Pre-Hearing Discovery During Postconviction Proceedings

In State v. Lewis, 656 So. 2d 1248, 1249 (Fla. 1994), this Court concluded that a trial court may permit pre-hearing discovery during postconviction proceedings under rule 3.850. The Court stated that in ruling on such a motion for postconviction discovery, the court shall consider "the issues presented, the elapsed time between the conviction and the post-conviction hearing, and burdens placed on the opposing party and witnesses, alternative means of securing the evidence, and any other relevant facts." Lewis, 656 So. 2d at 1250 (citing People ex rel. Daley v. Fitzgerald, 123 Ill. 2d 175, 526 N.E.2d 131, 135, 121 Ill. Dec. 937 (Ill. 1988)).