Fernandez v. Department of Corrections

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: March 13, 2024
• Docket: 2023-1898
• Status: Published

Opinion

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

No. 1D2023-1898 _____________________________

LOUIS D. FERNANDEZ,

Petitioner,

v.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

Respondent. _____________________________

Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus—Original Jurisdiction.

March 13, 2024

PER CURIAM.

Louis D. Fernandez petitions this court for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to vacate his conviction. Because the issues Fernandez raises in his petition could have been or were raised on direct appeal, we dismiss his petition as unauthorized. See Baker v. State, 878 So. 2d 1236, 1245-46 (Fla. 2004).

We also find that this petition is frivolous. We direct the Clerk of the Court to provide a certified copy of this opinion to the Florida Department of Corrections to be forwarded to the appropriate institution or facility for disciplinary procedures under the rules of the Department. See § 944.279(1), Fla. Stat. (providing that “[a] prisoner who is found by a court to have brought a frivolous or malicious suit, action, claim, proceeding, or appeal . . . or to have brought a frivolous or malicious collateral criminal proceeding . . . is subject to disciplinary procedures pursuant to the rules of the Department of Corrections”).

Fernandez is warned that any future filings that this court determines to be frivolous may result in the imposition of sanctions, including a prohibition against further pro se filings in this court. See State v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47, 48 (Fla. 1999) (“[A]ny citizen, including a citizen attacking his or her conviction, abuses the right to pro se access by filing repetitious and frivolous pleadings, thereby diminishing the ability of the courts to devote their finite resources to the consideration of legitimate claims.”).

DISMISSED.

B.L. THOMAS, ROBERTS, and ROWE, JJ., concur.

_____________________________

Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________

Louis D. Fernandez, pro se, Petitioner.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.