Opinion ID: 2485659
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Denial of Public Records Requests

Text: In conjunction with Valle's challenge to Florida's lethal injection procedures, we next address his contention that the circuit court erred in denying his various requests for public records needed to establish this claim. Specifically, Valle challenges the circuit court's denial of his request for records from the DOC, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Governor, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). He asserts that compliance with such records requests was essential to obtain information regarding Florida's lethal injection procedures. The circuit court granted, in part, Valle's demands for public records. As a result, Valle was provided with information regarding the substitution of the first drug and how the new procedures would be implemented. The State provided Valle's counsel with a copy of the new lethal injection protocol, which sets forth in detail how the drug is to be administered. Valle was also provided with training logs for execution trainings that occurred in 2010 and 2011, with the most recent exercise occurring in May 2011. In compliance with the circuit court's order, the Office of the Governor provided records to Valle regarding that agency's approval and review of changes to the protocol. [18] The records disclosed included the following: a November 18, 2010, affidavit from Dr. Dershwitz criticizing Dr. Waisel's opinion; an expert report authored by Dr. Dershwitz in which he opines that there is negligible risk that if five grams of pentobarbital are administered, the inmate would experience any pain and suffering associated with the administration of the subsequent two drugs; and research studies regarding the use of high-dose barbiturate therapy, and in particular, pentobarbital. The DOC also provided Valle with records pertaining to the 2007 and 2011 lethal injection procedures and various checklists regarding the procedure for executing a condemned inmate. While the State did disclose many records, Valle contends that further disclosures will assist him in establishing an Eighth Amendment violation because they will essentially reveal the following: (1) that sodium thiopental and pentobarbital were illegally obtained or from a foreign country, casting doubt on the deference this Court bestows upon the executive branch to carry out executions in a humane and competent manner; and (2) deviations from protocol when the DOC administered the previous five executions. [19] Valle has failed to establish how the production of such records relates to a colorable Eighth Amendment challenge. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.852(i)(2), which limits postconviction requests for additional records, requires production of public records upon a finding of the following: (A) collateral counsel has made a timely and diligent search of the records repository; (B) collateral counsel's affidavit identifies with specificity those additional public records that are not at the records repository; (C) the additional public records sought are either relevant to the subject matter of a proceeding under rule 3.851 or appear reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence; and (D) the additional records request is not overly broad or unduly burdensome. The circuit court has the discretion to deny public records requests that are overly broad, of questionable relevance, and unlikely to lead to discoverable evidence. Moore v. State, 820 So.2d 199, 204 (Fla. 2002). As this Court has emphasized, rule 3.852 is not intended to be a procedure authorizing a fishing expedition for records unrelated to a colorable claim for postconviction relief. Id. (quoting Glock v. Moore, 776 So.2d 243, 253 (Fla.2001)). This Court reviews the circuit court's denial of a public records request for an abuse of discretion. Hill v. State, 921 So.2d 579, 584 (Fla.2006). With respect to Valle's assertion that undisclosed records could show that sodium thiopental and pentobarbital were obtained from a foreign country, such information would be of questionable relevance, and he has failed to demonstrate how its disclosure would relate to a colorable Eighth Amendment claim. First, any allegations regarding the obtainment of sodium thiopental are irrelevant to the instant litigation since sodium thiopental is no longer part of Florida's lethal injection protocol and will not be used in Valle's execution. Second, as to the DOC's procurement of pentobarbital, the Supreme Court recently announced that speculation cannot substitute for evidence that the use of the drug is ` sure or very likely to cause serious illness and needless suffering.' Landrigan, 131 S.Ct. at 445 (quoting Baze, 553 U.S. at 50, 128 S.Ct. 1520); see id. (vacating a stay of execution that was based upon a finding that the condemned inmate had a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of his claim that the use of sodium thiopental by a foreign source and not approved by the FDA creates a substantial and unnecessary risk of serious harm in violation of the Eighth Amendment). In requesting these materials, Valle simply posits a hypothetical argument, but he does not explain why these facts will result in a substantial risk of serious harm. As to Valle's requests for records to demonstrate that pentobarbital may have been procured illegally, his pleadings in this regard are speculative and conclusory. Because he has failed to allege how this information would lead to evidence related to his claim, Valle's requests on this issue appear to be no more than a fishing expedition for which rule 3.852 is not intended. Consequently, the circuit court did not err in denying Valle's requests to produce these records. Valle also requests records on the DOC's administration of executions for the last five inmates executed. Instead of asserting why this information would be relevant to proving a substantial risk of serious harm, Valle points to the botched execution of Angel Diaz and contends that such documentation is essential for establishing deviations from the protocol and why this Court cannot presume the DOC is acting in accordance with its protocol as written. As noted above, in Baze, the Supreme Court expressly rejected the prisoners' argument that the risk that a state would not properly follow its protocol constitutes an Eighth Amendment violation, see 553 U.S. at 53-54, 128 S.Ct. 1520, and we thoroughly considered the factual circumstances surrounding the Diaz execution in Lightbourne. Therefore, the records sought are not related to a colorable Eighth Amendment claim, and the circuit court did not err in denying Valle's requests.