RULE 9.141. REVIEW PROCEEDINGS IN COLLATERAL OR POSTCONVICTION CRIMINAL CASES
(a)
Death Penalty Cases. This rule does not apply to death
penalty cases.
(b)
Appeals from Postconviction Proceedings Under
Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a), 3.801, 3.802,
3.850, or 3.853.
(1)
Applicability of Civil Appellate Procedures. Appeal
proceedings under this subdivision will be as in civil cases, except
as modified by this rule.
(2)
Summary Grant or Denial of All Claims Raised in a
Motion Without Evidentiary Hearing.
(A)
Record. When a motion for postconviction
relief under rules 3.800(a), 3.801, 3.802, 3.850, or 3.853 is granted
or denied without an evidentiary hearing, the clerk of the lower
tribunal must electronically transmit to the court, as the record, the
motion, response, reply, order on the motion, motion for rehearing,
response, reply, order on the motion for rehearing, and attachments
to any of the foregoing, together with the certified copy of the notice
of appeal.
(B)
Index. The clerk of the lower tribunal must
index and paginate the record and send copies of the index and
record to the parties.
(C)
Briefs or Responses.
(i)
Briefs are not required, but the appellant
may serve an initial brief within 30 days of filing the notice of
appeal. The appellee need not file an answer brief unless directed by
the court. The initial brief must comply with the word count (if
computer-generated) or page limits (if handwritten or typewritten)
set forth in rule 9.210 for initial briefs. The appellant may serve a
reply brief as prescribed by rule 9.210.
(ii)
The court may request a response from
the appellee before ruling, regardless of whether the appellant filed
an initial brief. The appellant may serve a reply within 30 days after
service of the response. The response and reply must comply with
the word count (if computer-generated) or page limits (if
handwritten or typewritten) set forth in rule 9.210 for answer briefs
and reply briefs.
(D)
Disposition. On appeal from the denial of
relief, unless the record shows conclusively that the appellant is
entitled to no relief, the order must be reversed and the cause
remanded for an evidentiary hearing or other appropriate relief.
(3)
Grant or Denial of Motion after an Evidentiary
Hearing was Held on 1 or More Claims.
(A)
Transcription. In the absence of designations
to the court reporter, the notice of appeal filed by an indigent pro se
litigant in a rule 3.801, 3.802, 3.850, or 3.853 appeal after an
evidentiary hearing will serve as the designation to the court
reporter for the transcript of the evidentiary hearing. Within 5 days
of receipt of the notice of appeal, the clerk of the lower tribunal
must request the appropriate court reporter to transcribe the
evidentiary hearing and must send the court reporter a copy of the
notice, the date of the hearing to be transcribed, the name of the
judge, and a copy of this rule.
(B)
Record.
(i)
When a motion for postconviction relief
under rules 3.801, 3.802, 3.850, or 3.853 is granted or denied after
an evidentiary hearing, the clerk of the lower tribunal must index,
paginate, and electronically transmit to the court as the record,
within 50 days of the filing of the notice of appeal, the notice of
appeal, motion, response, reply, order on the motion, motion for
rehearing, response, reply, order on the motion for rehearing, and
attachments to any of the foregoing, as well as the transcript of the
evidentiary hearing.
(ii)
Within 10 days of filing the notice of
appeal, the appellant may direct the clerk of the lower tribunal to
include in the record any other documents that were before the
lower tribunal at the hearing.
(iii) The clerk of the lower tribunal must serve
copies of the record on the attorney general, all counsel appointed
to represent indigent defendants on appeal, and any pro se indigent
defendant. The clerk of the lower tribunal must simultaneously
serve copies of the index on all nonindigent defendants and, at their
request, copies of the record or portions of it at the cost prescribed
by law.
(C)
Briefs. Initial briefs must be served within 30
days of service of the record or its index. Additional briefs must be
served as prescribed by rule 9.210.
(c)
Petitions Seeking Belated Appeal or Belated
Discretionary Review.
(1)
Applicability. This subdivision governs petitions
seeking belated appeals or belated discretionary review.
(2)
Treatment as Original Proceedings. Review
proceedings under this subdivision will be treated as original
proceedings under rule 9.100, except as modified by this rule.
(3)
Forum. Petitions seeking belated review must be
filed in the court to which the appeal or discretionary review should
have been taken.
(4)
Contents. The petition must be in the form
prescribed by rule 9.100, may include supporting documents, and
must recite in the statement of facts:
(A)
the date and nature of the lower tribunal’s
order sought to be reviewed;
(B)
the name of the lower tribunal rendering the
order;
(C)
the nature, disposition, and dates of all
previous court proceedings;
(D)
if a previous petition was filed, the reason the
claim in the present petition was not raised previously;
(E)
the nature of the relief sought;
(F)
the specific acts sworn to by the petitioner or
petitioner’s counsel that constitute the basis for entitlement to
belated appeal or belated discretionary review, as outlined below:
(i)
a petition seeking belated appeal must
state whether the petitioner requested counsel to proceed with the
appeal and the date of any such request, or if the petitioner was
misadvised as to the availability of appellate review or the status of
filing a notice of appeal. A petition seeking belated discretionary
review must state whether counsel advised the petitioner of the
results of the appeal and the date of any such notification, or if
counsel misadvised the petitioner as to the opportunity for seeking
discretionary review; or
(ii)
a petition seeking belated appeal or
belated discretionary review must identify the circumstances,
including names of individuals involved and date(s) of the
occurrence(s), that were beyond the petitioner’s control and
otherwise interfered with the petitioner’s ability to file a timely
appeal or notice to invoke, as applicable; and
(G)
if seeking belated discretionary review, the
basis for invoking discretionary review jurisdiction with a copy of
the district court’s decision attached.
(5)
Time Limits.
(A)
A petition for belated appeal must not be filed
more than 2 years after the expiration of time for filing the notice of
appeal from a final order, unless it alleges under oath with a
specific factual basis that the petitioner was unaware a notice of
appeal had not been timely filed or was not advised of the right to
an appeal or was otherwise prevented from timely filing the notice of
appeal due to circumstances beyond the petitioner’s control, and
could not have ascertained such facts by the exercise of reasonable
diligence. In no case may a petition for belated appeal be filed more
than 4 years after the expiration of time for filing the notice of
appeal.
(B)
A petition for belated discretionary review
must not be filed more than 2 years after the expiration of time for
filing the notice to invoke discretionary review from a final order,
unless it alleges under oath with a specific factual basis that the
petitioner was unaware such notice had not been timely filed or was
not advised of the results of the appeal, or was otherwise prevented
from timely filing the notice due to circumstances beyond the
petitioner’s control, and that the petitioner could not have
ascertained such facts by the exercise of reasonable diligence. In no
case may a petition for belated discretionary review be filed more
than 4 years after the expiration of time for filing the notice to
invoke discretionary review from a final order.
(6)
Procedure.
(A)
The petitioner must serve a copy of a petition
for belated appeal on the attorney general and state attorney. The
petitioner must serve a copy of a petition for belated discretionary
review on the attorney general.
(B)
The court may by order identify any provision
of this rule that the petition fails to satisfy and, under rule 9.040(d),
allow the petitioner a specified time to serve an amended petition.
(C)
The court may dismiss a second or successive
petition if it does not allege new grounds and the prior
determination was on the merits, or if a failure to assert the
grounds was an abuse of procedure.
(D)
An order granting a petition for belated appeal
must be filed with the lower tribunal and treated as the notice of
appeal, if no previous notice has been filed. An order granting a
petition for belated discretionary review or belated appeal of a
decision of a district court of appeal must be filed with the district
court of appeal and treated as a notice to invoke discretionary
jurisdiction or notice of appeal, if no previous notice has been filed.
(d)
Petitions Alleging Ineffective Assistance of Appellate
Counsel.
(1)
Applicability. This subdivision governs petitions
alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel.
(2)
Treatment as Original Proceedings. Review
proceedings under this subdivision will be treated as original
proceedings under rule 9.100, except as modified by this rule.
(3)
Forum. Petitions alleging ineffective assistance of
appellate counsel must be filed in the court to which the appeal was
taken.
(4)
Contents. The petition must be in the form
prescribed by rule 9.100, may include supporting documents, and
must recite in the statement of facts:
(A)
the date and nature of the lower tribunal’s
order subject to the disputed appeal;
(B)
the name of the lower tribunal rendering the
order;
(C)
the nature, disposition, and dates of all
previous court proceedings;
(D)
if a previous petition was filed, the reason the
claim in the present petition was not raised previously;
(E)
the nature of the relief sought; and
(F)
the specific acts sworn to by the petitioner or
petitioner’s counsel that constitute the alleged ineffective assistance
of counsel.
(5)
Time Limits. A petition alleging ineffective assistance
of appellate counsel on direct review must not be filed more than 2
years after the judgment and sentence become final on direct review
unless it alleges under oath with a specific factual basis that the
petitioner was affirmatively misled about the results of the appeal
by counsel. In no case may a petition alleging ineffective assistance
of appellate counsel on direct review be filed more than 4 years after
the judgment and sentence become final on direct review.
(6)
Procedure.
(A)
The petitioner must serve a copy of the petition
on the attorney general.
(B)
The court may by order identify any provision
of this rule that the petition fails to satisfy and, under rule 9.040(d),
allow the petitioner a specified time to serve an amended petition.
(C)
The court may dismiss a second or successive
petition if it does not allege new grounds and the prior
determination was on the merits, or if a failure to assert the
grounds was an abuse of procedure.
Committee Notes
2000 Amendment. Rule 9.141 is a new rule governing review
of collateral or post-conviction criminal cases. It covers topics
formerly included in rules 9.140(i) and (j). The committee opted to
transfer these subjects to a new rule, in part because rule 9.140
was becoming lengthy. In addition, review proceedings for collateral
criminal cases are in some respects treated as civil appeals or as
extraordinary writs, rather than criminal appeals under rule 9.140.
Subdivision (a) clarifies that this rule does not apply to death
penalty cases. The Supreme Court has its own procedures for these
cases, and the committee did not attempt to codify them.
Subdivision (b)(2) amends former rule 9.140(i) and addresses
review of summary grants or denials of post-conviction motions
under Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) or 3.850.
Amended language in subdivision (b)(2)(A) makes minor changes to
the contents of the record in such cases. Subdivision (b)(2)(B)
addresses a conflict between Summers v. State, 570 So. 2d 990 (Fla.
1st DCA 1990), and Fleming v. State, 709 So. 2d 135 (Fla. 2d DCA
1998), regarding indexing and pagination of records. The First
District requires clerks to index and paginate the records, while the
other district courts do not. The committee determined not to
require indexing and pagination unless the court directs otherwise,
thereby allowing individual courts to require indexing and
pagination if they so desire. Subdivision (b)(2)(B) also provides that
neither the state nor the defendant should get a copy of the record
in these cases, because they should already have all of the relevant
documents. Subdivision (b)(2)(D) reflects current case law that the
court can reverse not only for an evidentiary hearing but also for
other appropriate relief.
Subdivision (b)(3) addresses review of grants or denials of
post-conviction motions under rule 3.850 after an evidentiary
hearing. Subdivision (b)(3)(A) provides for the preparation of a
transcript if an indigent pro se litigant fails to request the court
reporter to prepare it. The court cannot effectively carry out its
duties without a transcript to review, and an indigent litigant will
usually be entitled to preparation of the transcript and a copy of the
record at no charge. See Colonel v. State, 723 So. 2d 853 (Fla. 3d
DCA 1998). The procedures in subdivisions (b)(3)(B) and (C) for
preparation of the record and service of briefs are intended to be
similar to those provided in rule 9.140 for direct appeals from
judgments and sentences.
Subdivision (c) is a slightly reorganized and clarified version of
former rule 9.140(j). No substantive changes are intended.
Source: Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, effective September 4, 2025.
View the official rules: Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure — The Florida Bar (PDF)