibition to the Industrial Commission, but merely applied such provision and Section 440.44(2) in determining the matter. Therefore, the District Court, and not the Supreme Court, had jurisdiction to review the judgment of the Circuit Court in the latter's prohibition proceeding; and,

(3) the Supreme Court apparently denied prohibition seeking to restrain the Circuit Court (see State ex rel. Johnston v. McCord, Fla., 201 So.2d 459) from proceeding in prohibition against the Commission solely because such prohibition proceedings did not involve ultimate questions at the trial level directly appealable to the Supreme Court as a matter of right.

The District Court, after holding as stated above, remanded the case to the Circuit Court with instructions to treat it as an action for declaratory judgment or injunction with leave to make appropriate amendments in the pleadings to recast the case accordingly.

It is my view that in certain cases, as in the instant one, where the appropriateness *411 of the procedural remedy of review is placed in doubt by the nature of the proceedings and holdings below, we are justified in treating a timely filed petition for an extraordinary writ which we deem to be misconceived or inappropriate in another category of review that will invoke our jurisdiction. Particularly should this be done where the case is one of sufficient public interest to warrant a review and a review of the merits of the case would not be afforded if we refused to treat the application for review in another category invoking our jurisdiction. This view comports with the liberal intent of the review provisions of Article V of the Florida Constitution, F.S.A. which were designed to afford expeditious and nontechnical reviews by the appellate court.

It appears to me this is a classic case where in order to afford an adequate and timely review remedy we should treat the petition for writ of prohibition as an appeal. The decision of the District Court is replete with initial constructions of controlling provisions of the Florida Constitution relating to the power of this Court and the Circuit Court to issue writs of prohibition; therefore, in essence, the District Court's decision is appealable to the Supreme Court.

See such cases as Marshall v. Bacon (Fla.), 97 So.2d 252; Hillsborough County Aviation Authority v. Walden (Fla.), 210 So.2d 193 (appeals treated as certiorari); Diamond Berk Ins. Agency, Inc. v. Goldstein, Inc. (Fla.), 100 So.2d 420 (certiorari denied without prejudice to apply for prohibition), and Harper v. State (Fla.), 172 So.2d 454 (certiorari treated as habeas corpus), as examples where we have exercised our authority to treat a misconceived review application in a category invoking our jurisdiction. See also, F.S. Section 59.45, F.S.A., pursuant to which the District Courts have treated misconceived procedural review efforts in another category. City of Miami Beach v. O'Hara (Fla.App.), 166 So.2d 598, and City of Miami Beach v. Eason (Fla.App.), 194 So.2d 652.

I digress to express an obiter suggestion that it would be a salutary reform, avoiding much of the delay and confusion which is typified by a case of this kind, if references to particular extraordinary writs (with the exception of habeas corpus which historically any Justice may issue) were deleted from Article V in the forthcoming revision, at least insofar as the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is concerned. This suggestion comports with our liberalizing holding in Couse v. Canal Authority (Fla.), 209 So.2d 865.

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