Richard Harper v. City of Key Colony Beach

Summary

The Florida Third District Court of Appeal denied Richard Harper’s petition for second-tier certiorari review of a circuit court decision upholding a code-enforcement fine concerning an allegedly expired building permit. The court held that Harper failed to show a departure from the essential requirements of law under the limited scope of second-tier certiorari review. The court also concluded that the circuit court’s “all writs” authority did not independently support relief.

Holdings

1. The petition for second-tier certiorari was denied because Harper did not establish that the circuit court failed to afford procedural due process or departed from the essential requirements of law.
2. The circuit court's all-writs authority was not an independent basis for granting Harper relief; because Harper identified no independent constitutional or legal basis allowing the circuit court to exercise that authority, the denial of his petition was not legal error.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court departed from the essential requirements of law or failed to afford procedural due process when it upheld the Special Magistrate's Code Enforcement Final Order Imposing Fine.
2. Whether the circuit court could grant Harper relief under its constitutional all-writs authority absent an independent basis for exercising that authority.

Disposition

writ_denied