AL JEROME CARTER, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Florida Third District Court of Appeal imposed sanctions on a pro se litigant who had filed seventeen frivolous post-conviction petitions and appeals since 2001, prohibiting him from filing further pro se pleadings relating to his conviction without attorney review and signature.
The court imposed sanctions prohibiting Carter from filing any further pro se filings relating to his conviction without the review and signature of a licensed Florida Bar attorney in good standing, and warned that unauthorized pro se filings would subject him to additional sanctions including referral to the Florida Department of Corrections for disciplinary action.
[1] Courts possess inherent authority to limit abuses of judicial process by pro se litigants.
[2] A court may sanction a pro se litigant for repeated violations of a prior order restricting filings.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“[I]t is a mistake to hold a pro se litigant to a lesser standard than a reasonably competent attorney.”
Establishes that pro se litigants are subject to the same legal standards as licensed attorneys
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAl Jerome Carter filed seventeen post-conviction petitions or appeals with the Third District Court of Appeal since 2001, most of which appeared to be…
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ON ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
Petitioner, Al Jerome Carter, has filed seventeen post-conviction petitions or appeals with this court since 2001. The majority of these appear to be frivolous appeals or petitions. Carter’s most recent petition for habeas corpus exemplifies the frivolous nature of his past filings, as it re-raises verbatim an identical issue not only raised in and rejected by the trial court, but also affirmed by this court in case number 3D14-2944 three months prior to Carter’s filing of the current petition.
On May 14, 2015, this court issued an order to show cause why Carter should not be prohibited from filing any further pro se appeals, pleadings, motions, or petitions relating to his convictions, judgments, and sentences in case number 96-36879. Carter responded that he is not an attorney and did not know that he was being frivolous. Carter’s status as either a pro se litigant or an attorney is irrelevant in justifying his frivolous filings with this court. “[I]t is a mistake to hold a pro se litigant to a lesser standard than a reasonably competent attorney.” Kohn v. Miami Beach, 611 So.2d 538, 539 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). The very reason for this rule underlies the present case as “applying a lesser standard [to pro se litigants] would only encourage continued frivolous litigation.” Gladstone v. Smith, 729 So.2d 1002, 1004 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).
“[A]ny citizen, including a citizen attacking his or her conviction, abuses the right to pro se access by filing repetitious and frivolous pleadings, thereby diminishing the ability of the courts to devote their finite resources to the consideration of legitimate claims.” State v. Spencer, 751 So.2d 47, 48 (Fla.1999). After an order to show cause and the opportunity to answer, a court may sanction a party for repetitious and frivolous pleadings by preventing further filings from that party. Id.
Upon consideration of the seventeen filings from Carter before this court, and Carter’s response to the court’s show cause order, we find that Carter has failed to demonstrate good cause for his actions. Based on Carter’s repeated attempts to *1053abuse the judicial system with frivolous appeals, it is hereby ordered that the Clerk of the Third District Court of Appeal shall refuse to accept any further filings relating to lower tribunal case number 96-36879, unless they have been reviewed and signed by an attorney who is a licensed member of the Florida Bar in good standing. Any such further and unauthorized pro se filings by Carter will subject him to sanctions, including the issuance of written findings forwarded to the Florida Department of Corrections for consideration by it of disciplinary action. See 944.279(1), Fla. Stat. (2013).
So ordered.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999)
- Miami Beach Cmty. Church, Inc. v. Stanton, 611 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
- Irve Gladstone v. Smith, 729 So. 2d 1002 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)