Case Name: Bobby Lee BROWN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent
Court: Florida Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1998-05-14
Citations: 715 So. 2d 241
Docket Number: No. 90891
Parties: Bobby Lee BROWN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
Judges: OVERTON and HARDING, JJ., and GRIMES, Senior Justice, concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 715
Pages: 241–247

Head Matter:
Bobby Lee BROWN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent.
No. 90891.
Supreme Court of Florida.
May 14, 1998.
Steven Seliger of Garcia & Seliger, Quincy, for Petitioner.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, James W. Rogers, Tallahassee Bureau Chief, Criminal Appeals, and Carolyn J. Mosley, Assistant Attorney General; Tallahassee, for Respondent.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
We have for review Brown v. State, 695 So.2d 1275 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997), in which the district court certified conflict with Vallieres v. Grossman, 573 So.2d 196 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), and Heller v. State, 601 So.2d 642 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). In addition, tbe district court' certified the following question to be one of great public importance:
IS AN EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCE EXTENSION UNDER [FLORIDA RULE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE 3.191(Z) ] VALID, WHEN MADE AND OBTAINED DURING THE 5/10-DAY RECAPTURE WINDOW PROVIDED FOR IN RULE 3.191(p)(3), OR IS IT LIMITED ONLY TO AN EXTENSION MADE AND OBTAINED BEFORE EXPIRATION OF THE BASIC 175-DAY PERIOD PROVIDED IN RULE 3.191(a)?
Brown, 695 So.2d at 1277 (footnote omitted). We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution and answer the certified question by concluding that an exceptional circumstance extension made during the 5/10-day recapture window is valid. We base our conclusion on the plain language 'of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191(i).
Brown was arrested on November 30, 1994, and charged with several felonies stemming from an armed robbery. On June 7, 1995, 189 days after being arrested, Brown filed a motion to dismiss the charges against him based on the State's failure to bring him to trial within the 175-day speedy trial period. The trial court held a hearing on the motion on June 13, and set the trial for June 19. However, on June 16, the State moved for an extension based upon an exceptional circumstance pursuant to rules 3.191(i) and 3.191(i) because the lead prosecutor underwent emergency surgery which would incapacitate her for at least two weeks. The judge granted the extension and set the trial for July 17, 1995, a date outside the recapture window. Brown was eventually tried and convicted on all charges.
On appeal, Brown argued that his convictions should be vacated and that he should be "forever discharged" from these charges because the State violated his right to a speedy trial by not bringing him to trial within the 175-day speedy trial period or within the 5/10-day recapture window. The district court framed the issue as "whether the rule authorizes an extension of the speedy trial time when the extension is made during the recapture window (for a reason which constitutes an 'exceptional circumstance' under 3.'191(Z)), or whether an 'exceptional circumstances' extension is valid only when granted before expiration 'of the basic 175-day period." The district court affirmed.the convictions, holding that the plain language of rule 3.191 authorizes an exceptional circumstance extension if the exceptional circumstance arises and is the basis for a motion for extension during either the 175-day speedy trial period or the 5/10-day recapture window. Brown v. State, 695 So.2d 1275, 1276 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). The district court reasoned:
Subdivision (i) provides in relevant part: "The periods of time established by this rule may be extended provided the period, of time sought to be extended has not expired at the time the extension was procured." No remedy is available to a defendant moreover until the court makes "the required inquiry under subdivision (j)"; subdivision (j) also refers to "periods" of time. The extension sought and obtained in the instant case occurred during the recapture window; the recapture window furthermore had not expired when the extension was procured. There are several periods of time provided for in rule 3.191. The recapture window is one of the periods of time established by the rule. Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.191(p)(3). More importantly, however, the rule by its general language is inclusive of all periods of time provided in the rule and does not in any way limit exceptional circumstances to the basic 175-day time period. The rule does not limit an extension of time to a single period.
Brown, 695 So.2d at 1276-77 (footnote omitted). .
The district court reasoned that Brown's interpretation of the rule could require an absurd result because the State would be entitled to an exceptional circumstance extension during the 175-day speedy trial period but not during the 5/10-day recapture window even for the same exceptional circumstance. Thereupon the First District certified conflict with Vallieres and Heller to the extent that those cases announced a blanket rule that a motion for exceptional circumstance extension can only be granted if filed during the 175-day speedy trial period. The First District also certified the aforementioned question.
Judge Webster dissented. He disagreed with the majority decision that the plain reading of the rule compelled its conclusion. Instead, Judge Webster reasoned that "periods of time," as provided in rule 3.191(i), is a "relatively clear" reference to the speedy trial periods set out in subdivisions (a) and (b). Based upon this reasoning, Judge Webster construed "periods of time" not to include the 5/10-day recapture window set out in subdivision (p)(3), and pointed out that every other court which had addressed the issue had so held. Judge Webster added that this was not a case in which the State had proceeded diligently toward trial and merely overlooked the speedy trial deadline. Rather, this was precisely the type of case for which the speedy trial rule was designed.
We agree with the majority' below that the plain language of rule 3.191(i) allows an extension of the 5/10-day recapture window if that window has not closed and that we must give effect to the rule as written. Our courts have long recognized that the rules of construction applicable to statutes also apply to the construction of rules. Syndicate Properties v. Hotel Floridian Co., 94 Fla. 899, 903, 114 So. 441, 443 (1927); Merchants' Nat'l Bank v. Grunthal, 39 Fla. 388, 394, 22 So. 685, 687 (1897). Thus, when the language to be construed is unambiguous, it must be accorded its plain and ordinary meaning. Thayer v. State, 335 So.2d 815 (Fla.1976); McDonald v. Roland, 65 So.2d 12 (Fla.1953); A.R. Douglass, Inc. v. McRainey, 102 Fla. 1141, 137 So. 157 (1931); Van Pelt v. Hilliard, 75 Fla. 792, 78 So. 693 (1918).
Rule 3.191(i) provides that, under certain circumstances, "[t]he periods of time established by this rule may be extended provided the period sought to be extended has not expired at the time the extension was procured." Contrary to Judge Webster's conclusion, wé do not find any limitation in this language so that it applies only to subdivisions (a) and (b) under this rule. Rather, as plainly written, "this rule" contains three time periods: subdivision (a) provides a speedy trial period for those cases in which speedy trial is not demanded; subdivision (b) provides a speedy trial period for those cases in which a speedy trial is demanded; and subdivision (p)(3) provides a grace period for the State in those cases which eclipse the times set out in subdivisions (a) and (b). We will not write a limitation into subdivision (i) and apply it to this case.
In sum, we hold that, under rule 3.191(i), the State may move for an extension of any of the aforementioned .time periods so long as the time period sought to be extended has not expired at the time the extension is requested. In this case, we find that because the 10-day recapture period had not expired, the extension was valid.
Accordingly, having answered the certified question, we approve the decision below and disapprove Tascarella, Vallieres, J.T., and Heller to the extent they conflict with this opinion. We decline to review the other issue raised by Brown.
It is so ordered.
OVERTON and HARDING, JJ., and GRIMES, Senior Justice, concur.
WELLS, J., concurs with an opinion.
SHAW, J., dissents with an opinion, in which KOGAN, C.J. and ANSTEAD, J., concur.
. Rule 3.191 (i) provides in relevant part:
(1) When Time May Be Extended. The periods of time established by this rule may be extended provided the period of time sought to be extended has not expired at the time the extension was procured. Such an extension may be procured:
(2) by written or recorded order of the court on the court's own motion or motion by either party in exceptional circumstances as hereafter defined in subdivision (f)....
. Rule 3.191 (l) provides in relevant part:
(l) Exceptional Circumstances. As permitted by subdivision (i) of this rule, the court may order an extension of the time periods provided under this rule when exceptional circumstances are shown to exist. Exceptional circumstances shall not include general congestion of the court's docket, lack of diligent preparation, failure to obtain available witnesses, or other avoidable or foreseeable delays. Exceptional circumstances are those that as a matter of substantial justice to the
accused or the state or both require an order by the court. Such circumstances include:
(1) unexpected illness, unexpected incapacity, or unforeseeable and unavoidable absence of a person whose presence or testimony is uniquely necessary for a full and adequate trial....
.Rule 3.191(p)(3) provides:
(p) Remedy for Failure to Try Defendant within the Specified Time.
(3)No later than 5 days from the date of the filing of a notice of expiration of speedy trial time, the court shall hold a hearing on the notice and, unless the court finds that one of the reasons set forth in subdivision (j) exists, shall order that the defendant be brought to trial within 10 days. A defendant not brought to trial within the 10-day period through no fault of the defendant, on motion of the defendant or the court, shall be forever discharged from the crime.
. See Heller v. State, 601 So.2d 642 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); J.T. v. State, 601 So.2d 283 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Vallieres v. Grossman, 573 So.2d 196 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Tascarella v. Seay, 564 S.o.2d 205 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990).