TORRENCE W. ALLEN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Florida First District Court of Appeal imposed sanctions on Torrence Allen for abusing the judicial system through serial frivolous filings. Allen had filed 29 cases since his 1999 conviction, including at least 12 collateral attacks on his conviction, none of which resulted in relief. The court required him to retain counsel for future filings challenging his conviction and prohibited pro se filings on the same subject.
The court granted the State's motion for sanctions and imposed the following: Allen must retain a member of the Florida Bar in good standing to file a notice of appearance in any active case where he seeks relief from his conviction and sentence within 20 days, or the cases are subject to dismissal; and the clerk of the court will no longer accept pro se papers from Allen collaterally attacking his conviction.
[1] A party who repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempts to collaterally attack a conviction may be subject to sanctions for abuse of the judicial system.
[2] A court may require a vexatious litigant to proceed through appointed counsel for future filings related to a specific conviction.
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“Alen has initiated 29 cases in this court since his conviction in January of 1999. These include several mandamus petitions and other civil suits, but at least 12 of those cases are attempts to collaterally attack his conviction, either by appealing unsuccessful circuit court petitions or postconviction motions, or by petitions filed directly with this court. None of these cases has resulted in the granting of any relief to Alen.”
Establishes the pattern of serial filings that constituted abuse of the judicial system.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTorrence Allen was convicted of a felony in Duval County in January 1999 and is serving a prison sentence. Since his conviction, he has initiated 29 c…
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PER CURIAM.
Torrence Windell Alen is currently serving a prison term which was imposed after his conviction of a felony in Duval County case number 16-1998-CF-14680. The instant appeal seeks review of a circuit court order which denied Alen’s motion for relief from judgment in that case.
Appellee, the State of Florida, moves to dismiss this appeal and for this court to impose sanctions against Alen for his abuse of the judicial system of this state. According to the motion, Alen has initiated 29 eases in this court since his conviction in January of 1999. These include several mandamus petitions and other civil suits, but at least 12 of those cases are attempts to collaterally attack his conviction, either by appealing unsuccessful circuit court petitions or postconviction motions, or by petitions filed directly with this court. None of these cases has resulted in the granting of any relief to Alen.
This court issued an order to show cause and has now considered Alen’s three filings which are apparently intended to serve collectively as his response. We find that these filings not only do not demonstrate why a sanction should not be imposed, but also show that Alen holds the misconception that he is entitled to pursue these attacks on his conviction indefinitely. This, of course, is not true. See Baker v. State, 29 Fla. L. Weekly S105, — So. 2d -, 2004 WL 439879 (Fla. March 11, 2004); see also Jones v. State, 858 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).
Based on the above, we find it is appropriate to grant the state’s motion and impose the following sanction. Appellant Torrence Windell Alen shall retain the services of a member in good standing of the Florida Bar who shall file a notice of appearance in this and any other active case in which Alen appears as appellant or petitioner, where relief is sought from the conviction and/or sentence in Duval County case number 16-1998-CF-14680, within twenty days of date of this order, failing which the cases are subject to dismissal without further opportunity to be heard. Further, no pro se papers from Allen collaterally attacking the conviction in Duval County case number 16-1998-CF-14680, regardless of whether by appeal or petition for extraordinary writ, will be accepted for filing by the clerk of this court.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
WOLF, C.J., ERVIN and VAN NORTWICK, JJ„ concur.