FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF FLORIDA

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No. 1D2023-2192

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ACE ROBERT PATTERSON,

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee.

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On appeal from the Circuit Court for Madison County.

Melissa G. Olin, Judge.

May 29, 2024

PER CURIAM.

Over twenty-five years ago, Ace Robert Patterson was 

convicted of burglary of a dwelling with a battery, aggravated 

kidnapping of a child, and two counts of capital sexual battery. He 

received a sentence that included two life terms of imprisonment. 

This Court per curiam affirmed the judgment and sentence. See

Patterson v. State, 736 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).

In April 2022, Patterson filed a postconviction motion under 

Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, arguing that he was 

denied his right to a twelve-person jury and that the prosecutor 

made improper comments in front of the jury. The postconviction 

court denied the motion as untimely, successive, and not 
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cognizable. The circuit court properly denied the motion, and we 

affirm the order below without further comment.

We also write to address Patterson’s abuse of process in this 

Court. Our records reflect that he has filed at least ten appeals or 

petitions here related to his 1998 judgment and sentence in 

Madison County Circuit Court Case Number 1997-CF-0171. See

First District Case Numbers 1D00-4379, 1D00-4998, 1D01-0610, 

1D01-1837, 1D01-3364, 1D08-5127, 1D09-0003, 1D09-0693, 1D10-

1755, and 1D16-3372. Patterson has not obtained relief in any of 

these cases, and his current appeal is frivolous.

We have warned Patterson about pursuing frivolous claims.

See Patterson v. State, 788 So. 2d 397 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001). His 

filings, like all papers filed in this Court, require the Court to 

expend scarce judicial resources. See May v. Barthet, 934 So. 2d 

1184, 1187 (Fla. 2006). Part of our responsibility is “to see that 

these resources are allocated in a way that promotes the interests 

of justice.” Id. (quoting In re McDonald, 489 U.S. 180, 184 (1989)). 

This Court is imbued with the inherent power to sanction litigants 

who abuse the legal system. See id. We find that Patterson has 

reached the point of deserving to be sanctioned. See Ferris v. State, 

100 So. 3d 142, 144 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (Wetherell, J., concurring) 

(“The postconviction process and the appellate courts do not exist 

simply to give prisoners something to do while they serve their 

sentences, and there comes a point in every criminal case that the 

defendant needs to accept the finality of his judgment and sentence 

and just do his time.”).

Accordingly, Patterson shall show cause within twenty days 

why sanctions should not be imposed on him, including a 

prohibition on further pro se filings in this Court. See State v. 

Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999). We also refer this matter to the 

Department of Corrections for disciplinary procedures under

section 944.279, Florida Statutes.

AFFIRMED.

ROBERTS, RAY, and KELSEY, JJ., concur.
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Not final until disposition of any timely and 

authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 

9.331.

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Ace Robert Patterson, pro se, Appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.