ROBERT L. STEPHENS, PETITIONER,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENT

Fla. 5th DCA | 2008-10-03
No. 5D08-1793
GRIFFIN, SAWAYA, and ORFINGER, JJ., concur.
992 So. 2d 364 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 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

Robert L. Stephens sought a writ of mandamus challenging his 1996 robbery conviction and fifteen-year habitual felony offender sentence on jurisdictional grounds. The court denied his petition and prohibited him from filing further pro se pleadings in this case due to his pattern of successive, frivolous postconviction filings that constituted an abuse of judicial process.


Holding

The court rejected Stephens' jurisdictional argument, which he had previously raised three years earlier. The court held that Stephens' pattern of successive, frivolous postconviction attacks constituted an abuse of judicial process, warranting prohibition of further pro se filings concerning this case.


Headnotes

[1] A court may prohibit a party from filing further pro se pleadings concerning a specific case when the party has abused the judicial process through successive and frivolo…

[2] A clerk of court is directed not to accept further pro se filings concerning a specific case when a court has prohibited such filings.

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Key Quotes

“We have arrived at the juncture where it is apparent that Stephens is abusing the judicial process by his successive attacks upon his conviction and his habitualized sentence.”

Establishes the court's finding that Stephens' pattern of filings constitutes abuse of process justifying denial of further pro se access.

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Facts & Procedural History

Stephens was convicted of robbery in 1996 and sentenced as a habitual felony offender to fifteen years. His direct appeal was affirmed in 1997. He has…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Robert L. Stephens’ 1996 robbery conviction and fifteen-year habitual felony offender sentence were affirmed on appeal. Stephens v. State, 688 So. 2d 933 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). He has since litigated his case in numerous postconviction filings. In his current petition for writ of mandamus, Stephens argues that the circuit court did not have subject matter jurisdiction to try him because the Information failed to allege that the property stolen and received was worth more than the amount required to vest jurisdiction in the circuit court. We rejected this argument when Stephens raised it for the first time more than three years ago. Stephens v. State, 902 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 5th DCA), petition dismissed, 906 So. 2d 1059 (Fla.2005).

Based on his excessive previous filings and his current successive claim, this court issued a Spencer show cause order direct ing Stephens to demonstrate why he should not be denied further pro se access to this court for any proceeding to further attack the conviction and sentence rendered below in Orange County Circuit Court case number 1995-CF-13314. See State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla.1999). Stephens declined to respond. We have arrived at the juncture where it is apparent that Stephens is abusing the judicial process by his successive attacks upon his conviction and his habitualized sentence. See, e.g., United States v. Robinson, 251 F. 3d 594, 596 (7th Cir.2001) (incessant filings of frivolous motions impose costs both in time and paperwork, burdening the court’s staff and delaying disposition of meritorious pleadings); Baker v. State, 878 So. 2d 1236, 1243 (Fla.2004) (a limit on successive claims is necessary to give due weight to the finality and the presumption of legality of a final judgment, and to restore the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system); Britt v. State, 931 So. 2d 209, 210 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (defendant’s pro se filings were frivolous, an abuse of process, and a waste of the taxpayers’ money).

Therefore, in order to conserve our strained postconviction judicial resources, and in accordance with the Criminal Appeal Reform Act of 1996, we hereby prohibit Robert L. Stephens from filing with this court any further pro se pleadings concerning Orange County Circuit Court case number 1995-CF-13314. 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 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).

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

GRIFFIN, SAWAYA, and ORFINGER, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Wells v. State, 14 So. 3d 1255 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
    …“Enough is enough.”). The Clerk of this court is further directed to forward a certified copy of this opinion to the appropriate institution for disciplinary procedures as provided in section 944.09, Florida Statutes (2008). See Stephens v. State, 992 So. 2d 364, 365 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008). We also note that, on more than one occasion, Wells has made untrue statements under oath in his motions. See §§ 944.279-.28(2)(a), (b), Fla. Stat. (2008); Oquendo v. State, 2 So. 3d 1001, 1007 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) (“Unless…

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