Thaddeus C. Martin v. Ricky D. Dixon, etc. ( 2021 )

Supreme Court of Florida
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No. SC21-860
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THADDEUS C. MARTIN,
Petitioner,
v.
RICKY D. DIXON, etc.,
Respondent.
December 2, 2021
PER CURIAM.
This case is before the Court on the petition of Thaddeus C.
Martin for a writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. 1 On
August 25, 2021, we dismissed the instant petition and expressly
retained jurisdiction to pursue possible sanctions against Martin.
Martin v. Inch, No. SC21-860, 2021 WL 3771832 (Fla. Aug. 25,
2021); see Fla. R. App. P. 9.410(a) (Sanctions; Court’s Motion). We
now find that Martin has failed to show cause why he should not be
1. See art. V, § 3(b)(9), Fla. Const.
barred from filing any further pro se requests for relief, and we
sanction him as set forth below.
Martin was convicted in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit (Miami-
Dade County) of one count of false imprisonment and one count of
aggravated battery in case number 132012CF0300620001XX. See
Martin v. State, 298 So. 3d 1228, 1230 (Fla. 3d DCA 2020).
Martin began filing petitions in this Court in 2018. Since that
time, he has filed sixteen petitions with the Court, including the
petition in this case. We have never granted the relief sought in any
of Martin’s filings, which have either been denied, dismissed, or
transferred by the Court. The petition for writ of habeas corpus in
this case was no exception. Martin argued that the Florida
Department of Corrections failed to credit him for all of his time
served and as a result miscalculated his release date, a claim he
previously raised by way of habeas corpus petitions in case
numbers SC20-1752 and SC21-603, which were both transferred to
the Second Judicial Circuit, in and for Leon County, Florida. On
August 25, 2021, we dismissed the instant petition as a repetitve
claim. See Martin, No. SC21-860, 2021 WL 3771832.
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Therefore, based on Martin’s history of filing pro se petitions
and requests for relief that are meritless or otherwise inappropriate
for this Court’s review, we now find that he has abused this Court’s
limited judicial resources. See Pettway v. McNeil, 987 So. 2d 20, 22
(Fla. 2008) (explaining that this Court has previously “exercised the
inherent judicial authority to sanction an abusive litigant” and that
“[o]ne justification for such a sanction lies in the protection of the
rights of others to have the Court conduct timely reviews of their
legitimate filings”). Martin did not respond to the order to show
cause, thus failing to offer any justification for his repeated misuse
of this Court’s resources. We are therefore convinced that if not
restrained, Martin will continue to abuse the judicial process and
burden this Court (and thereby harm other litigants) with frivolous
and meritless filings pertaining to circuit court case number
132012CF0300620001XX.
Accordingly, we direct the Clerk of this Court to reject any
future pleadings or other requests for relief submitted by Thaddeus
C. Martin that pertain to circuit court case number
132012CF0300620001XX, unless such filings are signed by a
member in good standing of The Florida Bar. Henceforth, Martin
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may only petition the Court about his convictions or sentences in
case number 132012CF0300620001XX through the assistance of
counsel whenever such counsel determines that the proceeding may
have merit and can be filed in good faith.
No motion for rehearing or clarification will be entertained by
this Court.
It is so ordered.
CANADY, C.J., and POLSTON, LABARGA, LAWSON, MUÑIZ,
COURIEL, and GROSSHANS, JJ., concur.
Original Proceeding – Habeas Corpus
Thaddeus C. Martin, pro se, Raiford, Florida,
for Petitioner
No appearance for Respondent
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