ERVIN R. VILLALOBOS, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of postconviction relief and prohibited appellant Villalobos from filing further pro se appeals regarding his 1993 capital sexual battery conviction, finding that after numerous unsuccessful postconviction motions over nearly two decades, he had filed frivolous appeals and reached the point where continued filings must cease.
The court affirmed the trial court's denial of postconviction relief and prohibited Villalobos from filing any additional pro se appeals, pleadings, motions, or petitions relating to his conviction, finding that while incarcerated persons have procedural vehicles to challenge their incarcerations, there is no constitutional right to file frivolous lawsuits and Villalobos had reached the point where sufficient filings had been made.
[1] A court may prohibit a pro se litigant from filing further appeals, pleadings, motions, or petitions relating to a specific conviction and sentence when the litigant has…
[2] There is no constitutional right to file a frivolous lawsuit.
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“We recognize that incarcerated persons should and do have a full panoply of procedural vehicles with which to challenge the lawfulness of their incarcerations.”
Establishes the court's acknowledgment of prisoners' rights to challenge their incarcerations while introducing the balancing principle against frivolous filings.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceErvin R. Villalobos was convicted on January 15, 1993, of capital sexual battery on a minor and sentenced to life in prison with a twenty-five-year mi…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Capital Sexual Battery cases and more on FLexlaw
On May 8, 2012, Ervin R. Villalobos filed a Notice of Appeal from the April 12, 2012, trial court order denying his most recent motion for postconviction relief filed below on September 7, 2011. On June 18, 2012, we ordered Villalobos to show cause why he should not be prohibited from filing further pro se proceedings with this court concerning his January 15,1993, conviction and sentence for capital sexual battery on a minor in lower court case number 92-5384. After carefully considering Villalo-bos’ response, see State v. Spencer, 751 So.2d 47 (Fla.1999), and concluding his current appeal lacks merit and that good cause has not been shown, we now prohibit him from filing any additional pro se appeals, pleadings, motions, or petitions relating to this conviction and sentence.
Villalobos originally was charged with two counts of capital sexual battery on a minor, and after jury trial was found guilty of one count of capital sexual battery on January 15, 1993. The trial court sentenced Villalobos to life in prison on January 20, 1993, with a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory provision. Thereafter, Villalobos filed a direct appeal to this court, which we affirmed. Villalobos v. State, 634 So.2d 822 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994).
Since his direct appeal, Villalobos has filed numerous postconviction motions or petitions for relief from his conviction and sentence. This court either has affirmed the lower court or denied direct relief on all these motions or petitions, after careful review revealed the issues raised were untimely, successive or without merit. See Villalobos v. State, 647 So.2d 121 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); Villalobos v. Singletary, 662 So.2d 355 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995); Villalobos v. Singletary, 693 So.2d 558 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Villalobos v. State, 780 So.2d 83 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001); Villalobos v. State, 847 So.2d 481 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003); Villalobos v. State, 919 So.2d 455 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005); Villalobos v. State, 939 So.2d 109 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. dismissed, 942 So.2d 414 (Fla.2006); Villalobos v. McDonough, 959 So.2d 1198 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); Villalobos v. State, 963 So.2d 244 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007).
“We recognize that incarcerated persons should and do have a full panoply of procedural vehicles with which to challenge the lawfulness of their incarcerations.” Hepburn v. State, 934 So.2d 515, 517 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005); Johnson v. State, 915 So.2d 682, 684 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005). There is, however, no constitutional right to file a frivolous lawsuit. See Hepburn, 934 So.2d at 517-18; see also Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 353 n. 3, 116 S.Ct. 2174, 135 L.Ed.2d 606 (1996) (“Depriving someone of a frivolous claim ... deprives him of nothing at all, except' perhaps the punishment of ... sanctions.”). As this court has stated on several occasions, “there comes a point where enough is enough.” Hicks v. State, 974 So.2d 1116, 1118 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008); Minor v. State, 963 So.2d 797, 799 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); Johnson, 915 So.2d at 684. We believe Villalobos has reached that point.
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order denying Villalobos’ September 7, 2011, motion for postconviction relief. We further direct the Clerk of the Third Dis*972trict Court of Appeal to refuse to accept for filing in this court any further appeals, pleadings, motions, petitions, or other papers relating to Villalobos’ conviction and sentence in case number 92-5384, unless they are filed by a Florida Bar member in good standing. Finally, we direct the Clerk to forward a certified copy of this opinion to the Department of Corrections for consideration by that institution of disciplinary measures against Villalobos, pursuant to sections 944.279(1) and 944.28(2)(a), Florida Statutes (2011), for the filing of a frivolous appeal.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Keithan Darnell Battie v. State, 117 So. 3d 71 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…ate, 96 So. 3d 1154, 1155 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) (quoting Hepburn v. State, 934 So. 2d 515, 517 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)). There is, however, no constitutional right to file a frivolous lawsuit. See Hepburn, 934 So. 2d at 517-18; see also Villalobos v. State, 96 So. 3d 970, 971 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). As this court stated in Edwards v. State, 96 So. 3d 1154, 1155 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), and Middleton v. State, 95 So. 3d 385, 388 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), “there comes a point where enough is enough.” Based upon careful review of Bat…
-
Williams v. State, 121 So. 3d 1114 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013)…ate, 96 So. 3d 1154, 1155 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012) (quoting Hepburn v. State, 934 So. 2d 515, 517 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)). There is, however, no constitutional right to file a frivolous lawsuit. See Hepburn, 934 So. 2d at 517-18; see also Villalobos v. State, 96 So. 3d 970, 971 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012). As this court stated in Edwards v. State, 96 So. 3d 1154, 1155 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), and Middleton v. State, 95 [*1116] So. 3d 385, 388 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012), “there comes a point where enough is enough.” Based upon careful revie…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999)
- Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343 (U.S. 1996)
- Hepburn v. State, 934 So. 2d 515 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)
- Johnson v. State, 915 So. 2d 682 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)
- Minor v. State, 963 So. 2d 797 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
- Irwin Hicks, Jr. v. State, 974 So. 2d 1116 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
- Payne v. State, 634 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)