ANTHONY J. COKLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2008-05-09
No. 5D07-4328
GRIFFIN, TORPY and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
981 So. 2d 582 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2008) 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

Anthony Cokley appeals the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence, challenging his habitual felony offender designation from 1989. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's decision and imposed sanctions prohibiting Cokley from filing further pro se pleadings in this case, finding his repeated filings were abusing the judicial process.


Holding

The court affirmed the trial court's determination that Cokley clearly qualified for habitual felony offender status. The court also held that Cokley's repeated filings constitute an abuse of judicial process and prohibited him from filing further pro se pleadings concerning this case.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant may be designated a habitual felony offender if they qualify under the applicable statutory version, even if the statute does not require sequential prior fel…

[2] A defendant's argument that they were improperly sentenced under a prior version of a habitual offender statute is frivolous if they had multiple prior sequential felony…

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Key Quotes

“After reviewing Cokley's filings on appeal, and determining they are completely without merit, we issued a Spence show cause order directing Cokley to demonstrate 'why he should not be denied further pro se access to this Court for any proceeding to further attack the convictions and sentences rendered below' in this case.”

Establishes that the court found Cokley's arguments meritless and issued a show cause order regarding sanctions.

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Facts & Procedural History

Cokley was sentenced in Marion County case no. 89-209-CF more than eighteen years before this appeal. He was designated a habitual felony offender at …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Anthony J. Cokley appeals from the denial of his fifth Rule 3.800(a) motion to correct illegal sentence, challenging his designation as a habitual felony offender at sentencing in Marion County, Fifth Judicial Circuit Court case no. 89-209-CF, more than eighteen years ago. In the order on appeal, the trial court thoroughly addressed Cokley’s arguments, correctly concluding that Cokley “clearly qualified for habitual felony offender status.” After reviewing Cokley’s filings on appeal, and determining they are completely without merit,1 we issued a Spence?

show cause order directing Cokley to demonstrate “why he should not be denied further pro se access to this Court for any proceeding to further attack the convictions and sentences rendered below” in this case. Having carefully considered Cokley’s response, we conclude that he is abusing the judicial process and should be barred from further pro se filings.

Therefore, in order to conserve judicial resources, we prohibit Anthony J. Cokley from filing with this Court any further pro se pleadings concerning Marion County, Fifth Judicial Circuit Court case no. 89-209-CF. The Clerk of this Court is directed not to accept any further pro se filings concerning this case. Any further pleadings regarding this case will be summarily rejected by the Clerk, unless they are filed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. See Isley v. State, 652 So. 2d 409, 410 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995) (“Enough is enough.”) The Clerk is further directed to forward a certified copy of this opinion to the appropriate institution for consideration of disciplinary procedures. See § 944.279(1), Fla. Stat. (2007); Simpkins v. State, 909 So. 2d 427, 428 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).

AFFIRMED; future pro se filings PROHIBITED; certified opinion FORWARDED to Department of Corrections.

GRIFFIN, TORPY and LAWSON, JJ., concur. . Cokley argues that he was improperly sentenced under the 1989 version of section 775.084, Florida Statutes, which did not require sequential prior felony convictions for habitualization, instead of the 1988 version of the statute, which was held to require sequential prior felony convictions in Barnes v. State, 576 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (en banc), decision quashed, 595 So. 2d 22 (Fla.1992), and Debose v. State, 580 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). Cokley’s argument is frivolous for two reasons. First, in Barnes the Florida Supreme Court ruled that sequential convictions were not required for habitualization under the 1988 version of section 775.084, Florida Statutes, expressly overruling the First District’s contrary decision in Barnes, and effectively overruling our contrary holding in Debose. 595 So. 2d at 24. Second, Cokley had multiple prior sequential felony convictions when he committed the crimes at issue here. Therefore, he would have qualified for habitualization even if the applicable statute had required sequential prior qualifying felony convictions.

. State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla.1999).


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Cited By

  • Jerry v. State, 293 So. 3d 1044 (Fla. 5th DCA 2021)
    …v. State, 906 So. 2d 1141, 1142 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005); Johnson v. State, 790 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Due to Jerry’s repeated appeals to this Court, we caution him that further filings in this case may result in sanctions. See Cokley v. State, 981 So. 2d 582, 582 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008). AFFIRMED. COHEN and WALLIS, JJ., concur. TRAVER, J., concurs, with opinion. 4 CASE NO. 5D20-1447 TRAVER, J., concurring. While I agree with the majority’s analysis and conclusion, I would not reach the substantive issue…

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