forprohibition , thEdEadlinEis “ asap ”
Appellate Practice Section Chairs : BrandonK . Breslow — Kynes , Markman & Felman , P . A . & DavidM . Costello — FloridaSolicitorGeneral ’ sOffice
Evenwithoutadeadline , apetitioncan stillbeuntimely .
The petition for writ of prohibition is available to challenge a “ lack of jurisdiction in the lower court .” 1 In broad terms , such petitions are properly filed whenever a lower court is acting without subject matter jurisdiction . 2 Appellate courts have also held that prohibition is the proper remedy for certain specific types of unappealable nonfinal orders , such as orders denying motions for judicial disqualification 3 or motions for selfdefense immunity under Florida ’ s “ Stand Your Ground ” statute . 4
For certain petitions , including petitions for certiorari , the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure set a filing deadline of 30 days from the rendition date of the order being challenged . 5 For other types of petitions , however , including petitions for prohibition or mandamus , there is no fixed deadline . 6
But even without a deadline , a petition can still be untimely . That was the recent holding of the First DCA in Snow v . State . 7 In Snow , a criminal defendant filed a prohibition petition in January 2022
Continuedonpage39
3 8 J u l - A u g 2 0 2 3 | H C B A l A W Y E R