Van Jackson v. Department of Corrections
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledOctober 7, 2020
Docket1D19-4342
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
No. 1D19-4342
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VAN JACKSON,
Appellant,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
et al.,
Appellees.
_____________________________
On appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County.
Angela C. Dempsey, Judge.
October 7, 2020
PER CURIAM.
Appellant Van Jackson, an inmate in the Florida correctional
system, challenges the dismissal of his petition for a writ of
mandamus as untimely filed. Assuming the petition was given to
officials of the Department of Corrections for mailing on April 24,
2018, as claimed by Appellant, the petition was nevertheless
untimely filed. See Thompson v. State, 761 So. 2d 324, 326 (Fla.
2000) (“The important date for purposes of the mailbox rule is the
date when the inmate hands over his or her documents to prison
officials for mailing.”).
As Appellant alleged in the petition, his administrative
remedies were exhausted when the Secretary of the Department
denied the administrative appeal of his grievance on March 14,
2018. A party challenging a “disciplinary proceeding conducted by
the Department of Corrections” has 30 days to file a court action.
§ 95.11(8), Fla. Stat. (2018). This time limit is jurisdictional, and
hence, the trial court correctly dismissed the petition. See
Whitfield v. Dep’t of Corr., 107 So. 3d 1210 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).
AFFIRMED.
RAY, C.J., and BILBREY and JAY, JJ., concur.
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Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
_____________________________
Van Jackson, pro se, Appellant.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Kristen J. Lonergan,
Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellees.
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