JEREMIAH BUTLER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jeremiah Butler appeals a trial court order striking his motion to correct illegal sentence based on prior sanctions prohibiting pro se filings in his case. The appellate court affirmed the order and imposed additional sanctions, including directing the clerk to reject future pro se filings related to his conviction unless signed by a licensed Florida attorney, finding Butler's repeated appeals frivolous and abusive of judicial resources.
The appellate court affirmed the trial court's order striking the motion and imposed additional sanctions. The court directed the clerk to reject any future pro se filings by Butler related to his conviction and sentence unless signed by a member in good standing of the Florida Bar, finding that Butler's incessant filings constitute an abuse of judicial process and frivolous appeals.
[1] A trial court may sanction a party for repeated filings of frivolous and abusive pleadings by prohibiting further pro se filings in a specific case.
[2] Courts possess inherent authority to regulate proceedings to ensure the orderly administration of justice and efficient use 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“Courts' authority to regulate the proceedings to promote the orderly administration of justice, including the efficient use of the limited judicial resources available to the system and litigants, is firmly established.”
Establishes the court's legal authority to impose sanctions to manage frivolous filings and protect judicial resources.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceButler is serving a life sentence in case number 1996-CF-5156. The trial court previously entered sanctions against Butler for repeated filings of fri…
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Appellant, Jeremiah Butler, appeals the trial court’s order striking his motion to correct illegal sentence. Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.800. The basis for the trial court’s order was a previous order entered by that court sanctioning Mr. Butler for his repeated filings of frivolous and abusive pleadings. The sanctions included prohibiting Butler from filing any further pro se pleadings and motions in the Fourth Judicial Circuit pertaining to case number 1996-CF-5156, the criminal case resulting in the life sentence Mr. Butler is currently serving.
Noting that this is the twenty-sixth of twenty-seven appellate actions filed by Appellant in this court, twenty-two of them pertaining to case number 96-5156-CFA (4th Cir., Duval County), we issued him an order to show cause why this court should not summarily affirm the order to be reviewed, under Rule 9.315, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure; why Appellant should not be sanctioned pursuant to Rule 9.410, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure for filing a frivolous appeal; and why such sanctions should not include a .direction to the Clerk of this Court to reject any future pleadings, petitions, motions, letters, documents, or other filing submitted to this Court by Appellant relating to his conviction and sentence. Mr. Butler responded with a lengthy document reiterating his challenges to his sentence rather than explaining his numerous filings or pointing out any error in the trial court’s order.
Mr. Butler’s response fails to show cause why the actions described in this court’s order should not take place. Courts’ authority to regulate the proceedings to promote the orderly administration of justice, including the efficient use of the limited judicial resources available to the system and litigants, is firmly established. State v. Spencer, 751 So.2d 47 (Fla.1999); Robinson v. State, 949 So.2d 1091 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007); Hepburn v. State, 934 So.2d 515 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005); Isley v. State, 652 So.2d 409 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995). Considering Appellant’s incessant initiation of proceedings in this court, and finding this appeal frivolous, we find that Appellant has abused the judicial process and hindered the ability of this Court to orderly administer justice to those who have genuine disputes and colorable claims. See Pettway v. McNeil, 987 So.2d 20 (Fla.2008).
*600Accordingly, the order on appeal is AFFIRMED. In addition, in order to preserve the right of access for all litigants and promote the interests of justice, the Clerk of this Court is hereby instructed to reject any future pleadings, petitions, motions, documents, or other filings submitted by Jeremiah Butler, DC # J02866, that are related to his convictions and sentences in Case No.1996 CF 05156 (4th Cir., Duval), unless signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar.
It is so ordered.
BENTON, C.J., PADOVANO, and CLARK, JJ., Concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Percival Charles Ferris, Jr. v. State, 100 So. 3d 142 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)…1st DCA Aug.8, 2012) (at least 16 cases); Cooper v. State, 89 So. 3d 979 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (13 cases related to one conviction and at least 13 related to another); Richardson v. State, 70 So. 3d 609 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) (13 cases); Butler v. State, 55 So. 3d 598 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) (27 cases); Brown v. State, 10 So. 3d 1197 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009) (12 cases). Here, it seems to me that the patently frivolous nature of Appellant’s claims weighs in favor of taking action now rather than later.…
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Wendall Hall v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr. (N.D. Fla. 2025)…an opportunity to be heard); Hastings v. State, 79 So. 3d 739, 742 (Fla. 2011) (imposing ban on pro se filings); Johnson v. Rundle, 59 So. 3d 1080, 1081 (Fla. 2011) (same); Campbell v. State, 296 So. 3d 893, 894 (Fla. 2020) (same); Butler v. State, 55 So. 3d 598, 599-600 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010) (affirming trial court's decision to strike motion to correct illegal sentence in accordance with previous order barring further pro se filings); Mobley v. State, 976 So. 2d 1146, 1147 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) (same); see als…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999)
- Isley v. State, 652 So. 2d 409 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Pettway v. McNEIL, 987 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 2008)
- Hepburn v. State, 934 So. 2d 515 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)
- D'Arcy L. Robinson v. State, 949 So. 2d 1091 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)