Opinion ID: 594785
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Need to Establish Cause and Prejudice

Text: 13 On appeal, the State contends that because Towler did not meet the time limitations imposed on Rule 3.850 motions under Florida law, 9 Towler must now show cause and prejudice to proceed on his federal habeas claims. See Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 90-91, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 2508-09, 53 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977). The magistrate judge and district court below concluded that because the Florida courts never ruled on Towler's motions, a showing of cause and prejudice was unnecessary. The magistrate judge noted that the state court's failure to address Towler's motions made it impossible to tell whether the state court would have forgiven a procedural default by the petitioner. 14 The State argues that a procedural bar is imposed by Rule 3.850 itself, which precludes motions from being filed or considered outside the two-year limitations period. Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.850. Cf. Ylst v. Nunnemaker, --- U.S. ----, ----, 111 S.Ct. 2590, 2593, 115 L.Ed.2d 706 (1991) (when a state law procedural default prevents the state court from reaching the merits of a petitioner's federal law claim, the claim ordinarily cannot be reviewed in federal court). However, the State's argument is undermined by the fact that Florida courts routinely address time-barred petitions if only to dismiss them on that basis. See, e.g., Johnson v. State, 536 So.2d 1009, 1010-11 (Fla.1988); Delap v. State, 513 So.2d 1050, 1050 (Fla.1987); Amazon v. State, 537 So.2d 170, 171 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.), petition for review denied, 547 So.2d 1209 (Fla.1989). See also Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.850 (court may summarily dismiss motion if an examination of the motion, in conjunction with the files and records of the case, conclusively shows that the prisoner is not entitled to relief). Moreover, Florida courts have held that petitions not in substantial compliance with the requirements of Rule 3.850 should be returned to the movant accompanied by a statement setting forth the reasons why the motion does not comply with the rule. See Swain v. State, 355 So.2d 865, 866 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1978). In this case, the State conceded at oral argument that it has been unable to find evidence of any action taken by the Florida courts in response to Towler's motions. 15 At the time Towler filed his habeas petition in federal court, Towler's state motions had been pending without action in the Florida courts for a little over two years and nineteen months, respectively. This lengthy delay alone is sufficient to excuse Towler from state exhaustion requirements. 10 See Breazeale v. Bradley, 582 F.2d 5, 6 (5th Cir.1978); Reynolds v. Wainwright, 460 F.2d 1026, 1027 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 950, 93 S.Ct. 294, 34 L.Ed.2d 221 (1972). Because Towler has actually presented his claims in the state courts, we are relieved from the duty to speculate about how Florida courts might rule on Towler's claims--they have been given an opportunity to rule but have seemingly declined the invitation. Cf. Coleman v. Thompson, --- U.S. ----, ---- n. 1, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 2557 n. 1, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991) (if a petitioner has not exhausted his claim in the state courts, federal court must determine whether state court would find the claim procedurally barred); Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 269, 109 S.Ct. 1038, 1046, 103 L.Ed.2d 308 (1989) (O'Connor, J., concurring) (asserting that federal courts may properly determine whether a petitioner's claim has been procedurally defaulted where a federal habeas petitioner raises a claim which has never been presented in any state forum) (emphasis in original). 16 This unusual state of affairs leaves us with a record satisfying state exhaustion requirements but completely lacking any state court judgment on Towler's claims, much less one resting on adequate and independent state grounds. See Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 260, 109 S.Ct. 1038, 1042, 103 L.Ed.2d 308 (1989). In such situations, the legal result is clear. The mere fact that a federal claimant failed to abide by a state procedural rule does not, in and of itself, prevent [a federal] Court from reaching the federal claim: '[T]he state court must actually have relied on the procedural bar as an independent basis for its disposition of the case.'  Id. at 261-62, 109 S.Ct. at 1042 (quoting Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 327, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 2638, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985)) (emphasis added). 11 Therefore, we hold that Towler need not show cause and prejudice to prevail on his federal habeas claims. 17