White v. State, CR-95-2105

• Decision Date: 20 December 1996
• Docket Number: CR-95-2105
• Citation: 695 So.2d 241
• Parties: Roy L. WHITE II v. STATE.
• Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals

Page 241

695 So.2d 241

Roy L. WHITE II v. STATE.

CR-95-2105.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama.

Dec. 20, 1996.

Roy L. White II, pro se.

Jeff Sessions, Atty. Gen., and Stephen N. Dodd, Asst. Atty. Gen., for Appellee.

COBB, Judge.

The appellant, Roy L. White II, appeals the trial court's dismissal of his Rule 32, Ala.R.Crim.P., petition for postconviction relief challenging his September 26, 1990, conviction for murder and the trial court' order prohibiting him from filing any additional Rule 32 petitions. According to the appellant, his direct appeal was dismissed on his motion without prejudice. The appellant filed Rule 32 petitions in 1992 and 1994, which the trial court denied. The present petition was filed June 18, 1996.

The grounds for relief presented in the June 18 petition and other motions presented to the trial court are not entirely clear. The appellant is apparently alleging that he did not receive the mental examination ordered by the trial court at the time of the trial. According to the appellant, at the time of the murder and also at the time of the trial he suffered from a mental infirmity that prevented him from assisting in his defense and prevented fair trial. The appellant also asserted that he "intends to Appeal continually this 'arightly' presented case until he [is] granted an Evidentiary Hearing." C.R. 17. The State moved to dismiss the petition on procedural grounds and because it was unsupported by facts. Because the appellant vowed to continually file appeals until an evidentiary hearing is granted, the State also requested that the appellant "be barred from filing any more post-conviction relief petitions or, in the alternative, that the State be relieved from responding to any subsequent petitions." C.R. 22. The case action summary sheet reflects that the trial court granted the State's motion to deny the petition and granted the motion "to bar further postconviction relief." C.R. 1.

A circuit judge may deny a Rule 32 petition without an evidentiary hearing. Rule 32.7(d). The trial court correctly denied the present petition because it is a successive petition and is, therefore, precluded from review under Rule 32.2(b), and because it did not "contain a clear and specific statement of the grounds upon which relief [was] sought, including full disclosure of the factual basis of those grounds" as required by Rule 32.6(b).

However, we must remand this case because the trial court's order prohibiting the appellant from filing further postconviction petitions is overbroad. In Peoples v. State, 531 So.2d 323 (Ala.Cr.App.1988), Peoples filed 20 post-judgment motions after his sentencing. Our ruling in Peoples v. State, 531 So.2d 323 (Ala.Cr.App.1988), is dispositive of the issue, and we quote extensively from that opinion below.

"The order of the circuit court enjoining the petitioner from filing any motion or pleading with regard to any of his three cases is overbroad. See generally, L. Yackle, Postconviction Remedies § 155 (1981), Cumulative Supplement (February 1988).

" 'It is now established beyond doubt that prisoners have a constitutional right of access to the courts.' Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 821, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 1494, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977). Though this right is not absolute or unconditional, restrictions may not deprive inmates of 'adequate, effective, and meaningful' access to the courts. Bounds, 430 U.S. at 822, 97 S.Ct. at 1495. '[L]itigiousness alone will not support an injunction against a plaintiff, ... and ... the use of such measures against a pro se plaintiff should be approached with caution.' Pavilonis v. King, 626 F.2d 1075, 1079 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 829, 101 S.Ct. 96, 66 L.Ed.2d 34 (1980). 'Access to the courts is a fundamental tenet of our judicial system; legitimate claim should receive a full and fair hearing no matter how litigious the plaintiff may be.' In re Oliver, 682 F.2d 443, 446 (3rd Cir.1982).

"However, 'a court is [not] powerless to protect itself and its process from abuse by unscrupulous prison inmates.' Matter of Green, 586 F.2d 1247, 1251 (8th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 922, 99 S.Ct. 1249, 59 L.Ed.2d 475 (1979). Courts have an 'inherent power ... to regulate the activities of abusive litigants by imposing carefully tailored restrictions under the appropriate circumstances.' Cotner v. Hopkins, 795 F.2d 900, 902 (10th Cir.1986). While those conditions may be 'onerous,' they 'cannot be so burdensome, however, as to deny a litigant meaningful access to the courts.' Cotner, 795 F.2d at 902.

" 'In devising methods to attain the objective of curtailing the activity of such a prisoner, however, courts must carefully observe the fine line between legitimate restraints and an impermissible restriction on a prisoner's constitutional right of access to the courts. Various courts have employed and approved a variety of injunctive devices.

" 'As to prisoners who bring frequent or repetitious claims, courts have " '--enjoined prisoner litigants from relitigating specific claims or claims arising from the same set of factual circumstances;

" '--required litigants to accompany all future pleadings with affidavits certifying that the claims being raised are novel, subject to contempt for false swearing;

" '--directed the litigant to attach to future complaints a list of all cases previously filed involving the same, similar, or related cause of action, and to send an extra copy of each pleading filed to the law clerk of the chief judge of the district;

" '--directed the litigant to seek leave of court before filing pleadings in any new or pending lawsuit;

" '--permitted abusive prisoner litigants to file in forma pauperis only claims alleging actual or threatened physical harm; and requiring payment of a filing fee to bring other claims;

" '--limited the number of filings by a particular inmate; and

" '--entered injunctions prohibiting the abusive prisoner from acting as a writ writer or jailhouse lawyer for other inmates.

" 'We do not here intend to indicate how this Court would treat any of the above injunctions in a particular case, but cite them as examples of how other courts have handled the problem. Other restrictions which might be considered by a court attempting to deal with the problems created by a litigant such a Procup include:

" '--limitation of the number of pages to a complaint and other pleadings;

" '--requiring a plaintiff to file an affidavit setting forth what attempts he has made to obtain an attorney to represent him;

" '--limitation of further...