GREGORY PONTON, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2007-09-19
No. 3D07-634
Before GERSTEN, C.J., and FLETCHER and SUAREZ, JJ.
971 So. 2d 813 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2007) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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

Gregory Ponton appeals the denial of his post-conviction relief petition filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's denial, holding that Ponton's claims were procedurally barred because they constituted trial court error that should have been raised on direct appeal and were filed outside the applicable two-year filing window.


Holding

The court held that Ponton's petition must be denied because: (1) he is out of time for filing under Rule 3.850(b) and provides no legal exceptions to overcome this procedural bar; and (2) each of his seven claims constitutes an assertion of trial court error that should have been raised on direct appeal and is therefore procedurally barred.


Headnotes

[1] Claims of trial court error that could have been raised on direct appeal are procedurally barred in a post-conviction relief proceeding.

[2] A petition for post-conviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 is subject to a two-year time limit.

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Key Quotes

“each of the seven claims Ponton raises in this petition is an assertion of trial court error and an attack on his conviction. Ponton does not assert ineffective assistance of trial counsel. These claims of judicial error could have and should have been raised on direct appeal and are therefore procedurally barred.”

Establishes the core holding that claims of trial court error are procedurally barred when they should have been raised on direct appeal

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Facts & Procedural History

Ponton was convicted in 1997 after a jury trial of multiple felonies including burglary with assault/battery while armed, armed robbery, aggravated as…

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Opinion of the Court
SUAREZ, J.

SUAREZ, J.

Gregory Ponton seeks to reverse a final order denying a petition for post-conviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm.

Ponton was convicted in 1997 after a jury trial for several counts of burglary with assault/battery while armed, armed robbery, aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated battery, attempted kidnapping, armed burglary, and attempted robbery. He was sentenced as a habitual violent felony offender to three consecutive life sentences, with three concurrent fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentences. Ponton filed a direct appeal and this court affirmed his convictions and sentences. Ponton v. State, 744 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999).

Ponton appealed this decision to the Florida Supreme Court, which dismissed the petition. Ponton v. State, 761 So. 2d 330 (Fla.2000).

While his appeal was pending in the Florida Supreme Court, Ponton filed his first post-conviction relief motion with the trial court, which dismissed it without prejudice pending resolution of the direct appeal, and Ponton appealed that decision to the Third District. This Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal. Ponton v. State, 756 So. 2d 1018 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).

Ponton has since filed four additional post-conviction motions, three of which raised identical issues; the fourth petition raised new issues, but the trial court denied the petition and this Court affirmed.

Ponton files this current petition pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. As an initial matter, he is out of time for filing a petition under this rule and Ponton provides no legal exceptions that would overcome that procedural bar. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(b).

Further, each of the seven claims Ponton raises in this petition is an assertion of trial court error and an attack on his conviction. Ponton does not assert ineffective assistance of trial counsel. These claims of judicial error could have and should have been raised on direct appeal and are therefore procedurally barred. See Robinson v. State, 913 So. 2d 514, 524 n. 9 (Fla.2005) (holding that a claim of trial court error is procedurally barred on a post-conviction appeal because it should have been raised on direct appeal).

Because the issues Ponton has raised in his petition are issues that he had every chance to raise on direct appeal or in a timely post-conviction relief motion, and because he is outside of the two-year window of Rule 3.850, Ponton is now foreclosed from relief.

Affirmed.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Ponton v. Warden John Willis, 172 So. 3d 574 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)
    …CA 2010) (affirming summary denial of motion for postconviction relief); Ponton v. State, 16 So. 3d 918 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009) (affirming denial of motion challenging habitual offender designation), approved by, 73 So. 3d 70 (Fla.2011); Ponton v. State, 971 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (affirming denial of motion for postconviction relief), review denied, 984 So. 2d 519 (Fla.2008); Ponton v. Moore, 827 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (denying petition for writ of habeas corpus); Ponton v. State, 802 So. 2d 385 (F…
  • Katracy Dawson v. State, 121 So. 3d 63 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)
    …of knowledge. See Thompson v. State, 695 So. 2d 691, 692 (Fla.1997). However, such a claim of judicial error is procedurally barred if not raised on direct appeal. See Robinson v. State, 913 So. 2d 514, 524 n. 9 (Fla.2005); see also Ponton v. State, 971 So. 2d 813, 814 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007). Accordingly, this claim is procedurally barred.2 Like previous petitions and motions, we conclude Dawson’s current petition is wholly frivolous. II. Frivolous Appeals by Prisoners As we have stated before, “incarcerated pe…

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