FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF FLORIDA

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No. 1D2023-2477

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DAMANTA JAMAR MURPHY,

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee.

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On appeal from the Circuit Court for Okaloosa County.

John Jay Gontarek, Judge.

July 3, 2024

PER CURIAM.

This Court issued an order on May 17, 2024, pursuant to State 

v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999), requiring Appellant to show 

cause why he should not be sanctioned for his multiple meritless 

and frivolous pro-se filings in this Court related to his judgment 

and sentence in Okaloosa County Circuit Court case number 2012-

CF-2373 (consolidated below with case numbers 12-2265, 12-2266, 

12-2369, 12-2370, 12-2371, and 12-2372). Our records show that 

Appellant has filed fourteen (14) cases in this Court related to his 

judgment and sentence: 1D13-5652, 1D16-2113, 1D16-2115, 1D19-

196, 1D19-254, 1D19-4492, 1D20-490, 1D20-598, 1D20-900, 1D20-

2738, 1D20-2740, 1D22-1058, 1D23-2731, and this case. Appellant 
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has not obtained relief in any of these cases, his current appeal is 

frivolous, and he has 36 years remaining on his prison sentence. 

Appellant has failed to respond timely to the show-cause 

order, and therefore fails to show any justification for these filings 

or any reason why he should not be sanctioned. We find Appellant’s 

repeated meritless filings a hindrance to this Court’s ability to 

devote its resources to the timely consideration of genuine disputes 

and legitimate, colorable claims. See Pettway v. McNeil, 987 So. 2d 

20, 22–23 (Fla. 2008); see also Ferris v. State, 100 So. 3d 142, 144–

45 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (Wetherell, J., concurring) (explaining 

appellant’s filings, like all papers filed in this Court, require the 

Court to expend scarce judicial resources). This Court is required 

“to see that these resources are allocated in a way that promotes 

the interests of justice.” May v. Barthet, 934 So. 2d 1184, 1187 (Fla. 

2006) (quoting In re McDonald, 489 U.S. 180, 184 (1989)). To carry 

out that responsibility, this Court is imbued with the inherent 

power to sanction litigants who abuse the legal system. See id. We 

find Appellant 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, Appellant, DAMANTA JAMAR MURPHY, 

DOC# P51798, is barred from any further pro se filings in this 

Court related to or arising out of his conviction or incarceration for 

Okaloosa County Circuit Court case number 2012-CF-2373 or the 

related cases. We instruct the Clerk of this Court to reject any of 

the same he submits, unless signed by a member in good standing 

of The Florida Bar. This prohibition includes any response or 

motion directed to this Order. 

If Appellant violates this Order, he will be subject to contempt 

proceedings and other appropriate sanctions including a complete 

bar on all pro-se filings in this Court. We hereby direct the Clerk 

to forward a certified copy of this Order to the facility in which 

Appellant is incarcerated for any disciplinary action that may be 

considered appropriate. See §§ 944.279, 944.28, Fla. Stat. 
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SO ORDERED.

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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Damanta Jamar Murphy, pro se, Appellant.

No appearance for Appellee.