SAMUEL C. SWEETING
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Samuel C. Sweeting appealed an order barring him from future pro se filings in the appellate court. After nearly two decades of repeated, frivolous challenges to his 2002 conviction, the court affirmed the ban and warned of potential sanctions for further inappropriate filings.
The court affirmed the order barring Appellant from future pro se filings. The court held that Appellant's continuous attempts to revisit the same legal issues constitute frivolous claims and an abuse of the court's process.
[1] A litigant who repeatedly files frivolous claims previously adjudicated may be subject to sanctions, including a bar on future pro se filings.
[2] Courts may impose sanctions, such as a bar on pro se filings, for abuse of process through continuous attempts to revisit previously decided issues.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“Despite this history, Appellant continues to raise the same claims that have been considered on the merits, disposed of by the trial court, and reviewed in this Court on multiple occasions. The continuous attempts by Appellant to revisit the same issues are frivolous and an abuse of this Court's process.”
Establishes the court's finding that Appellant's repeated filings constitute frivolous claims and abuse of process warranting the pro se filing ban.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSweeting was convicted and sentenced in 2001 (Lake County Circuit Court case 2001-CF-1239). Since his 2002 direct appeal, he has filed over a dozen ad…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Samuel C. Sweeting, has filed in this Court numerous challenges to his 2002 Judgment and Sentence stemming from Lake County Circuit Court case number 2001-CF-1239. Those filings began with a 2002 direct appeal and culminate with the instant 2020 challenge to the lower court’s order barring him from future pro se filings. To date, in addition to the 2002 direct appeal and the instant appeal, Appellant has filed in this Court one Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800 appeal, five Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 appeals, one Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.853 appeal, three belated appeals, one ineffective assistance of counsel appeal, one appeal of the denial of a petition for habeas corpus, one petition for habeas corpus and one petition for writ of mandamus. Of all of these challenges, only the petition to file a belated appeal of an order denying his rule 3.853 motion was granted, but the lower court’s ruling was ultimately affirmed.
Despite this history, Appellant continues to raise the same claims that have been considered on the merits, disposed of by the trial court, and reviewed in this Court on multiple occasions. The continuous attempts by Appellant to revisit the same issues are frivolous and an abuse of this Court’s process.
As such, Appellant is cautioned that any further pro se pleadings or similarly inappropriate filings filed in this Court, asserting claims previously raised stemming from the judgment and/or sentence imposed in Lake County Circuit Court case number 2001-CF-1239, may result in sanctions being imposed against him, such as a bar on pro se filings in this Court and referral to prison officials for disciplinary proceedings, which may include forfeiture of gain time. See § 944.279(1), Fla. Stat. (2019); State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999).
WALLIS, EDWARDS and HARRIS, JJ., concur. 2