Woolbright v. Inch (Union County)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

NORMAN WOOLBRIGHT,

Petitioner,

v. Case No. 3:20-cv-1429-MMH-MCR

SECRETARY, FLORIDA

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

et al.,

Respondents.

________________________________

ORDER

I. Status

Petitioner Norman Woolbright, an inmate of the Florida penal system,

initiated this action in the United States District Court for the Northern

District of Florida on December 7, 2020,1 by filing a Petition for Writ of

Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Petition; Doc. 1)2 with a

memorandum of law (Memorandum; Doc. 1-1). The assigned judge

transferred the action to the Middle District of Florida on December 18, 2020.

See Order (Doc. 4). In the Petition, Woolbright challenges the Florida

Department of Corrections’ (FDOC) calculation of his gain time. See Petition

1 See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988) (mailbox rule).

2 For purposes of reference to pleadings and exhibits, the Court will cite the

document page numbers assigned by the Court’s electronic docketing system.

at 3-8. Respondents submitted a memorandum in opposition to the Petition.

See Response (Doc. 14). They also submitted exhibits. See Docs. 22; 27.

Woolbright filed a brief in reply. See Reply (Doc. 33). This action is ripe for

review.

II. Relevant Procedural History

On February 23, 1983, the State of Florida charged Woolbright by

information with sexual battery (count one), armed robbery (count two),

burglary (count three), and attempted murder (count four). Doc. 27 at 11-12.

After a trial, a jury found Woolbright guilty of all counts, and on September

23, 1983, the circuit court sentenced Woolbright to a thirty-year term of

imprisonment as to count one, a ninety-year term of imprisonment as to

count two, and a fifteen-year term of imprisonment as to count three, with all

counts to run concurrently. Id. at 13-18, 20. The circuit court withheld

adjudication as to count four. Id. at 13-14.

On May 11, 2017, Woolbright filed a petition for writ of mandamus in

the circuit court, alleging that the FDOC retroactively applied the 1983

amendment to Florida’s gain-time statute to him in violation of the ex post

facto clause. Id. at 23-28. The State responded, id. at 31-43, and Woolbright

replied, id. at 75-81. On June 13, 2018, the circuit court denied relief. Id. at

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89-90; Petition at 64-66. Woolbright filed a petition for writ of certiorari in

the First District Court of Appeal (First DCA), Doc. 22 at 92-102, and on

October 13, 2020, the First DCA denied Woolbright’s petition on the merits,

Doc. 27 at 121.

III. One-Year Limitations Period

This action was timely filed within the one-year limitations period. See

28 U.S.C. § 2244(d).

IV. Evidentiary Hearing

In a habeas corpus proceeding, the burden is on the petitioner to

establish the need for a federal evidentiary hearing. See Chavez v. Sec’y, Fla.

Dep’t of Corr., 647 F.3d 1057, 1060 (11th Cir. 2011). “In deciding whether to

grant an evidentiary hearing, a federal court must consider whether such a

hearing could enable an applicant to prove the petition’s factual allegations,

which, if true, would entitle the applicant to federal habeas relief.” Schriro v.

Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465, 474 (2007); Jones v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 834

F.3d 1299, 1318-19 (11th Cir. 2016). “It follows that if the record refutes the

applicant’s factual allegations or otherwise precludes habeas relief, a district

court is not required to hold an evidentiary hearing.” Schriro, 550 U.S. at

474. The pertinent facts of this case are fully developed in the record before

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the Court. Because the Court can “adequately assess [Woolbright’s] claim

without further factual development,” Turner v. Crosby, 339 F.3d 1247, 1275

(11th Cir. 2003), an evidentiary hearing will not be conducted.

V. Governing Legal Principles

Standard of Review

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA)

governs a state prisoner’s federal petition for habeas corpus. See Ledford v.

Warden, Ga. Diagnostic & Classification Prison, 818 F.3d 600, 642 (11th Cir.

2016), abrogation recognized on other grounds by Smith v. Comm’r, Ala.

Dep’t of Corr., 67 F.4th 1335, 1348 (11th Cir. 2023). “‘The purpose of AEDPA

is to ensure that federal habeas relief functions as a guard against extreme

malfunctions in the state criminal justice systems, and not as a means of

error correction.’” Id. (quoting Greene v. Fisher, 565 U.S. 34, 38 (2011). As

such, federal habeas review of final state court decisions is “greatly

circumscribed and highly deferential.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted)

(quoting Hill v. Humphrey, 662 F.3d 1335, 1343 (11th Cir. 2011)).

The first task of the federal habeas court is to identify the last state

court decision, if any, that adjudicated the claim on the merits. See Marshall

v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 828 F.3d 1277, 1285 (11th Cir. 2016). The state

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court need not issue a written opinion explaining its rationale in order for the

state court’s decision to qualify as an adjudication on the merits. See

Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 100 (2011). Where the state court’s

adjudication on the merits is unaccompanied by an explanation, the United

States Supreme Court has instructed:

[T]he federal court should “look through” the

unexplained decision to the last related state-court

decision that does provide a relevant rationale. It

should then presume that the unexplained decision

adopted the same reasoning.

Wilson v. Sellers, 138 S. Ct. 1188, 1192 (2018). The presumption may be

rebutted by showing that the higher state court’s adjudication most likely

relied on different grounds than the lower state court’s reasoned decision,

such as persuasive alternative grounds that were briefed or argued to the

higher court or obvious in the record it reviewed. Id. at 1192, 1196.

If the claim was “adjudicated on the merits” in state court, § 2254(d)

bars relitigation of the claim unless the state court’s decision (1) “was

contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established

Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States;” or

(2) “was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the

evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d);

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Richter, 562 U.S. at 97-98. The Eleventh Circuit describes the limited scope

of federal review pursuant to § 2254 as follows:

First, § 2254(d)(1) provides for federal review for

claims of state courts’ erroneous legal conclusions. As

explained by the Supreme Court in Williams v.

Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 120 S. Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d

389 (2000), § 2254(d)(1) consists of two distinct

clauses: a “contrary to” clause and an “unreasonable

application” clause. The “contrary to” clause allows

for relief only “if the state court arrives at a

conclusion opposite to that reached by [the Supreme]

Court on a question of law or if the state court

decides a case differently than [the Supreme] Court

has on a set of materially indistinguishable facts.” Id.

at 413, 120 S. Ct. at 1523 (plurality opinion). The

“unreasonable application” clause allows for relief

only “if the state court identifies the correct

governing legal principle from [the Supreme] Court's

decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to

the facts of the prisoner’s case.” Id.

Second, § 2254(d)(2) provides for federal review for

claims of state courts’ erroneous factual

determinations. Section 2254(d)(2) allows federal

courts to grant relief only if the state court’s denial of

the petitioner’s claim “was based on an unreasonable

determination of the facts in light of the evidence

presented in the State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. §

2254(d)(2). The Supreme Court has not yet defined §

2254(d)(2)’s “precise relationship” to § 2254(e)(1),

which imposes a burden on the petitioner to rebut the

state court’s factual findings “by clear and convincing

evidence.” See Burt v. Titlow, 571 U.S. ---, ---, 134 S.

Ct. 10, 15, 187 L.Ed.2d 348 (2013); accord Brumfield

v. Cain, 576 U.S. ---, ---, 135 S. Ct. 2269, 2282, 192

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L.Ed.2d 356 (2015). Whatever that “precise

relationship” may be, “‘a state-court factual

determination is not unreasonable merely because

the federal habeas court would have reached a

different conclusion in the first instance.’” Titlow, 571

U.S. at ---, 134 S. Ct. at 15 (quoting Wood v. Allen,

558 U.S. 290, 301, 130 S. Ct. 841, 849, 175 L.Ed.2d

738 (2010)).

Tharpe v. Warden, 834 F.3d 1323, 1337 (11th Cir. 2016). Also, deferential

review under § 2254(d) generally is limited to the record that was before the

state court that adjudicated the claim on the merits. See Cullen v. Pinholster,

563 U.S. 170, 182 (2011) (stating the language in § 2254(d)(1) “requires an

examination of the state-court decision at the time it was made”).

Thus, “AEDPA erects a formidable barrier to federal habeas relief for

prisoners whose claims have been adjudicated in state court.” Burt v. Titlow,

134 S. Ct. 10, 16 (2013). “Federal courts may grant habeas relief only when a

state court blundered in a manner so ‘well understood and comprehended in

existing law’ and ‘was so lacking in justification’ that ‘there is no possibility

fairminded jurists could disagree.’” Tharpe, 834 F.3d at 1338 (quoting

Richter, 562 U.S. at 102-03). This standard is “meant to be” a “difficult” one

to meet. Richter, 562 U.S. at 102. Thus, to the extent that the petitioner’s

claims were adjudicated on the merits in the state courts, they must be

evaluated under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).

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VI. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

In the Petition, Woolbright alleges that the FDOC unlawfully

retroactively applied Florida Statutes section 944.275, enacted in 1983 (“the

1983 Amendment”), to calculate his gain time in violation of the ex post facto

clause. See Petition at 7. In support, Woolbright asserts that Florida Statutes

section 944.275 (1981) (“the Pre-1983 Statute”), was in effect when he

committed the offenses, and it provided for a more generous gain time award

such that he “was entitled to 1/3 or (30) years time off his initial imposed

sentence thus requiring that he serve not more than 60 years remainder of

his sentence.”3 Id. at 3. According to Woolbright, he was entitled to receive

gain time pursuant to the Pre-1983 Statute and Waldrup v. Dugger, 562 So.

2d 687 (Fla. 1990).4 See id. at 6.

Woolbright raised a substantially similar claim as the only ground of

his petition for writ of mandamus. Doc. 27 at 23-28. The circuit court denied

relief, stating in pertinent part:

3 Woolbright’s thirty-year and fifteen-year terms of imprisonment have

expired.

4 In Waldrup v. Dugger, the Florida Supreme Court barred the FDOC “from

applying the 1983 reduction in incentive gain-time to inmates convicted of offenses

occurring before the effective date of the 1983 act.” 562 So. 2d 687, 692 (Fla. 1990)

(emphasis in original). It also directed the FDOC to recompute incentive gain time

for those inmates “based on the formulas, and in light of the criteria, contained in

the pre-1983 statute.” Id.

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Gain-time eligibility is based on the date the

offense was committed pursuant to section 944.275,

Florida Statutes. The amount of basic gain-time

awarded is based on the total length of sentence for

which the inmate is eligible for basic gain-time and a

lump sum award is made at the beginning of the

sentence to encourage satisfactory behavior pursuant

to Rule 33-603.402 (3)(c), Florida Administrative

Code, and is applied to establish the initial tentative

release date.

Based on the statute in effect when Petitioner

committed his offenses in case 83-2052, section

944.275(1), Florida Statutes, (1979-81)[FN2], the

basic gain-time award on the ninety (90) year

term[FN3] would have been calculated under the 3-6-

9 day gain-time formula as follows[FN4]:

First year (12 months x 3 days per month) 36 days

Second year (12 months x 3 days per month) 36 days

Third year (12 months x 6 days per month) 72 days

Fourth year (12 months x 6 days per month) 72 days

Fifth through 90th years (86 years x 12 months x 9

days) = 9288 days

TOTAL 9504 days

Pursuant to the decision in Waldrup, instead of

calculating Petitioner’s basic gain-time based on the

3-6-9 formula set forth in the 1979-81 statutes, the

Department applied the 10-day formula adopted in

the 1983 version of the gain-time statute,

§944.275(4)(a), Florida Statutes, because the 1983

version was more advantageous to the Petitioner.

Under this statute, 10,800 days of basic gain-time

were applied to the 90 year sentence. This is an

increase of 1296 days over the amount authorized

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under the 3-6-9 day formula. See Respondent’s Ex. A

at 2.[5]

Pursuant to Waldrup, the Department also

converted Petitioner’s incentive gain-time into a more

generous award of work and extra gain-time under

the 1981 statute. See Respondent’s Ex. A at 2.[6]

Thus, there has been no ex post facto violation.

The Department has not violated Petitioner’s

rights against the ex post facto application of the law

because the Department’s gain-time calculations

have been more advantageous to Petitioner than if

the prior statute were applied. Petitioner has failed

to show a clear right to mandamus relief.

[FN2] The 1983 version of the statute had not yet

gone into effect.

[FN3] The sentences in counts 1 and 3 are no longer

active.

[FN4] Under the 3-6-9 day formula, gain-time

deductions are authorized on a monthly basis as

earned as follows: three days per month off the first

and second years of the sentence; six days per month

off the third and fourth years of the sentence; and

nine days per month off the fifth and all succeeding

years of the sentence.

Petition at 65-66. The First DCA denied Woolbright’s petition for writ of

certiorari on the merits. Doc. 27 at 121.

5 Doc. 27 at 46.

6 Doc. 27 at 46.

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Federal habeas review “is limited to deciding whether a conviction

violated the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.” Estelle v.

McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 68 (1991). “[I]t is not the province of a federal habeas

court to reexamine state-court determinations on state-law questions.” Id. at

67-68. As such, federal habeas “does not lie for errors of state law.” Id. at 67

(quotations omitted). Therefore, to the extent Woolbright challenges the state

court’s interpretation of its gain-time statute, the Court on federal habeas

review cannot provide him with relief.

Even if Woolbright raises a cognizable claim, the state courts decided

the claim on the merits, thus the Court must address the claim in accordance

with the deferential standard for federal court review of state court

adjudications. After a review of the record and the applicable law, the Court

concludes that the state courts’ adjudications of the claim were not contrary

to clearly established federal law, did not involve an unreasonable application

of clearly established federal law, and were not based on an unreasonable

determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the state court

proceedings. Thus, Woolbright is not entitled to relief on the basis of the

claim.

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Moreover, even assuming the state courts’ adjudications of the claim

are not entitled to deference, Woolbright’s claim is without merit. Article I,

Section 10, of the United States Constitution prohibits the States from

enacting any ex post facto law. The United States Supreme Court has held

that for a criminal or penal law to be ex post facto, “a law must be

retrospective—that is, it must apply to events occurring before its

enactment—and it must disadvantage the offender affected by it . . . by

altering the definition of criminal conduct or increasing the punishment for

the crime.” Lynce v. Mathis, 519 U.S. 433, 441 (1997) (internal quotations

and citation omitted).

Under Florida law, the Pre-1983 Statute provided for “basic gain time”

of three, six or nine days per month,7 and required only that “the inmate

perform ‘satisfactory and acceptable’ work and be guilty of no infractions” to

earn such time. Waldrup, 562 So. 2d at 689. It also allowed the FDOC to

grant “incentive gain time,”8 which rewarded inmates for good behavior, of up

7 Three days per month off the first and second years of the sentence, six days

per month off the third and fourth years of the sentence, and nine days per month

off the fifth and all succeeding years of the sentence. Waldrup, 562 So. 2d at 689

n.5.

8 Incentive gain time under the Pre-1983 Statute is sometimes referred to as

work and extra gain time. See Gwong v. Singletary, 683 So. 2d 109, 110 n.1 (Fla.

1996) (explaining that in 1983, the Florida Legislature simplified the gain-time

statute and replaced work and extra gain time with incentive gain time).

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to the total number of days in the month if the inmate “performed

‘satisfactory and acceptable’ work.” Id. “Another award of one to six days a

month could be given for work performance, ‘over and above that which may

normally be excepted,’ among other reasons.” Id. Therefore, assuming the

maximum amount of gain time under the Pre-1983 Statute, an inmate could

earn nine days of basic gain time and thirty-seven days of incentive gain time

per month, or forty-six days of combined gain time per month.

The 1983 Amendment increased the basic gain time award to ten days

per month. Id. at 690. Nevertheless, the maximum award of incentive gain

time decreased to twenty days per month provided an inmate “work[ed]

diligently, participate[d] in training, use[d] time constructively, or otherwise

engage[d] in positive activities. . . .” Id. at 690 n.9. As such, assuming the

maximum amount of gain time under the 1983 Amendment, an inmate could

earn ten days of basic gain time and twenty days of incentive gain time per

month, or thirty days of combined gain time per month.

Inmates who committed offenses prior to the enactment of the 1983

Amendment challenged its application to their gain time awards. In Raske v.

Martinez, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the

application of the 1983 Amendment’s incentive gain time provision to such

13

inmates was an unconstitutional ex post facto application of law because it

reduced the opportunity to shorten their prison sentences. 876 F.2d 1496,

1500 (11th Cir. 1989). Nevertheless, the Eleventh Circuit noted that:

The effect of our decision, of course, is to require that

the State of Florida “apply, if possible, the law in

place when [defendant’s] crime occurred.” Weaver,[9]

450 U.S. at 36 n. 22, 101 S.Ct. at 968 n. 22. In so

doing, the State must determine whether the

unconstitutional provisions of the 1983 act are

severable. If so, petitioner will reap the benefit of the

increased basic gain time provided by the 1983 act,

while also receiving the benefit of the thirty-seven

days of incentive gain time provided by the 1978 act.

If not, petitioner’s sentence will be completely

regulated by the terms of the 1978 act. These

matters, however, are purely questions of state law,

which must be resolved by the Florida courts.

Id. at 1502 n.16. Later, in Waldrup, the Florida Supreme Court determined

that the provisions of the 1983 Amendment were severable such that there

was “no impediment to DOC applying both the present [1983] basic gain-time

statute and the pre-1983 incentive gain-time statutes to inmates such as

Waldrup.” 562 So. 2d at 694 (emphasis in original).

Here, the record supports the state courts’ conclusions. Woolbright

receives basic gain time pursuant to the 1983 Amendment, Doc. 27 at 46-47,

and he receives incentive gain time (work and extra gain time) pursuant to

9 Weaver v. Graham, 450 U.S. 24 (1981).

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the Pre-1983 Statute, id. at 46. Moreover, Woolbright’s own exhibit

demonstrates that the FDOC has applied work and extra gain time and

deemed Woolbright ineligible for incentive gain time in accordance with

Waldrup. Petition at 22-23. As such, the FDOC has applied the most

advantageous provisions of the Pre-1983 Statute and the 1983 Amendment to

Woolbright, as contemplated by the Eleventh Circuit in Raske. Whereas

Woolbright could earn a maximum of forty-six days of combined basic gain

time and incentive gain time per month under the provisions of the Pre-1983

Statute, he can now earn a maximum of forty-seven10 days of combined basis

gain time and incentive gain time per month. See Waldrup, 562 So. 2d at 689-

90. Therefore, the FDOC’s award of gain time does not constitute an unlawful

ex post facto application of law as to Woolbright.

Insofar as Woolbright asserts that the FDOC has failed to award him

the maximum amount of gain time that he is eligible to earn each month, he

is not entitled to federal habeas relief. The Pre-1983 Statute granted the

FDOC discretion to award incentive gain time. See id. at 692-93 (“Nothing in

this opinion, however, shall be read as restricting the discretion accorded

DOC under the earlier incentive gain-time statutes. This discretion remains

10 Ten days of basic gain time pursuant to the 1983 Amendment plus thirty-

seven days of incentive gain time pursuant the Pre-1983 Statute.

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intact.”). Notably Woolbright admits that “he has received numerous

disciplinary reports which have resulted in lost [sic] of some of his gain-time.”

Reply at 4. And while he asserts that he did not receive gain time during

certain months when he did not receive disciplinary reports, Petition at 8, he

points to no evidence in the record to support this claim. Without more, such

a claim does not warrant federal habeas relief. Accordingly, the Petition is

due to be denied.

VII. Certificate of Appealability

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)

If Woolbright seeks issuance of a certificate of appealability, the

undersigned opines that a certificate of appealability is not warranted. The

Court should issue a certificate of appealability only if the petitioner makes

“a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. §

2253(c)(2). To make this substantial showing, Woolbright “must demonstrate

that reasonable jurists would find the district court’s assessment of the

constitutional claims debatable or wrong,” Tennard v. Dretke, 542 U.S. 274,

282 (2004) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)), or that “the

issues presented were ‘adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed

further,’” Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 335-36 (2003) (quoting Barefoot

v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 893 n.4 (1983)).

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Where a district court has rejected a petitioner’s constitutional claims

on the merits, the petitioner must demonstrate that reasonable jurists would

find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or

wrong. See Slack, 529 U.S. at 484. However, when the district court has

rejected a claim on procedural grounds, the petitioner must show that “jurists

of reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of

the denial of a constitutional right and that jurists of reason would find it

debatable whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling.” Id.

Upon consideration of the record as a whole, the Court will deny a certificate

of appealability.

Therefore, it is now

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED:

1. The Petition (Doc. 1) is DENIED, and this action is DISMISSED

WITH PREJUDICE.

2. The Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment denying the Petition

and dismissing this case with prejudice.

3. If Woolbright appeals the denial of the Petition, the Court denies

a certificate of appealability. Because the Court has determined that a

certificate of appealability is not warranted, the Clerk shall terminate from

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the pending motions report any motion to proceed on appeal as a pauper that

may be filed in this case. Such termination shall serve as a denial of the

motion.

4, The Clerk of the Court is directed to close this case and terminate

any pending motions.

DONE AND ORDERED at Jacksonville, Florida, this 8th day of

November, 2023.

MARCIA MORALES HOWARD

United States District Judge

Jax-9 11/1

C: Norman Woolbright, #716218

Counsel of record

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