Case Name: Michael NEWELL, Petitioner, v. Michael MOORE, Secretary Florida Department of Corrections, Respondent
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2000-08-25
Citations: 767 So. 2d 1240
Docket Number: No. 1D99-2413
Parties: Michael NEWELL, Petitioner, v. Michael MOORE, Secretary Florida Department of Corrections, Respondent.
Judges: DAVIS AND PADOVANO, JJ., CONCUR. BENTON, J., DISSENTS WITH OPINION.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 767
Pages: 1240–1244

Head Matter:
Michael NEWELL, Petitioner, v. Michael MOORE, Secretary Florida Department of Corrections, Respondent.
No. 1D99-2413.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
Aug. 25, 2000.
Rehearing Denied Oct. 2, 2000.
Petitioner pro se.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General; Karen Armstrong, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Petitioner Michael Newell petitions this court for certiorari review of the trial court's order which dismissed his petition for writ of mandamus. See Sheley v. Florida Parole Comm'n, 703 So.2d 1202, 1204 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)(criminal division en banc). Below, by petition for writ of mandamus, petitioner sought review of a Department of Corrections' decision disciplining him for disobeying an order in violation of an administrative code rule. Because we find that the trial court did not depart from the essential requirements of law by denying petitioner's petition for writ of mandamus, we deny the petition for writ of certiorari.
The record indicates that on April 20, 1998, petitioner, who worked in the prison library, filed a "Request for better quality electronic equipment through the canteen" [hereinafter instant request]. In the instant request, petitioner stated that he "would appreciate it" if "high-tech Pilot Pens, an inexpensive Sony digital radio, and a better quality set of headphones than those now made available" were made accessible for purchase in the prison canteen. To buttress the instant request, petitioner attached photocopies of two previously submitted documents: a "Request for better quality electronic equipment through canteen[,]" and a request on which petitioner hand-wrote "Informal Grievance" and added "Forced purchase of single inferior product[;] Violation of Competitive Vendor Bidding." Petitioner explained that he attached the two photocopies to prove that he previously experienced success with requesting items not carried by another prison's canteen.
At the time that petitioner filed his instant request, Florida Administrative Code Rule 33-3.0051 (1998), Copying Services for Inmates, was located in chapter 33-3, Operation of Institutions. This chapter addressed a variety of issues such as admissible reading material (formerly Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 33-3.012 (1998), currently Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 33-501.401 (2000)), which set forth the types of reading materials inmates are permitted to receive and possess; inmate telephone use (formerly Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 33-3.0125 (1998), currently Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 33-602.205 (2000)), which outlined inmate telephone use; and also eopy- ing services for inmates (Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 33-3.0051 (1998), currently Fla. Admin. Code Ann. r. 33-602.405 (2000)), at issue in the instant case. In 1998, the contents of chapter 33-3 were either transferred or repealed. Rule 33-3.0051 was transferred to Florida Administrative Code Rule 33-602.405, located in chapter 33-602, Security Operations. Both the 1998 and current versions of the inmate copying service rule contain five sections that outline how photocopying will be conducted in prison institutions. Rule 33-602.405(2) states:
Documents will be copied only if they are necessary to initiate a legal or administrative action or if they must be filed or served in a pending action. The number of copies made shall be the number required to be filed and served according to the rules of the court or administrative body[;] one additional copy shall be made for the inmate to keep if the original is filed or served. Cases, statutes, and other reference materials are not evidentiary materials and will not be copied to accompany legal documents.
This section is followed by section three, which dictates that inmates will be charged fifteen cents per page for standard-sized copies, or more, if the copies require special equipment or paper. Section four describes how inmates may not be denied copies if they are unable to pay for them, and sets forth the process to be followed to place a hold on an inmate's account to compensate the institution for making the copies.
Our review of the contents of petitioner's instant request indicates that petitioner did not file the inmate request to initiate a legal or administrative action, but to merely request that the prison canteen carry certain items not currently available for purchase. Petitioner did not designate his request as an inmate grievance, although the record indicates that petitioner has filed numerous inmate grievances in the past. Former rule 33-3.0051 can be properly interpreted to mean that the rule prohibited petitioner from possessing the two photocopies because the instant request was not submitted to initiate a legal or administrative action. Thus, it can be said that there was at least some evidence in the record to support the disciplinary team's decision. See Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Inst. v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 455-56, 105 S.Ct. 2768, 86 L.Ed.2d 356 (1985).
Petitioner asserts that rule 33-3.0051 does not apply to inmates but merely directs prison staff on how to provide copying services for inmates. A reading of the complete rule 33-3.0051, as well as other rules contained within the former chapter 33-3, indicates that many of these rules are meant to apply to inmates as well as prison staff. For example, the provision concerning admissible reading material applies to inmates, who are subject to reprimand if caught possessing inadmissible material, as well as to prison staff who must monitor reading material as it enters the institution. Likewise, inmate telephone use directs when inmates may use telephones as well as how prison staff should monitor telephone usage. The same can be said regarding copying services for inmates. Rule 33-3.0051 outlines how prison staff should handle making photocopies for inmates, but it also specifies when inmates are entitled to have copies made for their use in certain permissible circumstances. Thus, rule 33-3.0051 applies to inmates as well as prison staff members responsible for making photocopies for inmates.
Petitioner has filed before this court a petition for certiorari seeking review of the trial court's dismissal of his petition for writ of mandamus. A party petitioning a court for a writ of mandamus must demonstrate a violation of a clear legal right and a corresponding breach of an indisputable legal duty. See Jackson v. Florida Dep't of Correct., 25 Fla. L. Weekly S353, — So.2d -, 2000 WL 551034(Fla. May 4, 2000). Petitioner did not make such a showing below. Thus, because it cannot be stated that the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law (see Smith v. Smith, 764 So.2d 650 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)), we deny the petition for writ of certiorari.
DAVIS AND PADOVANO, JJ., CONCUR. BENTON, J., DISSENTS WITH OPINION.
BENTON, J.,
. This was not the first informal grievance filed by petitioner. The record indicates that petitioner has filed numerous inmate grievances in the past, specifically categorized by petitioner as such.