WILLIE A. SMITH, PETITIONER,
v.
JULIE L. JONES, ETC., RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court imposed sanctions on Willie A. Smith, an incarcerated pro se litigant, barring him from filing future pleadings in the Court related to his criminal convictions unless signed by a member of the Florida Bar, based on his pattern of filing at least 27 meritless extraordinary writ petitions since 2001.
The Court concluded that Smith failed to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed and ordered the Clerk to reject any future pleadings, petitions, or other filings submitted by Smith related to his case numbers unless signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. The Court directed the Clerk to forward a certified copy of the opinion to the Florida Department of Corrections pursuant to section 944.279(1), Florida Statutes.
[1] A writ of mandamus requires a clear legal right to the requested relief, an indisputable legal duty to perform the requested action, and no other adequate remedy.
[2] Courts possess inherent authority to sanction litigants who abuse the judicial process by repeatedly filing frivolous or meritless requests for relief.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Petitioner's prior proceedings, including the instant habeas petition, pertain to case numbers 00-9986 and 00-15615, and have been devoid of merit; frivolous, or inappropriate for consideration by this. Court, and this Court has never granted Smith the relief he has sought from this Court.”
Establishes the basis for finding that Smith's filings are meritless and frivolous, justifying sanctions.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWillie A. Smith is incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections following convictions in 2001 for trafficking in stolen property and uttering…
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This case is before the Court on the petition, of Willie A.- Smith for a writ of habeas corpus.1 In. an order dated February 4, 2016, the Court dismissed Smith’s petition pursuant to Pettway v. State, 776 So.2d 930 (Fla.2000), and expressly retained jurisdiction to pursue any possible sanctions against petitioner based upon the volume of Smith’s meritless and inappropriate filings. Smith v. Jones, No. SC15-2191, 2016 WL 462847 (Fla. order filed Feb. 4, 2016) (unpublished); see Fla. R.App, P. 9.410(a) (Sanctions; Court’s Motion). Since" 2001, petitioner has filed 'at least twenty-seven extraordinary writ petitions, not including the instant petition, and eight notices seeking discretionary review.2 Petitioner was directed to show *447cause why he should not be barred from filing in this Court any future pro se pleadings, motions, or other requests for relief pertaining to his criminal convictions and sentences in case numbers 00-9986 and 00-15615, and why a certified copy of the Court’s findings should not be forwarded to the appropriate institution for disciplinary procedures by the Florida Department of Corrections as provided in section 944.09, Florida Statutes (2015).
Smith currently is incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections upon his judgments of conviction and sentences in case numbers 00-9986 and 00-15615, for trafficking in stolen property and uttering a forged instrument. Petitioner received sentences of fifteen years’ imprisonment and five years’ imprisonment, respectively, imposed by the Circuit Court of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in and for Hillsbor-ough County, Florida, on June 13, 2001. The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed Smith’s judgments of conviction and sentences on August 23, 2002. Smith v. State, 827 So.2d 998 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (table).
Smith filed a response to this Court’s order to show cause, opposing a pro se barring order on the basis that his prior filings were meritorious and not .frivolous, that the instant petition did not challenge his convictions and sentences, that not all of the prior filings were attributable to Smith, and that section 944.279 is unconstitutional. After considering Smith’s response to the show cause order, we conclude that it fails to show cause why sanctions- should not be imposed. Petitioner’s prior proceedings, including the instant habeas petition, pertain to case numbers 00-9986 and 00-15615, and have been devoid of merit; frivolous, or inappropriate for consideration by this. Court, and this Court has never granted Smith the relief he has sought from this Court. Moreover, the Court has previously held that section 944.279 is constitutional. Spencer v. Fla. Dept. of Corrs., 823 So.2d 752, 754-56 (Fla.2002). We further conclude that Smith’s habeas corpus petition filed in this case, which sought immediate release because the Department of Corrections was improperly calculating his sentence under the 85% sentencing statute and miscalculating his gain time credit, is a frivolous proceeding brought before this Court by a state prisoner. See § 944.279(1), Fla. Stat. (2015).
Accordingly, the Clerk of this Court is hereby instructed to reject any future pleadings, petitions, motions, documents, or other filings submitted by Willie A. Smith that are related' to casé numbers 00-9986 and 00-15615, unless such filings are signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. Counsel may file on Smith’s behalf if counsel determines that *448the proceeding may have merit and can be brought in good faith.3 Furthermore, because we have found Smith’s petition to be frivolous, we direct the Glerk of this Court, pursuant to section 944.279(1), Florida Statutes (2015), to forward a certified copy of this opinion to the Florida Department of Corrections’ institution or facility where Smith is incarcerated.
No motion for rehearing or clarification will be entertained by the Cburt.
It is so ordered.
LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE-, CANADY, POLSTON, and PERRY, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited (12 total)
- Baker v. State, 878 So. 2d 1236 (Fla. 2004)
- Pettway v. McNEIL, 987 So. 2d 20 (Fla. 2008)
- Pettway v. State, 776 So. 2d 930 (Fla. 2000)
- Steele v. State, 14 So. 3d 221 (Fla. 2009)
- Johnson v. Rundle, 59 So. 3d 1080 (Fla. 2011)
- Spencer v. Fla. Dep't OF Corr., 823 So. 2d 752 (Fla. 2002)
- McCUTCHEON v. State, 117 So. 3d 769 (Fla. 2013)
- State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Nichols, 913 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 2005)
- Miller v. State, 987 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 2008)
- Mathews v. Crews, 132 So. 3d 776 (Fla. 2014)