Prisoner's Gain Time Challenge In Florida

In Schmidt v. Crusoe, 878 So. 2d 361, 367 (Fla. 2003), the supreme court concluded "that a gain time challenge is analogous to a collateral challenge to a sentence in a criminal proceeding because the end result is the same--the inmate's time in prison is directly affected." Under such circumstances, the general indigency statute, section 57.081, Florida Statutes, applies. The test adopted in Schmidt for treatment of an action as a collateral criminal proceeding for the purpose of the exemption from the prisoner indigency lien provision is whether the action affects the length of time an inmate will actually serve in prison. In our judgment, a mandamus petition seeking the correct calculation of a prisoner's presumptive parole release date (PPRD) is analogous to an action raising a gain time issue, because a PPRD imposed outside the maximum matrix time range for a specific offense clearly affects the length of time an inmate will spend in prison. Accordingly, we conclude the trial court departed from the essential requirements of law in denying petitioner's motion to vacate the lien on his inmate trust account.