HOLMES

v.

STATE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2018-05-30

No. 17-0240

245 So. 3d 1008 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2018) 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.

Holding

A sentence of life imprisonment does not violate the Florida Constitution's proscription against indefinite terms of imprisonment.

Headnotes

[1] A sentence of life imprisonment does not violate the Florida Constitution's prohibition against an indefinite term of imprisonment.

[2] A defendant may be prohibited from filing further pro se appeals, petitions, or motions related to a criminal sentencing if they fail to show good cause.

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Key Quotes

“a sentence of life imprisonment does not violate the proscription in Article I, Section 17 of the Florida Constitution against an indefinite term of imprisonment”
From Ratliff v. State, 914 So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 2005), cited by the court as settled law

Facts & Procedural History

In 2002, Holmes was convicted of attempted first degree murder, attempted robbery, and attempted burglary with an assault after a jury found that a fi…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

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Topics

Pro Se Filings Abuse Of Judicial Process Sanctions For Frivolous Filings Access To Courts

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Opinion of the Court

Third District Court of Appeal

State of Florida

Opinion filed January 24, 2018. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D17-240 Lower Tribunal No. 01-18524A

________________

Rodney H. Holmes,

Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida,

Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Nushin G. Sayfie, Judge. Rodney H. Holmes, in proper person.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, for appellee. Before LOGUE, SCALES and LINDSEY, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Rodney Holmes appeals the Miami-Dade Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In 2002, Holmes was convicted of attempted first degree murder, attempted robbery, and attempted burglary with an assault; and the jury further found that a firearm was discharged and caused great bodily harm during the commission of these crimes. The trial court sentenced Holmes to life imprisonment.¹ This sentence was affirmed in Holmes v. State, 883 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004).

Thereafter, Holmes has filed ten post-conviction motions or petitions in this Court, including the instant petition.² He has attacked his sentence unsuccessfully by arguing that his sentence under a firearm enhancement was unlawful because there was insufficient evidence at trial that he possessed or discharged a firearm during the alleged crimes (an argument he again makes in pending case 3D16- 2076). In the instant appeal, Holmes alleges that his life sentence is unconstitutionally impermissible because it is indefinite. As the trial court noted in

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

Holmes is hereby directed to show cause, within forty-five days from the date of this opinion, why he should not be prohibited from filing any further pro se appeals, petitions, motions or other proceedings related to his criminal sentencing in circuit court case number 01-18524A.

If Holmes does not demonstrate good cause, any such further and unauthorized filings by Holmes will subject him to appropriate sanctions, including the issuance of written findings forwarded to the Florida Department of Corrections for its consideration of disciplinary action, including forfeiture of gain time. See § 944.279(1), Fla. Stat. (2017).

Petition denied. Order to show cause issued.

Footnotes

1 The trial court entered an order in 2009, to make a technical correction to the sentence, but the corrected order left intact the life sentence.

2 Holmes v. State, 221 So. 3d 626 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) (table); Holmes v. State, 203 So. 3d 167 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) (table); Holmes v. State, 134 So. 3d 465 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014) (table); Holmes v. State, 107 So. 3d 419 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013) (table); Holmes v. State, 46 So. 3d 1010 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (table); Holmes v. State, 46 So. 3d 631 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (table); Holmes v. State, 982 So. 2d 698 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) (table); Holmes v. State, 956 So. 2d 1195 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (table). In addition, Holmes has another post-conviction appeal pending in this Court in case number 3D16-2076. its written order below, this issue has been resolved by the Florida Supreme Court adverse to Holmes’s position. Ratliff v. State, 914 So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 2005) (holding that a sentence of life imprisonment does not violate the proscription in Article I, Section 17 of the Florida Constitution against an indefinite term of imprisonment). Accordingly, we deny the instant petition.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By

Holmes v. State, 260 So. 3d 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
Holmes v. State, 260 So. 3d 257 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)

Authorities Cited

State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999)
Ratliff v. State, 914 So. 2d 938 (Fla. 2005)
Jimenez v. State, 196 So. 3d 499 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)
Luis v. State, 982 So. 2d 698 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
Holmes v. State, 245 So. 3d 857 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
Holmes v. State, 883 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
Holmes v. State, 221 So. 3d 625 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)
Holmes v. State, 46 So. 3d 631 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)

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HOLMES v. STATE