Supreme Court of Florida
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No. SC2023-0616
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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.
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
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