Jeffrey Allen MUEHLEMAN, Petitioner,
v.
Richard L. DUGGER, etc., Respondent.
Jeffrey Allen MUEHLEMAN, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Supreme Court of Florida.
*481 Larry Helm Spalding, Capital Collateral Representative, and Judith J. Dougherty, Gail E. Anderson and Fred P. Bingham, II, Asst. Capital Collateral Representatives, Office of Capital Collateral Representative, Tallahassee, for petitioner, appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Robert J. Landry, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for respondent, appellee.
PER CURIAM.
Jeffrey Allen Muehleman, a prisoner under sentence of death, appeals the circuit court's denial of his petition under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution.
Muehleman was convicted of first-degree murder pursuant to a guilty plea in 1983. After a penalty proceeding, a jury recommended death by a vote of ten to two, and the trial judge followed the recommendation. On direct appeal, this Court upheld the conviction and sentence. Muehleman v. State,
As his first issue on appeal, Muehleman argues that the circuit court erred in denying his motion under rule 3.850 while simultaneously granting his public records request. Muehleman claims that postconviction counsel's investigation of the case was frustrated by the refusal of the Pinellas County Sheriff to comply fully with Florida's public records law. Presumably, counsel would have incorporated information contained in the sheriff's records into the rule 3.850 motion to support the claims raised therein and to support additional claims. In response, the State argues that the circuit court's action, giving Muehleman leave to file a new motion for postconviction relief if the disclosed records warrant it, was appropriate.
It is well settled that capital postconviction defendants are entitled to chapter 119 records disclosure. Walton v. Dugger,
We believe that the course we took in Walton is appropriate in the instant case. Accordingly, we relinquish jurisdiction of Muehleman's case to the circuit court. Muehleman has sixty days from the date he receives the records to which he is entitled or from the date of this opinion, whichever is later, to amend his 3.850 petition to include any facts or claims contained in the sheriff's records. The circuit court should review the amended petition in light of the newly discovered information. In the interest of judicial *482 economy, we reserve ruling on the remaining issues raised by Muehleman in his rule 3.850 appeal and his habeas petition until the circuit court rules on the amended motion.
It is so ordered.
BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, McDONALD, SHAW, GRIMES, KOGAN and HARDING, JJ., concur.
