Bell v. State, 241 So. 3d 983 (2018)

May 1, 2018 · District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District · No. 1D17–2370
241 So. 3d 983

Victor Jerome BELL, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 1D17-2370

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

May 1, 2018

Victor Jerome Bell, pro se, Appellant.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Thomas H. Duffy, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

Per Curiam.

Due to Appellant's apparent abuse of the legal process by his repeated pro se filings attacking his judgment and sentence, the Court issued an order directing Appellant to show cause why he should not be prohibited from future pro se filings. See State v. Spencer , 751 So.2d 47, 48 (Fla. 1999) (requiring that courts "first provide notice and an opportunity to respond before preventing [a] litigant from bringing further attacks on his or her conviction and sentence"). Appellant's response to the show cause order does not provide a legal basis to prohibit the imposition of sanctions.

Because Appellant's continued and repeated attacks on his judgment and sentence have become an abuse of the legal process, we hold that he is barred from future pro se filings in this Court concerning Escambia County Circuit Court case number 2012-CF-1842. The Clerk of the Court is directed not to accept any future filings concerning this case unless they are filed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. Appellant is warned that any filings that violate the terms of this opinion may result in a referral to the appropriate institution for disciplinary procedures as provided in section 944.279, Florida Statutes. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.410.

Rowe, Ray, and Makar, JJ., concur.