State v. Spencer
Decision Date | 23 September 1999 |
Docket Number | No. 93,795.,93,795. |
Citation | 751 So.2d 47 |
Parties | STATE of Florida, Petitioner, v. Randy Lavern SPENCER, Respondent. |
Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, James W. Rogers, Tallahassee Bureau Chief, Criminal Appeals, and Trisha E. Meggs, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for petitioner.
Randy Lavern Spencer, Jasper, Florida, Respondent, pro se.
We have for review the opinion in Spencer v. State, 717 So.2d 95 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998), which certified conflict with the opinion in Huffman v. State, 693 So.2d 570 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const.
The relevant facts are set forth in the opinion below:
Spencer appeals from an order denying his motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 3.800(a). We determine that the trial court properly denied relief. See State v. Mancino, 705 So.2d 1379, 1381 (Fla.1998)
. We do, however, find that the trial court did not follow the proper procedures when it determined that it would not entertain any further pro se challenges to Spencer's 1992 conviction and sentence. Prior to the imposition of sanctions, the trial court must issue an order to show cause which initiates a separate proceeding independent of the 3.800 action.
Spencer, 717 So.2d at 96 (citations omitted) (footnotes omitted).
In certifying conflict with Huffman, the First District reasoned that "[f]undamental fairness and the necessity of the creation of a complete record require that a party be given reasonable notice prior to the imposition at the trial level of this extreme sanction." Id. at 97. Therefore, the First District reversed the trial court's sanction and remanded the case with instructions that the trial court first issue an order to show cause why the sanction should not be imposed and allow Spencer a reasonable time to respond. See id.
The precise issue before us is whether a trial court must first provide a litigant notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond before prohibiting further pro se attacks on his or her conviction and sentence as a sanction for prior repeated and frivolous motions.2 This Court has never explicitly addressed this issue. However, as a matter of practice, this Court has first issued orders to show cause before denying a litigant access in this Court to challenge his or her conviction, sentence, or disciplinary actions during confinement. See, e.g., Rivera v. State, 728 So.2d 1165, 1165 (Fla.1998),
petition for cert. filed, No. 98-8366 (U.S. Mar. 3, 1999); Attwood v. Singletary, 661 So.2d 1216, 1216 (Fla. 1995).
We have recognized the importance of the constitutional guarantee of citizen access to the courts, with or without an attorney. See, e.g., Rivera, 728 So.2d at 1166
; Attwood, 661 So.2d at 1217; see also art. I, § 21, Fla. Const. (). Thus, denying a pro se litigant the opportunity to file future petitions is a serious sanction, especially where the litigant is a criminal defendant who has been prevented from further attacking his or her conviction, sentence, or conditions of confinement, as in Spencer and Huffman.
However, any 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. See Rivera, 728 So.2d at 1166
; Attwood, 661 So.2d at 1216-17; Martin, 627 So.2d at 1300. To achieve the best balance of a litigant's right of access to courts and the need of the courts to prevent repetitious and frivolous pleadings, it is important for courts to first provide notice and an opportunity to respond before preventing that litigant from bringing further attacks on his or her conviction and sentence.
Further, providing notice and an opportunity to respond through the issuance of an order to show cause also serves to generate a more complete record.3 If the litigant is thereafter denied further pro se access to the courts, the appellate courts will have an enhanced ability to determine whether the denial of access is an appropriate sanction under the circumstances.
Based on the foregoing, we approve Spencer to the extent it is not inconsistent with this opinion. We intend these...
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