Title: Levin v. State

State: florida

Issuer: Florida Supreme Court

Document:

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC2023-0616 
____________ 
 
JOSEPH LUIS LEVIN, 
Petitioner, 
 
vs. 
 
STATE OF FLORIDA, 
Respondent. 
 
October 26, 2023 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
 
Joseph Luis Levin, an inmate in state custody, filed a pro se 
petition that was treated by the Court as a petition for writ of 
habeas corpus.1  On June 20, 2023, we denied the instant petition 
and expressly retained jurisdiction to pursue possible sanctions 
against Levin.  Levin v. State, No. SC2023-0616, 2023 WL 4078870 
(Fla. June 20, 2023); see Fla. R. App. P. 9.410(a) (Sanctions; 
Court’s Motion).  We now find that Levin has failed to show cause 
 
 
1.  We have jurisdiction.  See art. V, § 3(b)(9), Fla. Const. 
 
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why he should not be barred, and we sanction him as set forth 
below. 
Levin was convicted in Fourth Judicial Circuit case number 
452013CF000958CFAXYX of six counts of lewd and lascivious 
sexual battery of a victim 12-15 years old and sentenced to six 
years’ imprisonment for each count.  He was also convicted of lewd 
and lascivious exhibition using a computer and traveling to meet a 
minor for sex and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for each.  
Since being sentenced in 2015, Levin has demonstrated a pattern of 
vexatious filing of meritless pro se requests for relief related to case 
number 452013CF000958CFAXYX. 
Including the petition in the instant case, Levin has filed 
nineteen pro se petitions with this Court.  The Court has never 
granted Levin the relief sought in any of his filings here; each of the 
petitions was dismissed, denied, or transferred.  His petition in this 
case is no exception.  Levin argued that the State presented false 
information during the plea colloquy in his case.  On June 20, 
2023, we denied the instant petition as repetitive pursuant to Topps 
v. State, 865 So. 2d 1253 (Fla. 2004), as he had previously raised 
 
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this exact claim in a prior habeas petition filed with the Court.  See 
Levin, 2023 WL 4078870, at *1.   
In response to this Court’s show cause order, Levin asks this 
Court to discharge the order to show cause as it has served as a 
sufficient warning to him.  However, Levin has since filed a new 
petition for writ of habeas corpus with this Court, case number 
SC2023-1063. 
Upon consideration of Levin’s response, we find that he has 
failed to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed.  
Therefore, based on Levin’s extensive history of filing pro se 
petitions and requests for relief that were meritless or otherwise 
inappropriate for this Court’s review, we now find that he has 
abused the 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”).  If no action is 
taken, Levin will continue to burden the Court’s resources.  We 
further conclude that Levin’s habeas petition filed in this case is a 
 
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frivolous proceeding brought before the Court by a state prisoner.  
See § 944.279(1), Fla. Stat. (2023).   
 
Accordingly, we direct the Clerk of this Court to reject any 
future pleadings or other requests for relief submitted by Joseph 
Luis Levin that are related to case number 
452013CF000958CFAXYX, unless such filings are signed by a 
member in good standing of The Florida Bar.  Furthermore, because 
we have found Levin’s petition to be frivolous, we direct the Clerk of 
this Court, pursuant to section 944.279(1), Florida Statutes (2023), 
to forward a copy of this opinion to the Florida Department of 
Corrections’ institution or facility in which Levin is incarcerated.   
No motion for rehearing or clarification will be entertained by 
this Court. 
It is so ordered. 
MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS, 
FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur. 
 
Original Proceeding – Mandamus 
Joseph Luis Levin, pro se, Monticello, Florida, 
 
for Petitioner 
No appearance for Respondent