Title: Amos Lee King v. State of Florida
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SC03-260
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: February 25, 2003

Supreme Court of Florida
_____________
No. SC03-260
_____________
AMOS LEE KING,
Appellant,
vs.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
[February 24, 2003]
CORRECTED OPINION
PER CURIAM.
Amos Lee King, a prisoner under sentence of death and an active death
warrant, has filed an appeal in this Court from orders of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in
and for Pinellas County denying a successive motion for postconviction relief and
for production of public records.  We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V,
section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution.
The factual background and procedural history of this case are set forth in
King v. State, 808 So. 2d 1237 (Fla. 2002), cert. denied, 122 S. Ct. 2670 (2002). 
1.  The unpublished order stated:
Amos Lee King, a prisoner under sentence of death and an
active death warrant, appeals three orders of the circuit court entered
on December 1, 2002, denying the following motions filed by Amos
Lee King:
1. Successive Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence, and
Request for Evidentiary Hearing and Stay of Execution, with date of
service on November 29, 2002;
2.  Emergency Petition to Stay Execution, Motion for Subpoena
and Order to Release Any and All Autopsy and Medical Records in 
Possession of the Medical Examiner's Office Regarding John Peel, Jr.,
with date of service on November 29, 2002; and
3.  Defendant's Motion to Release Evidence for DNA Testing,
with date of service on November 29, 2002.
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Since that decision, we have considered this case in decisions in respect to Ring v.
Arizona, 122 S. Ct. 2428 (2002), in King v. Moore, 824 So. 2d 127 (Fla. 2002),
and King v. Moore, 831 So. 2d 143 (Fla. 2002), cert. denied, 123 S. Ct. 657
(2002).
King’s execution under this warrant was scheduled for December 2, 2002. 
On November 29, 2002, King filed a motion for a subpoena and an order to release
any and all autopsy and medical records in the medical examiner’s office regarding
John Peel, Jr.  The circuit court, on December 1, 2002, entered an order denying
this motion filed by King.  King appealed to this Court, and this Court entered an
order on December 2, 2002, affirming the circuit court’s orders.  King v. State, 833
So. 2d 774 (Fla. Dec. 2, 2002).1  Governor Jeb Bush, on December 2, 2002, stayed
The history of judicial process in the state and federal courts
regarding this case is set out in King v. State, 808 So. 2d 1237 (Fla.
2002).  In his brief to this Court, King argues the following:
I.  The lower court erred when it denied Mr. King's motion to
release evidence for DNA testing.
II.  The lower court erred when it summarily denied an
evidentiary hearing on claims I and II of King's successive motion to
vacate judgment served on November 29, 2002.
III.  The lower court erred when it summarily denied claims III,
IV, and V of King's successive motion to vacate judgment served on
November 29, 2002.
King has filed a Motion for Leave to File Amended Brief.  We
grant the motion to file the amended brief and said brief was filed with
this Court on December 2, 2002.
King also seeks a stay of execution.
We affirm the circuit court's orders denying King's motions in
respect to all points raised by King in this appeal.  We deny the
request for a stay of execution.  No rehearing shall be allowed.
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King’s execution.
Governor Bush thereafter rescheduled King’s execution for February 26,
2003.  On February 14, 2003, a hearing was begun in the Sixth Judicial Circuit
Court on motions filed by King.  Following the conclusion of the hearing, the
circuit court entered a detailed written order denying the relief sought by King. 
King then filed this appeal.
The first claim raised in this appeal by King is that the trial court erred in
denying King’s motion to disqualify the trial judge.  The State points out that this is
a motion to disqualify a successor judge.  King has previously filed motions for
2.  See supra note 1.
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trial judge disqualification, and the judges have recused themselves. 
Disqualification of trial judges is covered by Florida Rule of Judicial Administration
2.160.  An order denying a motion pursuant to rule 2.160(g) is reviewed for abuse
of discretion.  Quince v. State, 732 So. 2d 1059, 1062 (Fla. 1999).  We find no
basis in the record for finding an abuse of discretion by the circuit court in denying
King’s successive motion for disqualification.  Therefore, the circuit court’s order
denying disqualification is affirmed.
The second claim raised in this appeal is that the circuit court erred in
denying King’s demand for production of additional public records.  The public
records alleged to be the subject of this motion involve autopsies performed by
Medical Examiner Joan Wood in other unrelated cases.  The present issue is the
issue which was the subject of a similar motion previously denied by the circuit
court, which denial was affirmed by this Court in our order dated December 2,
2002.  King v. State, 833 So. 2d 774 (Fla. Dec. 2, 2002).2  We likewise affirm the
present order of the circuit court denying King’s motion.
The third and last claim raised in King’s appeal is that the circuit court erred
in not granting King’s request for records from the Office of the Governor by
ruling that such records were exempt under section 14.28, Florida Statutes (2002). 
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We affirm the circuit court’s order on this issue.  We agree with the circuit court
that the records sought are clemency records, which are exempt from production. 
The exemption from production has not been waived.  The request to compel the
Governor to produce the records was correctly denied.  See Roberts v.
Butterworth, 668 So. 2d 580 (Fla. 1996); Parole Commission v. Lockett, 620 So.
2d 153 (Fla. 1993).
Therefore, we affirm the orders of the circuit court which are the subject of
this appeal.
It is so ordered.
ANSTEAD, C.J., and WELLS, PARIENTE, LEWIS, CANTERO, and BELL, JJ.,
concur.
QUINCE, J., recused.
NO MOTION FOR REHEARING WILL BE ALLOWED. 
An Appeal from the Circuit Court in and for Pinellas County, 
Susan F. Schaeffer, Judge - Case Nos. 77-1696 & 77-2173
Peter James Cannon, Assistant CCRC, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel -
Middle Region, Tampa, Florida, 
for Appellant
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Carol M. Dittmar, Senior Assistant Attorney
General, and Stephen D. Ake, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, Florida,
for Appellee