THADDEUS C. MARTIN
v.
RICKY D. DIXON, ETC.

Fla. | 2021-08-25
No. SC21-860
298 So. 3d 1228 Florida Supreme Court (2021) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

The Florida Supreme Court sanctioned pro se litigant Thaddeus C. Martin by barring him from filing further unrepresented petitions in the Court regarding his criminal convictions. Martin had filed sixteen frivolous or repetitive petitions since 2018, abusing the Court's limited judicial resources, prompting the imposition of sanctions designed to protect other litigants' access to the Court.


Holding

Martin is sanctioned and barred from filing any future pro se pleadings or requests for relief pertaining to his criminal case, except through counsel who determines the filing has merit and can be made in good faith. The Clerk is directed to reject all future unrepresented filings by Martin regarding his convictions or sentences in case number 132012CF0300620001XX.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant who has repeatedly filed frivolous postconviction motions may be prohibited from making further pro se filings concerning a specific conviction.

[2] Courts may bar pro se litigants from further filings when their actions constitute an abuse of the judicial process and a waste of judicial resources.

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“based on Martin's history of filing pro se petitions and requests for relief that are meritless or otherwise inappropriate for this Court's review, we now find that he has abused this Court's limited judicial resources.”

Establishes the basis for imposing sanctions on the litigant due to repeated frivolous filings.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Martin was convicted in Miami-Dade County of false imprisonment and aggravated battery. Beginning in 2018, he filed sixteen pro se petitions with the …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

This case is before the Court on the petition of Thaddeus C.

Martin for a writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. 1 On August 25, 2021, we dismissed the instant petition and expressly retained jurisdiction to pursue possible sanctions against Martin.

Martin v. Inch, No. SC21-860, 2021 WL 3771832 (Fla. Aug. 25, 2021); see Fla. R. App. P. 9.410(a) (Sanctions; Court’s Motion). We now find that Martin has failed to show cause why he should not be

1. See art. V, § 3(b)(9), Fla. Const. barred from filing any further pro se requests for relief, and we sanction him as set forth below.

Martin was convicted in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit (Miami-Dade County) of one count of false imprisonment and one count of aggravated battery in case number 132012CF0300620001XX. See Martin v. State, 298 So. 3d 1228 , 1230 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020).

Martin began filing petitions in this Court in 2018. Since that time, he has filed sixteen petitions with the Court, including the petition in this case. We have never granted the relief sought in any of Martin’s filings, which have either been denied, dismissed, or transferred by the Court. The petition for writ of habeas corpus in this case was no exception. Martin argued that the Florida Department of Corrections failed to credit him for all of his time served and as a result miscalculated his release date, a claim he previously raised by way of habeas corpus petitions in case numbers SC20-1752 and SC21-603, which were both transferred to the Second Judicial Circuit, in and for Leon County, Florida. On August 25, 2021, we dismissed the instant petition as a repetitve claim. See Martin, No. SC21-860, 2021 WL 3771832 . -2-Therefore, based on Martin’s history of filing pro se petitions and requests for relief that are meritless or otherwise inappropriate for this Court’s review, we now find that he has abused this Court’s limited judicial resources. See Pettway v. McNeil, 987 So. 2d 20, 22 (Fla. 2008) (explaining that this Court has previously “exercised the inherent judicial authority to sanction an abusive litigant” and that “[o]ne justification for such a sanction lies in the protection of the rights of others to have the Court conduct timely reviews of their legitimate filings”). Martin did not respond to the order to show cause, thus failing to offer any justification for his repeated misuse of this Court’s resources. We are therefore convinced that if not restrained, Martin will continue to abuse the judicial process and burden this Court (and thereby harm other litigants) with frivolous and meritless filings pertaining to circuit court case number 132012CF0300620001XX.

Accordingly, we direct the Clerk of this Court to reject any future pleadings or other requests for relief submitted by Thaddeus C. Martin that pertain to circuit court case number 132012CF0300620001XX, unless such filings are signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. Henceforth, Martin -3-may only petition the Court about his convictions or sentences in case number 132012CF0300620001XX through the assistance of counsel whenever such counsel determines that the proceeding may have merit and can be filed in good faith.

No motion for rehearing or clarification will be entertained by this Court.

It is so ordered.

CANADY, C.J., and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, MUÑIZ, COURIEL, and GROSSHANS, JJ., concur. Original Proceeding – Habeas Corpus Thaddeus C. Martin, pro se, Raiford, Florida, for Petitioner No appearance for Respondent -4-


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Thaddeus C. Martin v. Dixon, 298 So. 3d 1228 (Fla. 2021)
    …ief, and we sanction him as set forth below. Martin was convicted in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit (Miami- Dade County) of one count of false imprisonment and one count of aggravated battery in case number 132012CF0300620001XX. See Martin v. State, 298 So. 3d 1228 , 1230 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020). Martin began filing petitions in this Court in 2018. Since that time, he has filed sixteen petitions with the Court, including the petition in this case. We have never granted the relief sought in any of Martin’s filings,…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw