LAZARO QUINTERO
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA
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Lazaro Quintero, a criminal defendant, appealed the trial court's order prohibiting him from filing future pro se petitions. The appellate court reversed the sanction, finding it was an abuse of discretion, particularly given the State's concession that his limited filings did not constitute egregious abuse of the post-conviction process.
The court reversed the order prohibiting pro se filings, holding that under the abuse of discretion standard, the sanction was improper given the defendant's limited filings and the State's concession that they did not constitute egregious abuse. The court declined to order recusal because the defendant raised that argument for the first time on appeal.
[1] An order prohibiting a pro se litigant from filing future petitions is a serious sanction, particularly for a criminal defendant seeking to attack their conviction, sente…
[2] An order prohibiting a defendant from making pro se filings is reviewed by an appellate court under the abuse of discretion standard.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“[D]enying 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.”
Establishes the severe nature of prohibiting pro se filings and the heightened scrutiny applied to such sanctions in criminal cases.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLazaro Quintero, a criminal defendant, filed pro se petitions in his underlying case. The trial court imposed a sanction prohibiting him from filing f…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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LOGUE, J.
The defendant, Lazaro Quintero, seeks review of the trial court’s order prohibiting him from future pro se filings in the underlying case.1 “[D]enying 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.” State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47, 48 (Fla. 1999).
The trial court’s “order prohibiting pro se filings by a defendant is reviewed by the appellate court under the abuse of discretion standard.” Brinson v. State, 215 So. 3d 1260, 1261 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) (citing Ashe v. State, 106 So. 3d 956, 957 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)).
Given our independent review of the record, and the State’s concession that the defendant’s “limited filings in this case do not demonstrate an egregious abuse of the post-conviction process warranting the extreme sanction imposed in this case,” we reverse the order prohibiting the defendant from future pro se filings. It goes without saying that should the defendant at some point abuse the postconviction process, the trial court may revisit the issue. The defendant also argues in his brief that recusal of the trial judge is necessary and this Court should order that future proceedings in the underlying case
occur before a different trial judge. We decline to do so because the defendant has raised this argument for the first time on appeal. See Farrell v. Farrell, 84 So. 3d 477, 478 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (noting that if a party “believes she has a good faith basis for moving to recuse the trial judge on remand, she may file such a motion in that court.”) Reversed and remanded.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999)
- Lanadieal N. Ashe v. State, 106 So. 3d 956 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013)
- Brinson v. State, 215 So. 3d 1260 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)
- Farrell v. Farrell, 84 So. 3d 477 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)