Title: Walter v. Department of Corrections Secretary
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: SC2023-1640
State: Florida
Issuer: Florida Supreme Court
Date: May 30, 2024

Supreme Court of Florida 
 
____________ 
 
No. SC2023-1640 
____________ 
 
REGINALD SCOTT WALTER, 
Petitioner, 
 
vs. 
 
DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS SECRETARY, 
Respondent. 
 
May 30, 2024 
 
PER CURIAM. 
 
Reginald Scott Walter, an inmate in state custody, filed a 
pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus with this Court.1  We 
denied the petition, expressly retained jurisdiction, and directed 
Walter to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed against 
him for his abuse of the Court’s limited resources.  See Walter v. 
Dept. of Corr. Sec’y, 2024 WL 1132748 (Fla. Mar. 14, 2024); Fla. R. 
App. P. 9.410(a) (Sanctions; Court’s Motion).  Having considered his 
response to the show cause order, we find that Walter has failed to 
 
 
1.  We have jurisdiction.  See art. V, § 3(b)(9), Fla. Const. 
 
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show cause why he should not be pro se barred, and we sanction 
him as set forth below. 
 
Walter was convicted in the Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial 
Circuit (Polk County) on two counts of attempted first-degree 
murder and one count of armed burglary (case number 
531999CF002889A0XXXX).  He was sentenced in 2000 to thirty 
years’ imprisonment on each count.  The Second District Court of 
Appeal per curiam affirmed the judgments and sentences in 2001.  
Walter v. State, 783 So. 2d 1069 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (table). 
 
Walter began filing petitions with this Court in 2014.  To date, 
Walter has filed eight petitions for writ of habeas corpus and two 
petitions for writ of mandamus, all pertaining to his convictions and 
sentences in case number 531999CF002889A0XXXX.  We have 
never granted Walter the relief sought in any of his filings.  Rather, 
we have denied, dismissed, or transferred each of his petitions.  
Walter’s habeas petition in this case is no exception.  In the 
petition, Walter claimed that the evidence against him was 
insufficient to support his convictions, which was identical to the 
claims raised in his two previous habeas petitions.  We therefore 
denied the petition as successive and directed Walter to show cause 
 
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why he should not be barred from filing any further pro se requests 
for relief. 
 
Walter filed a response in which he repeated much of the 
argument found in his petition and asserted that he has a 
constitutional right of access to courts and equal protection under 
the law.  He failed to acknowledge the frivolous nature of his 
repeated filings and expressed no remorse for his repeated misuse 
of this Court’s limited judicial resources.  Upon consideration of 
Walter’s response, we find that he has failed to show cause why 
sanctions should not be imposed.  Therefore, based on Walter’s 
history of filing multiple 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”).  It is apparent that if no action is taken, Walter will 
continue to burden the Court’s resources.  We further conclude that 
 
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Walter’s habeas petition filed in this case is a 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 
Reginald Scott Walter that are related to case number 
531999CF002889A0XXXX, unless such filings are signed by a 
member in good standing of The Florida Bar.  Furthermore, because 
we find Walter’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 Walter 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 – Habeas Corpus 
 
Reginald Scott Walter, pro se, Florida City, Florida, 
 
 
for Petitioner 
 
 
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No appearance for Respondent