Case Title: Martin v. Dixon

Citation: 

Docket Number: SC21-860

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 2021-12-02T00:00:00Z

Document:
Supreme Court of Florida 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC21-860 
____________ 
 
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. 
 
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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